How to hit a change up
When hitting a change up the most important thing to do is recognizing the pitch. Recognizing the pitch is very hard to do because a good pitcher will disguise the pitch so that it looks like they are going to pitch full speed but then the ball is traveling in slow motion. A change up is probably the most effective and hardest pitch to hit because of the change of speed.
"Its so hard to hit this pitch because good pitchers disguise it so well," said Kellyn Perich. Whenever the batter realizes the ball is going to be a change up the next the batter has to wait on the ball. Since the pitcher will make it look like it's a fastball the batter will have already triggered, ready to hit the ball. That is why this pitch is so hard to hit. The batter opens their hips too early and lose all their power and causes the ball to either be popped up or a slow moving grounder. The batter should either try to make solid contact or at least foul it off so the batter get another pitch. "A change ups keeps the batter off balance," said Tara Konopka. It depends on the count, what type of pitcher or batter they are and what situation they are in when deciding if they are going to throw a change up. Sometimes pitchers will throw a first pitch change up to get ahead in the count. But batters shouldn’t swing unless they have two strikes because 90% of the time it will be a fly ball or an easy grounder. The batter will take the signal from the coach and get in the batter’s box the same way they would for any pitch because she has no idea that it is coming. "The way I coach, no one should swing at a first pitch change up or any change up unless they have two strikes," said Tony Konopka. "My change up is on of my "go-to" pitches so I usually use it to get ahead in the count," said Ally Bianchi. |