![]() ![]() Below are two examples of SEC players hitting “rise balls” that were left lower than intended and therefore flattened out. These pitches result in a high percentage of home runs since they are easy to lift and softball fields are only about 200 feet. Many pitchers claim a rise ball but they are really throwing a pitch that flattens out towards the middle to the top of the strike zone. When instructing hitters on hitting a true rise ball, we usually instruct them to take it since it is highly unlikely that it will be a strike. The pitcher simply hopes that the pitch entices the hitter to swing and miss underneath it. ![]() What she meant by this is that the rise ball does rise but crosses the plate out of the strike zone. “ Even our fastest pitchers use the rise ball as a show pitch.” I recently asked a D1 collegiate softball pitching coach about the rise ball. While it is true that Softball players do pitch underhand from flat ground, very few strikes actually rise. In an attempt to build a case for the baseball and softball swing being extremely similar (if not identical), I decided to look at the evidence.īy far the most common argument used to advocate for softball players swinging down is the rise ball. ![]() This was the first time I had encountered siblings whose hitting focus and goals were so different. In contrast, Sarah’s brother was in the next cage swinging violently and using his entire body to maximize his force behind the ball. The results of Sarah’s swings were either weak grounders or pop ups with a ton of backspin. To Sarah’s credit, she was following her instructor’s teaching perfectly, swinging as directly to the ball as possible (creating a downward swing path.) Sarah was also following traditional teaching with other parts of her swing by squishing the bug with her back foot and finishing forward with her head over her front foot. The differences in the swings from the two cages could not have been more different. While I was teaching a lesson to Sarah’s brother, she was hitting in the adjacent cage. The reason I did ask was because Sarah’s brother had been attending lessons for months and had seen dramatic improvement from being engaged in the Baseball Rebellion program. I normally refrain from doing this since players, understandably, dislike criticism they are not looking for. Truthfully, I brought this discussion upon myself because I asked a Softball player (we’ll call her Sarah for confidentiality) if she wanted any help with her swing, unsolicited. “The Softball Swing is totally different than a Baseball Swing.” This is a statement that I had heard before but it had never been directed specifically towards me. This article was originally published on in May 2017. ![]()
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