Where to Stand to Hit the Up, Down, In and Out

Do you know where your hitters should stand in the batter’s box when facing pitchers that have really good movement pitches, like rises and drops, curveballs and screwballs?

Keep reading to learn where your players should stand in the batter’s box to give them the greatest chance to hit the ball.

Pitchers that throw mainly rise and dropballs are called up and down or vertical pitchers, and pitchers that throw mainly curve and screwballs are called horizontal or side-to-side pitchers.

When you’re facing a pitcher who will mainly throw up and down, you should tell your players to move back in the box. This forces the pitcher to make her pitches break later which is hard for a pitcher to do while still making the ball move, and also makes it easier for the hitter to see the ball longer.

On the other hand, for a side-to-side pitcher that throws mainly curve and screwballs have your hitters move up in the box. This gives the pitcher less room to make her pitches break and can often frustrate a pitcher as her pitches can tend to flatten out, making them easier to hit.