Swinging Sucessfully
Jun. 3rd, 2008 05:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
penfield"A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that."
- Reggie Jackson (Hall of Fame slugger and "Mr. October")
Softball Game: June 2, 2008
WON 24-18
The 18 runs scored against us is sort of a misleading estimate. We were safely ahead for the whole game, victimized by only two bad innings and a couple of bloop hits, so we weren't paying much attention to the game. Also, by the last two innings, we were resting some of our better players and taking a casual approach to defense. ("Two outs. Or maybe just one. I can't remember. Whatever.") The result was not particularly good for my ERA but good for karma.
Everyone had a pretty good game at the plate, but none so much as our cleanup hitter. He went five-for-six, I think, with three home runs and something like half our RBI. He's not one of these hulking behemoths, either. He looks just like an average guy -- if you imagine me as slightly below average -- with a toothy smile and an "aw, shucks" attitude. But what he lacks in pure mass he makes up for with impossibly dense layers of lean muscle tone, the kind of healthy physique I might be able to attain myself if I just skipped one or two meals per day and replaced my office chair with a Bowflex machine.
I happened to be batting behind him in the order, which meant that I didn't have many RBI opportunities. But I had plenty of leeway on the bases.
I'm experimenting with a slightly different swing this season: in the past, I used pretty significant leg kick in my swing, and I found that I was pulling my hips out too early and popping everything up to the right side. Now I'm trying not to use a kick at all, instead simply pivoting on my front foot and transferring the coil in my legs more evenly. It means less power, since I can't drive forward as much, but it's giving me a nice level swing at the ball and generating more line drives. I didn't pop-up on a single pitch last night, though I did get jammed on inside pitches twice; my arms are still vibrating from my elbow to my thumb.
My statistics:
AB#1: Sharp single down 3B line, run scored
AB#2: Double to right-center, run scored
AB#3: Groundout to shortstop
AB#4: Single to deep left, 2 RBI, run scored
AB#5: Double to right
AB#6: Groundout to pitcher
7 IP, 18 runs
Season-to-date
5 for 9 (.556), 4 runs, 3 RBI
14 IP, 30 runs (19.29 ERA/9, 15.00 ERA/7)
- Reggie Jackson (Hall of Fame slugger and "Mr. October")
Softball Game: June 2, 2008
WON 24-18
The 18 runs scored against us is sort of a misleading estimate. We were safely ahead for the whole game, victimized by only two bad innings and a couple of bloop hits, so we weren't paying much attention to the game. Also, by the last two innings, we were resting some of our better players and taking a casual approach to defense. ("Two outs. Or maybe just one. I can't remember. Whatever.") The result was not particularly good for my ERA but good for karma.
Everyone had a pretty good game at the plate, but none so much as our cleanup hitter. He went five-for-six, I think, with three home runs and something like half our RBI. He's not one of these hulking behemoths, either. He looks just like an average guy -- if you imagine me as slightly below average -- with a toothy smile and an "aw, shucks" attitude. But what he lacks in pure mass he makes up for with impossibly dense layers of lean muscle tone, the kind of healthy physique I might be able to attain myself if I just skipped one or two meals per day and replaced my office chair with a Bowflex machine.
I happened to be batting behind him in the order, which meant that I didn't have many RBI opportunities. But I had plenty of leeway on the bases.
I'm experimenting with a slightly different swing this season: in the past, I used pretty significant leg kick in my swing, and I found that I was pulling my hips out too early and popping everything up to the right side. Now I'm trying not to use a kick at all, instead simply pivoting on my front foot and transferring the coil in my legs more evenly. It means less power, since I can't drive forward as much, but it's giving me a nice level swing at the ball and generating more line drives. I didn't pop-up on a single pitch last night, though I did get jammed on inside pitches twice; my arms are still vibrating from my elbow to my thumb.
My statistics:
AB#1: Sharp single down 3B line, run scored
AB#2: Double to right-center, run scored
AB#3: Groundout to shortstop
AB#4: Single to deep left, 2 RBI, run scored
AB#5: Double to right
AB#6: Groundout to pitcher
7 IP, 18 runs
Season-to-date
5 for 9 (.556), 4 runs, 3 RBI
14 IP, 30 runs (19.29 ERA/9, 15.00 ERA/7)
