Major League Baseball’s All-Time Leaders

Baseball Basics:
Major League Baseball’s All-Time Leaders

Who is Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in career hits?
Pete Rose is the all-time career hits leader. He surpassed Ty Cobb in the 1980s.

Who is Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in career strike outs?
Nolan Ryan is the all-time career strike outs leader. He also had seven no-hitters during his career, which is a phenomenal figure.

Who is Major League Baseball’s all-time leader in career batting average?
Ty Cobb is the all-time leader in career batting average. His average is .366.

Developing a Short Swing

It is essential that hitters develop a short, compact swing now. The longer they wait to begin this development, the harder it will be to achieve. Get his/her hands down to approx. shoulder level, and make sure he/she does not lift them while striding. They should be at shoulder level about 6-8 inches from the body, and approx. even with his back foot when his stride foot lands softly. From there, start the lower half (approach–inward turn of back knee and back heel rotating off the ground) while keeping hands back (creating torque between lower and upper body, then pull the knob to the top inside half of the ball with both hands–this will guarantee he pulls long enough to obtain the proper short stroke.

Also, make sure he keeps the barrel above his hands and near his back shoulder as he brings the barrel to the ball–otherwise, he will cast the barrel away from his body–long swing.

How to Be a Well Rounded Hitter

You want to train yourself to become a complete hitter. Part of being a complete hitter is being able to hit the ball to all parts of the field. This is important because when you are capable of using the whole field, the pitcher is not able to pitch you in one particular way. In other words he will have to work harder to keep you off the bases. Additionally, the defense can not shade you to one particular area in the field.

DARRYL STRAWBERRY
In the 1996 World Series, you might have noticed how the Atlanta Braves defense was playing Darryl Strawberry. The defense shifted to the right side of the field, except for the third baseman, Chipper Jones, who moved to the shortstop position. This left the whole left side of the infield open. The reason for this was because:

• Darryl was basically a pull hitter.
• They were trying to get him out by pitching him on the inside part of the plate.

This is what can happen to a pull hitter – they can be easily defensed. Darryl was basically a pull hitter, but he had a lot more success when he used the whole field.

HITTING THE BALL TO THE OPPOSITE FIELD

To hit the ball to the opposite field:

• Get a pitch on the outside part of the plate
• Hit the ball deeper in the contact zone
• Keep the barrel of the bat above your hands
• Stay inside the ball

Most young hitters have the ability to pull the ball. However, to be a complete hitter and on your way to being a master hitter, you must develop the ability to hit the ball to the opposite field. One of the reasons that young hitters have a difficult time hitting the ball to the opposite field is that coaches are always telling them to pull the ball and to hit the ball way out in front. In order to handle the ball on the outside part of the plate, you must wait for the ball to get deeper into the zone. Contact for the outside pitch should be made even with the front foot or slightly deeper. You will find that this will help you to hit the curve ball as well.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Your stance may show the pitcher where your strengths and weaknesses are. For example

a right handed hitter that stands off the plate in a closed stance and strides towards the plate is going to handle the ball on the outside part of the plate better than the inside pitch. His weakness would be the inside part of the plate. This is opposed to a right handed hitter who has an open stance, and stays open on his stride – his strength will be the inside pitch. His weakness will be the ball on the outside part of the plate. This holds for left handed hitters as well. This is why I recommend that no matter how you stand at the plate, when your stride foot comes down, you should be at a parallel stance. Some hitters have to use the open or closed stance because of flaws in their approach. If you are one of these hitters, make sure that you are disciplined enough to swing at the pitches you can handle (your strengths) and do not swing at the ball in your weak area until you get two strikes.

AREAS OF THE ZONE

Let’s examine areas of the zone that you may be pitched. If you are being pitched inside, and you are looking inside, you will want to hit this particular pitch to the pull side of the field. f you are being pitched middle away, look to go to the opposite field.

A key point here, and many Major League hitters do this, is to look for the pitch down the middle.  By doing this, it is easier for you to adjust off the ball down the middle, than it is looking on the extreme outside or the extreme inside. There will be times when you will look inside or outside. For example, if a pitcher consistently throws you on the outside part of the plate, it is to your advantage to look on the outside part of the plate and hit the ball to the opposite field. If this is the case, you need to let the pitch on the extreme inside go.

If you feel the pitcher is trying to work you outside, then look outside. Do the same with inside.

Many youth league pitchers do not have great control yet, so it is best to look middle. However, at the high school level or above, the pitchers are starting to gain better control.

A point to remember is that you can look outside and still have a chance to hit the inside pitch, but if you look inside, you will have virtually no chance to hit the outside pitch. This may sound complicated and as if it were for advanced hitters only, however, all young hitters should start to learn how to use the whole field and to look for pitches in different areas. The chart picture illustrates the areas of the strike zone. Take note of where the high averages are. Find the area that you hit best.

Heel Plant Tips for Softball

RightView Pro is a video analysis software company that specializes in baseball and softball hitting and pitching instruction. RVP is the only video analysis software company that is licensed by Major League Baseball, National Pro Fastpitch and Olympic Softball Players.

