1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices for the training and improvement of the hitting capabilities of a baseball batter, and more specifically relates to a simplified apparatus affixed to the players ankles which limits his stride during baseball practice and/or training
2. Discussion of the Relevant Art
Well known coaches and power hitters actively engaged in the sport of baseball have over many years attempted to impart their technique and knowledge to other members of the team during training to increase their ability to hit a baseball. With the pitchers today throwing the ball at what is believed to be faster speeds and being able to provide movement of the ball in various directions, it is necessary for the batter to keep his eye on the ball, once it leaves the pitcher's hand, as it approaches him to be able to have the bat in his hand meet the ball with a maximum of force and direction so that the batter may improve and/or maintain a respectable batting average, hopefully, 0.300 or better. Well known baseball player and power hitter, Johnny Bench, in his book "Catching and Power Hitting", Copyrighted in 1975, at page 100, when discussing the techniques utilized by other renowned baseball players mentioned that players have different techniques. "Mel Ott put his front leg straight up as the pitch was coming in, then moved it forward to hit. Joe DiMaggio simply picked up his foot from an initially wide stance and set it back down again. Ott overstrided, DiMaggio understrided, but both got excellent results. The point is, both took some kind of stride to help their batting motion." Today when major league coaches are training their players to improve their hitting they are taught not to overstride and they recommend that the stride not be more than six to eight inches greater than their normal batting stance to prevent the player from pulling his shoulders away from the plate and moving his head, thus losing eye contact with the ball. In Pete Rose's book, Copyrighted, 1976, and entitled "Winning Baseball" he suggests at page 29, that the stride taken by a hitter should be "no more than six inches". Reggie Jackson in his book "Inside Hitting" Copyrighted in 1975, states that " A stride should never be more than eight to ten inches long". Above all, he suggests that a stride that is too long should be avoided because it starts too much body movement and there is a good possibility the hitter will lose sight of the ball.
In "Pitching and Hitting" by Nolan Ryan and Joe Torre, Copyrighted in 1975, at Page 123 the authors state "A lot of hitting problems develop because the length of the stride unbalances the hitter. An overstride is definitely a detriment to a hitter. You will never hit consistently if you overstride because the longer your stride the longer it is going to take for your bat to catch up with you. With the kind of pitching we have in the big leagues and pitchers with tremendous velocity like Nolan Ryan, it is impossible to hit well if you are overstriding because you tend to get out on your front foot, which means you are going to have to drag the bat into the ball. Then, even if you hit the ball with the fat of bat, the ball is going to be flat and lifeless. It will not go anywhere because you have already spent all your power by being out on that front foot." In "The Eye of Hitting 0.300" by Charlie Lau with Alfred Glossbrenner, Copyrighted in 1980 they state "The problem of how far to stride can be one of the more troubling questions in hitting, especially for baseball coaches. . . . You see, although the actual feet-and-inches distance of the stride is determined by the player's body type, generally speaking, a relatively short stride provides better balance, timing and control." Thus, over the years it is readily apparent that most strong hitters and coaches agree that controlling the length of the stride is critical and is one of the major factors in determining the consistent hitting ability of a batter.
In order to prevent batters from overstriding numerous techniques have been utilized one of which is set forth "The Complete Book of Baseball Instruction" by Dell Bethel, Copyright 1978 wherein during training a player is positioned on a table with a second player lying beneath the table and throwing a ball upwardly into view of the batter (hitter). If the batter were to overstride he would fall off the table. This is rather a drastic approach to take since the player could be injured if he fell off the table, however, it demonstrates some of the extremes taken by coaches in training their players to reduce their stride and thus, improve their batting averages.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a simple, portable, compact apparatus which baseball players may use during training and/or practice to limit their batting stride.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a simple apparatus that may be adjustable in size to fit or be readily modified to accommodate players having different stances and strides.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive apparatus which may be utilized by coaches to train their batters by limiting their stride.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an adjustable mechanism to limit the stride of batters during practice and/or training which is completely adjustable as far as stride and adaptability for attachment to a player.