Tricks for Timing

[ctblu40]

I literally make the call in my head...

Thats a ball... BALL

Thats a strike... STRIKE

[GarthB]

Timing is the...

Oh, never mind. It wouldn't do any good.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by GarthB

Timing is the...

Oh, never mind. It wouldn't do any good.

......proper use of the eyes.......

[yankeesfan]

Originally Posted by ctblu40

I literally make the call in my head...

Thats a ball... BALL

Thats a strike... STRIKE

this is exactly what a current major league umpire told us at one of our local meetings when he came to talk to us about mechanics. he said use "thats a" and then make the call.

[tcarilli]

Originally Posted by yankeesfan

use "thats a" and then make the call.

How does this help? Timing (proper use of eyes) is important to help us get calls right not make calls more slowly. Suppose you don't track the ball, ie have tunnel vision, but you are religious in using the "thats a" method of timing instead of tracking pitches all the way to the mitt, how many more pitches are you going to get right?

[Jay R]

I don't use any mechanisms like the ones that have been mentionned. Although I will periodically remind myself to be patient and not make up my mind before the ball crosses the plate and into the glove.

For me, there are two common situations that could be problematic. They are basically the same pitches that fool the hitters.

One is the high fastball that looks good coming in. Batters often swing at that pitch because it looks like a strike. if the batters are sometimes fooled, we can be as well. If you're patient, you will not miss it.

Secondly is the sinker that again that looks good all the way until it dips below the strike zone at the last instant. It often fools the batter and we need to let it be caught before we decide.

I think it was Peter Osbourne who wrote about gross misses (calls that everyone in the ballpark knows you missed). Good timing help avoid gross misses.

[Don Mueller]

Originally Posted by Jay R

One is the high fastball that looks good coming in. Batters often swing at that pitch because it looks like a strike.

One is the high fastball that looks good coming in. Batters often swing at that pitch because it looks like a strike..... then it rises out of the zone and unless we watch it all the way to the mitt we may be fooled as well.

[Tim C]

" . . . then it rises out of the zone and unless we watch it all the way to the mitt we may be fooled as well."

Well at a bare minimum someone has a sense of humor this morning.

Regards,

[RPatrino]

It's not so much that the ball rises as much as it is that the F2, batter and umpire actually drop as the pitch is arriving at the plate. It is a well known fact as many fields dip for drainage.