Quote:
Originally Posted by steve B
Here are a few things that are worth considering.
What makes a great hitter great?
One hard data item and one anecdote. between the two they cross generations.
Albert Pujols did some tests for someone in a lab setting. They first tested his reaction time, expecting his to be much faster than an average person. It was not, in fact his reaction time was very much in the average range.
So why is he an excellent hitter?
The next test was flashing pictures of a pitcher throwing a variety of pitches.
I don't recall exactly, but the image was shown either very briefly, or until he pressed a button. (All this is in a SI article from a few years ago)
He was not only far faster than average at identifying pitches, but could also tell location from a very briefly seen still picture. Far faster than even decent college hitters, and far far faster than fairly random people including ones who had better reaction times.
The second is more anecdotal, but I believe it says a lot.
The club I was in had a speaker who had played as a player when Ted Williams was managing.
The first year he said was wonderful, Ted focused on fundamentals like waiting for a good pitch. Team batting improved.
Year two he started losing them.
They asked one time for advice on hitting Nolan Ryan.
Teds advice was - early in the game I'd try to hit the top of the ball and drive it somewhere. Later I'd try to hit the bottom of the ball to try and get more distance.
which the speaker said was not helpful as most of the guys were asking how to hit pitches they couldn't really see.
From those things, I'd say the most important part of hitting is having that ability to see and interpret what is being seen quickly enough and well enough. And I have to think that all the top hitters since the beginning have had that ability. So a Ruth or a Williams or anyone else at that sort of level would still be a top hitter today.
That might be different for the typical player.
The other part of the Williams thing was that one of the players just neve rreally got it. To the point that one game Williams stood at the top of the dugout steps yelling out what pitch was coming and the guy still couldn't hit.
Yes, that must have also been a major distraction...
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I forgot where I read this, but it was an article about Ruth's ability to hit home runs. Sometime at his peak, a group of academics decided to time Ruth's reaction to an incoming pitch when he swung. According to their findings, Ruth was fractionally quicker when he swung in comparison to other hitters that were measured.
Considering that the methods and tools used in this test were barbaric in comparison to today's standards, we would have to guess what the speed of his reaction time would be today. Let's say that we transported Ruth to the time when Pujols reaction time was tested. If Ruth took that same test and still maintained a quicker reaction time than the average ballplayer of today, he would possibly have a chance to peform well. In any era, that reaction time would give an advantage to any hitter. Yes, there are other factors, plate discipline, the type of swing, etc. that influence the possible outcome of any at bat. This is not to conclude that Ruth would still produce the same outcomes in the modern era as he did during career, but that potential remains.
Phil aka Tere1071
Complete 1953 Bowman Color, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1975 Topps Baseball sets under revision as the budget and wife allows
Under construction:
1967 Topps Baseball - 330/533: Overall p-g, missing all of the bigger name stars and many commons, no high numbers or posters
1968 Topps Baseball - 420/598: Overall good, missing all of the bigger name stars and many commons from 1-375; no game cards
1969 Topps Baseball - 320-664: Overall good, missing all of the stars and many cards after #217; no deckle edged cards
1969 Topps Baseball Team Stamps- Dodgers, Royals, A’s, Phillies; missing everything else
1970 Topps Baseball Insert sets:
Booklets- missing 7; 9; 11; 13; 14; 15; 17; and 23.
Posters # 1; 8; 14; 17; and 19
I do not have any 1970 scratch offs yet.
1971 Topps Coins- 120/153
I do not have any 1971 scratch offs yet.
1974 Topps Baseball Washington variations- 32; 53; 77; 102; 125; 226; 241; 309; 364; and 599