Timing Issues

[Lawrence.Dorsey]

I think the difference between the Evans way and the 1-2-3 count method is that during the intervening time between the ball hitting the mitt and your announcing a ball or strike you are actually doing something (Evans way). You are using your eyes to decide if it was a strike or not. This may also mean quickly replaying what you saw in your head to make your decision. Evans always says call a pitch as soon as you "see" it. "Seeing" it isn't just tracking it all the way to the glove (but that obviously is a big part of it). The counting method may slow your timing down but it won't help you with your balls and strikes. Evans method will.

Lawrence

[SanDiegoSteve]

The Jim Evans "timing is the proper use of the eyes" method is correct. The unfortunate thing is that his teachings are rather new, and not universally taught outside of his school classes or clinics.

The sad thing is that some of us were taught by Brinkman and Wendelstedt grads, long before Evans had a school. These instructors used the artificial counting method on us, so now we automatically delay our calls. I don't do any counting to myself (or heaven forbid, out loud ), but my timing is that of a natural looking couple of beats after the ball is caught.

I actually had an evaluator tell me in 1996 that my timing was too fast, even though it really wasn't (pretty slow, really). This guy wanted me slower than Greg Bonin or Jerry Layne. I cheerfully ignored his advice, and continued to do it the way I had been, which was just fine.