Expert: Rick Bundy - 6/19/2009

Question
i always thought the general rule for how far to standing away from the plate is to put one foot in front of the other. so lets say the a persons shoe is 12 inches they should be 12 inches away from the plate, if a person shoe sizes was 10 inches they should be 10 inches away and so on. i went to a so called hitting instructor who tried to back my daughter off the plate about 2 feet. i was wounding what you say about distance a person should be from the plate. my daughter plays softball is about 5'7 and stands about 10 inches away from the plate she is also around a .500 hitter, the reason for the lessons is that she doesn't extend and i want more power for her.

Answer
Aaron:  What you are looking to do is be able to cover the plate, plus a little extra for extra wide strike zones which can occur.

There is no set formula, it is based upon the length of the hitters arms and the amount of bat they are swinging.  From where they are standing, it must cover the 17 inches of plate plus 1 or 2".

From their stance, where it is they feel comfortable setting up, if they just take their bat in their bottom hand and tap the barrel on the middle of the plate, then again tap the outside.

If the bat reaches the outside portion on the second tap, take a practice swing, stopping with the bat out over the plate.  Let the bat drop.  If they are set up right, the bat should cover the plate plus the 1-2".  

If it covers more than that, they are too close.  If less, too far away.

Adjust accordingly until there is complete plate coverage.

Once that is established, with younger players, it is a good idea to keep checking on it, as they will often set up in a different location as often as every pitch.

Many MLB hitters still use that method as part of their pre-pitch routine, even though there is no actual need for it, other than comfort.  One that comes to mind is Luis Gonzalez.

It sounds like your daughter is hitting the ball well.  Without seeing her swing, it is hard to tell about the power situation.

Hitting power, whether for softball or baseball, comes from the ground up.  The more you can turn your hips without turning your shoulders, the more power you generate.  Feet first, hands last.

On my website, www.theoleballgame.com, I have a number of pages on hitting, as well as other topics.  You may find something there that you can use.

Good luck as you go forward.  If you have additional questions, please let me know.

Yours in baseball/softball,

Rick