from Amazon
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Kelly Johnson’s approach to hitting
An interesting observation, that when the chips are down, the pitcher will go with what he’s good at:
DL: When you’re studying video, do you pay particular attention to how a pitcher attacks hitters who are similar to you?
KJ: Oh, yeah, although I look at all lefties. And I always check with guys in scoring position, because a lot of times that will tell you what a pitcher wants to throw, and what he feels comfortable throwing.
There are of course reasons that the pitcher will do that beyond that this is what he’s most comfortable with (runner on 3B, less than 2 outs, pitcher will pitch for a K, and batter will swing to avoid K). In any case, good idea to see a pitcher’s repertoire by the 24 base-out states.