Hitting and getting on base is a difficult task at any level of baseball, but one high school player in Japan has an extremely unique approach at the plate clearly designed to frustrate and distract any pitcher he faces. And by all accounts, it worked.
In a viral video, the switch-hitter goes full gimmick, changing sides of the plate after every single pitch, whether it’s a strike or a ball. The video, posted by Jomboy Media, is an absolute must-watch.
High school player in Japan switches sides of the plate after every pitch pic.twitter.com/P2cvURqjWV
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 23, 2022
Switching sides of the plate isn’t the only thing that would make this hitter difficult to face. He also adjusts the height of his stance throughout the at-bat, fakes bunt attempts, jumps while the pitcher is in his windup, and seems to hang his arms over the plate.
It’s certainly an unconventional approach to hitting that would undoubtedly frustrate a pitcher, but to his credit, it appears to have worked! With the fifth pitch in the at-bat, the hitter drew a free base after being hit with the pitch.
It may not be flashy and pitchers may not like it, but at the end of the day, the player managed to get on base without even swinging the bat at five pitches. You have to tip the cap.
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