Baseball Basics: Hitting and Getting on Base
Scoring runs is the priority for every team in baseball and to score runs, producing hits regularly is a pre-requisite. However, hitting the ball is easier said than done. In the contemporary game, pitchers have mastered the art of pitching various deliveries
and producing hits on them is a tough ask.
The best batters in the business connect, on average, once every four at-bats and any hitter who has a percentage more than this is definitely an All-Star. The pitcher stands only 60.5 feet away from the home plate and handling intense throws from such a
short-distance is not easy. Hitting becomes more difficult when the game is being played in a pitcher’s ballpark, i.e. where the outfield fence is at a further distance from the home plate and the mound is usually a bit higher.
In this situation, batters prefer to get a walk to first base by facing four balls. A ball is a pitch which is outside the strike zone and the batter does not get a chance to hit the ball. The top two batters in the line-up usually have higher batting averages
due to their task of getting on base, even if it is achieved through singles. The sluggers, on the contrary, are required to produce hits and do the majority of the scoring and thus have a lower batting average.
The first two batters are generally known to hit for average. They usually do not aim for big hits and produce hits which are sufficient to get them safely to a base. The sluggers are asked to hit powerfully to make extra base hits and they are generally
the hitters who smash home-runs, doubles and triples. The power hitters are useful as even their double can result in a “run batted in”, allowing the runner at second base to complete a run. If the slugger produces a home-run when all bases are loaded, the
team gets four runs and this effort is termed as Grand Slam.
Patience is the key to success for batters on the plate. The pitchers aim to throw at the edges of the strike zone and produce three strikes, however, there are high chances that balls will be produced in the process and the batter might get a walk after
four balls. The hitter should ideally wait for a pitch to come in the centre of the strike zone so that he has a fair chance to connect and probably unleash a big hit. If the hitter swings at everything, each miss will cost him a strike, even if the pitch
is outside the strike zone.
Most hitters in baseball are right-handed and thus the fielding team has a defensive player between the second and third base called the shortstop. His job is to protect the flow of runs through that area. However, the game of baseball has advanced and so
has the ability of the hitters. Most hitters have now perfected the art of “switch hitting” i.e. hitting from the left-side as well as the right-side depending on how the pitcher pitches.
As a rule of thumb, the right-handed batters are more effective against the left-handed pitchers because it is hard to aim the ball towards the body.
A batter can reach first base on a fielder’s error too. A hitter is allowed to move to first base if he is hit by a pitch and was not in a position to avoid it or if a fielder stops the hitter from running to first base.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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