Kids have a tendency to point their toes away from each other while in their batting stance, which is what I call “duck footed”. It is a very comfortable way to stand and many of us stand like that in everyday life. Being “duck footed” while batting can slow down the lower half of your swing and take away power. Instead, I encourage all of my students to use a “pigeon toed” stance where your toes are pointed inward. This allows you to get a strong drive off of your back foot when launching your swing. It also keeps your front side “closed” so that you don’t fly open, which can cause frequent pop-ups and misses. Standing “pigeon toed” is not a comfortable stance for many. You will eventually get used to it and you only have to hold the position for a short period of time while hitting. If you want a quicker, more powerful swing, take a quick look down at your toes when you are in your stance to make sure they are pointed inwards. Pigeons are annoying to people, and batters with a “pigeon toed” stance are annoying to pitchers!
Tag Archives: Irvine Pony baseball
Two-Seam or Four-Seam, That is the Question…
Many kids aren’t sure how to grip the baseball in certain situations, so let’s talk about it… A two-seam grip is mainly used when pitching, while a four-seam grip is used at all times by all position players and sometimes as a pitcher. The reason a pitcher uses a two-seam grip is to create more movement with their pitch. This is caused by the lack of friction against the air from only having two seams per rotation “catching” air, which allows gravity to work faster to pull the ball towards the ground. When using a four-seam grip, there are four seams “catching” the air per rotation working against gravity to keep the ball from dropping. When watching a strong-armed outfielder throw with a four-seam grip, the baseball will look like it is actually rising! If he threw the same way using a two-seam grip, it would have less of a chance to carry the same distance and it would tail towards his arm side. Pitchers will use a four-seam grip when throwing a high fastball when ahead in the count or when they are struggling to find the strike zone with their two-seam fastball.
I hope this helps! If you have any questions, post them below.
Coach Ed