History of Baseball

Baseball Basics: Origins Of Baseball

Baseball wasn’t invented by one person. The old myth was that Abner Doubleday invented it in Cooperstown. Never happened. Baseball evolved from a variety of other bat and ball and base sports including cricket and rounder’s. But it wasn’t invented at any one point.

What are the origins of baseball?

Baseball traces its roots to a variety of bat-and-ball games, including rounders and cricket. It wasn’t until the 1840’s in America that a man named Alexander Cartwright actually put the rules to paper. Even though baseball existed prior to that point, he is often considered to be the father of baseball.

When was baseball invented?

Baseball really wasn’t invented. It is considered an American game, but it evolved from games in Europe. There wasn’t a birth, and there wasn’t a grand creation to the game.

When did professional baseball start?

Professional Baseball began in the late 1800s. The National League is the oldest existing league. It began in the 1870s, followed by the American League in the early 1900s.

When did Major League Baseball start?

Major League Baseball began in 1903 when the American and National leagues agreed to begin holding the World Series.

Who were some of the original Major League Baseball clubs?

Some of the original Major League clubs were Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Louisville, and many others.

Who were the 1919 ‘Chicago Black Sox’ and why are they so important in baseball history?

The Chicago Black Sox of 1919 are the most infamous team in baseball history. They threw the World Series to the Cincinnati team. As a result, many of the players on that team were banned for life from baseball. It is now one of the cardinal rules of baseball, and became so at that time, that any player caught gambling on the game would be banned from baseball. It is why Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, two tremendous ball players, are not in the Hall of Fame. The Sox scandal also led to the creation of a powerful commissioner form of government in baseball, and the first commissioner was Kennesaw Mountain Landis.

What were the ‘Negro Leagues’ in professional baseball?

Major leagues did not integrate until 1947 when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Prior to that point, and even after that point ,black players often played in segregated leagues, in the Negro Leagues. There were many leagues that bore that title “Negro Leagues”. But it was a popular form of baseball.

Keep it Simple: See the Ball – Hit the Ball

A baseball bat at its widest is three and three quarters inches in diameter.  A ball comes toward the hitter at the speed of 80-90 plus miles per hour.  A 90 MPH fastball reaches the plate in four-tenths of a second.  The hitter has just about one-tenth of a second to pick up the ball.  However good your mechanics may be, you won’t success if I blindfold you.  First things first, see the ball!

Your eyes tell your brain how to react, if your eyes aren’t seeing the ball well, you are not going to be able to react properly to the ball.  Since you only have four-tenths of second to recognize, react and execute the swing on an average fastball, you need to learn how to track the ball.

Proper Swing Path

It is very important to take a proper and consistent angle to the ball, the lower half of your body is what allows you to take this angle.  If the feet and hips are not working correctly, the hands and arms will not be able to take the correct path to the ball.  Also mentally the hitter must not be thinking home run or have these types of thoughts in his mind.  These thought will throw off the proper swing rhythm and sequence of the swing.  The approach must be fundamentally sound from the ground up or somewhere along the line you will reach your ceiling and improvement will stop.  This is why it is so vital that these mechanics are learned as soon as possible, the more time that lapses, the more difficult it becomes to overcome.

A Long Swing can be the result of:

• Using too heavy a bat
• Having used an aluminum bat which has such a large sweet spot that gives the appearance of a good swing which can be deceptive until you face good pitching
• Trying to hit the ball too far and over swinging

Important: Hitting the Right Pitch

Being selective at the plate is vital for a team’s success.  Why is it important?

• The win/loss record is very poor when opposing pitchers throw less than 115 pitches per game.
• Low pitch counts keep the opposition’s pitching staff in stronger positions.  Starter is able to go longer while team is unable to see 7th through 11th pitcher on staff.
• When opposing pitcher has 5 to 6 pitched innings, his confidence increases.  Hitters want to see all of the pitcher’s repertoire and early hitting eliminates seeing all the pitcher’s pitches.
• Non-selective hitters don’t get the job done in “clutch situations’ because pitchers are trying to make tough pitches starting from the first pitch.
• When the “set-up” men come into the ball game, outs on the first and second pitch is poor hitting.

Having the Proper Bat Angle

Let’s talk about the bat angle.  At what angle should you have the bat?  Should it be up at a 90 degree angle?  Should you tilt it back towards the catcher?  What is most comfortable for you?  The most efficient place to put the bat is at a 45 degree angle behind your back shoulder.  This is the best position to launch the bat from.

It is the most efficient way to get the bat through the zone.  Since this is hard to see you may either use the mirror drill or have a coach help you with this.  The reason why I don’t recommend a 90 degree bat angle is because in order to hi, you must first get the bat into a 45 degree bat angle.  If you start at 90 degrees, you will cause unnecessary movement to get the 45 degree angle that is necessary to swing from.

Extension

If you make contact at extension there will be a loss of power.  There are many coaches that teach contact is made at extension.  However video has disproven that statement.  Making contact just before extension allows the hitter the ability to hit through the ball.

If you do all the mechanical techniques correctly, you will have the proper extension.  If you are not getting good extension generally it is due to a flaw in the swing.

• Extension should be just after contact and not at or before contact.
• You should see a “V” in your arms at maximum extension out front.
• Don’t drop the barrel of the bat below your hands from the backside, you still need to have a short, compact, swing.

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