Quiz

Who should be looking for the pitcher's "tells"? *

Your on-deck batter

Your bench players

Your coaches

Your dad in the stands

Your baserunners

What are some pitching "tells"? *

Wrist and forearm angle

What the other team's coaching is yelling from the dugout

Digging for grips

Where the pitcher is looking

Where the catcher is looking

What is tunneling? *

Trying to hit the ball to one specific spot in the field

Looking at the window of space where the pitcher will release the ball?

What does tunneling achieve? *

Helps you recognize pitches faster

Helps you hustle out of the box quicker

Helps you to correct mechanical flaws in your swing

What ways can you help your team when running on second base? *

Replay the double you just hit in your head, so you repeat it your next at-bat

See if you can pick up the catchers signs

Try and look into the pitcher's glove to pick up his grip

Have a conversation with the other team's shortstop and gather information from him

Notice if the catcher is changing his stance based on the pitch that is being thrown

How/when should you relay signs to your teammates? *

Obviously, we want the whole stadium to know what pitch is coming next

Discretely, we want just our players to know what pitch is coming next

Verbally, yell out a phrase or number to signify the next pitch

Visually, hand signals or body movements that don't draw too much attention to you

If you 75% sure you have the signs figured out

Only if you are 100% sure you have the signs figured out

Recognizing Pitches: 3 Ways to See the Ball Better at the Plate