Softball Slap Hitting

Softball Slap Hitting seems to draw a lot of attention from fastpitch softball players and parents of softball players. I wrote an article on how to become a better slap hitter a little over a year ago and posted it on the web. This softball slap hitting article has had thousands of views and hundreds of questions from girls softball teams around the country. The majority of these questions have come from people like you; softball coaches or fastpitch parents looking for ways to improve the slap hitting aspect of the  fastpitch game for their daughter or softball team. There have been questions ranging from softball equipment like what are the lightest most durable softball shoes to wear that will help with speed to what is considered the best softball bat for a slap hitter to use? While these questions have merit I believe these will be personal choices for your softball player once they truly understand the art of slap hitting which is where I want to focus.

The second area where we get a lot of response regarding slap hitting is from new members signing up on the softball clinic website.  The two biggest areas of desired improvement from our members are fastpitch pitching and becoming a better slap hitter. Makes sense right? Both aspects of the game have a major impact on the out come of the game. A well trained and disciplined slap hitter can upset the defense of most fastpitch softball teams without getting the ball out of the infield, and a well trained fastpitch softball pitcher that has learned movement pitches and location can make it difficult for slap hitters to accomplish their goals. Not to mention both roles play a significant part in the outcome of any softball game.



Lets for the sake of this article work from the premise that our slap hitters understand and have begun to perfect the "two steps" to contact rule. Their cross over step has their left toe pointed toward the shortstop position or at least between the shortstop and pitchers circle, their shoulders are closed and hands are back and high ready to drop the head of the bat on the ball. For beginning slap hitters facing young developing pitchers we're well on the way if we're in the slap hitting positions as outlined above, all we have to do from here is get them to contact with the ball. But again working from the assumption that our slap hitters understand these basic mechanics what are the next things we need to be teaching them? Remember earlier in this article I mentioned that the two areas of improvement that we receive the most requests from our new members at the softball clinic are slap hitting and pitching. Once a slap hitter gains the basic slap hitting skills needed the next step is understanding pitch selection. Advanced fastpitch softball pitchers understand what the intent is of the slap hitter and will do whatever they can to pitch away from the slap hitters strength. A slap hitter mostly wants to pound the ball into the ground and race to first while the ball is taking a big hop on the infield, preferably toward third or short as these are the longer throws across the infield allowing the slapper a little more time to get down the baseline. As a slap hitter what pitch are you looking for to accomplish this goal and where would you like it in the strike zone? Yes, you' re looking for a drop ball away. How many times this past summer during the televised College Softball World Series did you see a slap hitter come to the plate and the pitcher try to bust her with a rise ball up and in? Clearly this fastpitch softball pitcher knows what pitch this slap hitter is looking for and will do whatever she can to keep this hitter off balance and have her fish for a pitch that is more likely to pop her up then allow her to have a successful slap hit.

Just like a free swinging fastpitch softball hitter a slap hitter needs to understand her strike zone. Slap hitters are usually the fastest players on the softball team so this is really important to understand because when speed gets on base either via a slap hit or a walk the softball defense really feels the pressure.

So what are we looking for as slap hitters?
Ideally you're looking for a drop ball pitched on the outside half of the plate in the lower half of the strike zone. The lower half of the strike zone is from the slap hitters belt to her knees. The outside half of the plate is the half of the plate closest to third base.
Smart fastpitch softball pitchers that have command of their movement pitches will try and work the slap hitter on their hands or the inside half of the plate with curve balls moving in or rise balls up and in, as well as rise balls up and away with the hopes of getting them to pop up. The exception to this rule is when facing a slap hitter that can put a full swing with power, then the pitcher may look for different holes in the zone to work.

Understanding the strike zone or the focus on understanding the strike zone is overlooked too often in hitting instruction, particularly when it comes to slap hitting. Slap hitters due to their speed and where the hit in the batting order are lethal when they are on base. You'll find most slap hitters in the top two holes in the line up to set the table for your three and four hitters or in the eight or nine hole in the batting order so that they can turn over the line up with speed.
Its critical for all fastpitch softball hitters to understand their personal strike zone to be more efficient hitters, but with all the interest placed on becoming a slap hitter we feel that just understanding the mechanics of slap hitting is only half the game. Teach and learn your strike zone as well as how to identify the rotation of a specific pitch coming into that zone and you'll build an incredible fastpitch softball slap hitter.

We'll talk more on recognizing pitches in the future as well as how to pitch to and defend against a good slap hitting softball team.

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