from Amazon
Friday, May 27, 2011
Pitch recognition
Fascinating stuff, from our favorite saber-interviewer:
DL: What do you see when the ball comes out of the pitcher’s hand?
AG: I see rotation. I can pick up on what the pitch is as soon as the pitcher lets go of it. Most of what you see is innate. If you ask some of the great hitters, they won’t all say the same thing. Some just see balls. Some guys see speed out of the hand. I can’t recognize speed, but I can recognize rotation. Some guys can recognize speed but not rotation and some guys just see a ball and swing. They just let their abilities take over and that’s not something you can teach.
If he can’t recognize speed, then does that mean that Gonzalez has a harder time against a fastball-changeup pitcher, as opposed to a fastball-curveball pitcher?