Say what you want about Alex Rodriguez’s personal decisions over his career but you have to give him
credit for his knowledge of hitting. I don’t know about you but I loved listening to him as one of the playoff announcers. There were many great insights he made but one stood out because it reminded me of a post I created awhile back called How to hit a 100mph fastball.
He was asked by another announcer how he would approach an at-bat if he had to face a guy like the Mets Jacob deGrom who has filthy stuff and throws in the upper 90’s. A-Rod immediately said you have to have a game-plan (great advice on its own) and become a quadrant hitter (also great advice). That was basically the same point I made in the previous post linked above. The picture to the right is a visual of what he was talking about.
When you face a pitcher with nasty stuff, you simply will not be able to cover the entire plate. The pitcher will eat you alive if you try. As a batter, your game plan involves looking for the ball in a particular quadrant. If you get it, you can’t miss it. That’s how you attack good pitching and that’s how a batter hits a 100mph fastball.
However, deciding to be a quadrant hitter is just half the battle. The second half deals with the next big question …
Do you pick the quadrant you are best at hitting or do you pick the quadrant where you think the pitcher will throw it?
That’s Part 2.
Until Monday, have a great weekend!
