“Timing is said to be everything in everything.” In hitting, “Great timing without intent is just educated luck, every pitch, every time.” Dennis Tiefenthaler, Co-founder Seam Readers Worldwide
Welcome to Seam Reader’s eighteenth blog of all time. It has been a while since our last writing and now that life is getting back to normal, we should get back to work and discuss with Seam Reader Nation what we believe is the best way to be a great hitter.
This week we are going to be discussing a concept that could again get you any number of explanations. After the vision, along with the rhythm, this is absolutely the most important aspect of being successful at the plate. The one part of the art of hitting that you and everyone before or after you, will never master. A part of the art that all hitters aspire to. That part is “GREAT TIMING.”
Webster’s dictionary defines “TIMING,” as “ the ability to select a precise moment of doing something for optimum effect.” Read that again. “Timing is the ability to select a precise moment of doing something for optimum effect.” We at Seam Readers believe in order to “select a precise moment” for “optimum effect,” you need above all else, great pitch recognition abilities. You need to read, recognize, and have the reaction time to swing at the “precise moment” to do the most damage, or for “optimum effect.” If this sounds familiar to you, it should, because everything we at Seam Readers have talked about the last couple of years has led us to this moment. Is this making sense? We believe that the best way to “great timing” is being a Seam Reader first. Reading rotation before location. If you have been following us and using our App, then you know how to do this already.
We said in our opening that “great timing” without intent is just educated luck. It is generally accepted that every hitter’s swing and approach is different but similar. If this is true then in theory, no two hitters have the same “timing” to contact. If one hitter’s “intent” is to look for a fastball over the inside part of the plate and another hitter’s intent, or approach is wanting a slow curve-ball away then their timing to contact will be totally different from one another. Why? Because the contact points for optimum effect are in different places. Out in front of the plate for the inside fast-ball, and deeper in the zone and outside, for the curve-ball away. The bottom line is everyone has different timing to contact. It is why hitters will always take thousands of rounds of batting practice where the ball is thrown in every area of the strike zone. With repetition being the mother of skill, the more they see it, the easier it will become to recognize pitches and what those pitches are going to be doing in the locations they like and where you should make contact with them for “optimum” results.. Some will take longer than others to learn, and some will never learn in time. Make sense?
With the amount of analytics and data on what pitchers throw today, the other side of the argument believes that they are better hitters if they are educatedly guessing what pitch is coming next. Can educated luck be a part of hitting success? Yes, a little possibly. Since we are dealing with less than a quarter of a second, and because milliseconds matter, guessing right is bound to happen. Seam Readers will never believe someone will guess themselves into the Hall of Fame. Is the optimum timing for every pitch and location the same? No. Is reaction time to contact the same for everyone? We have proven no. Is a home run perfect timing? Yes. His gift to every hitter, only God’s timing is perfect. Have a great week. Next time we will analyze the analytics of the game and what MLB is missing and the possibility that they don’t even know it….
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