In Baseball, What Does Plate Coverage Mean?

Question

I know it has something to do with hitting, but what does it mean, exactly. What are the benefits of good plate coverage? How do you get it?

Answer 1

Plate coverage has to do with the volume of space a batter can cover (in three dimensions) relative to home plate - otherwise known as the "strike zone" (I'll describe the strike zone later.) To define plate coverage we need to understand a number of concepts so, please read until the end. Most batters plant their feet in the batters box (the legal area in which a batter may stand during their plate appearance) in a location where a "normal" swing will allow them to make solid contact with a pitch crossing home plate anywhere from the near side edge (edge of plate closest to the batters toes) to the far side edge of home plate. Batters may also move forward (towards the pitcher) or backwards (towards the umpire) in the batters box. Some batters always place their feet in the same exact spot in the batters box while others will move forward or backwards and toward or away from the plate as a matter of strategy. The batter may ask themselves what style of pitcher is on the mound and, what assortment of pitches the catcher has called-for against them in the past. The education and skill of the batter will determine to what extent they take advantage of the amount of space available to them in the batters box. For instance, a slugger who pulls the ball (by choice or, due to their natural limitations) is more likely to take the same position in the box at all times and simply look for one particular type of pitch to "drive" (to hit which much force, to the furthest reaches of the ball park.) Batters who hit for average are likely to be more versatile and may employ more complicated strategies depending on their skills. A talented "inside-out" hitter may position their feet in the box at a certain depth (closer/further from the pitcher) and distance from the plate in order to tempt the catcher to call for a pitch on the inside part of the plate (the side of the plate closest to the batter.) The catcher may see the batter standing close to the plate and think an inside pitch (one which "runs in" moving closer to the batters hands as it approaches home plate) will "jam" the batter, resulting in a weakly hit ball. This could be playing into the hands of a strong inside-out hitter, like Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, who, with his talent and refined skills, may hit the normally difficult-to-handle pitch into right-center field, potentially for extra bases. You often hear "inside out" in reference to tennis - but it can be a very effective swing for talented and well trained baseball players. The third dimension of plate coverage is up and down - from the top of the knee caps to the lettering across a ball players chest ... at least that's how the strike zone is defined in the rule book. In reality umpires enforce a strike zone from the bottom of the knee to somewhere above the belt - in most cases. A batter may position their feet in the batters box depending on whether the pitcher throws the majority of their balls high in the strike zone or low in the strike zone and, whether the pitcher has wide sweeping curveballs or tall, deep-tumbling curve balls, or no breaking pitches what-so-ever in their arsenal of pitches. If a hitter does not hit low balls well they may move forward in the batters box in an attempt to make contact with a pitch before it has "fallen off the table" (completely broke.) Some batter like to swing at the high fastball and will set up further back in the batters box in order to give them as much time as possible to "catch up" with the high velocity pitch. This may lead you to ask if a knee high fastball, belt high fastball or letters high fastball is harder to hit. In reality, one isn't faster than the other, but due to the human body mechanics (the human range of motion) and a batters plane of site - the high fastball is perceived as the "faster" pitch - even if it is not measured so by the radar gun. You hear about high ball and low ball hitters - but you rarely hear about players who hit both well -- Vladimir Guerrero would be a notable exception. Guerrero has supreme plate coverage; he has the natural talent to hit a pitch well, of any velocity, not only anywhere in the strike zone, but often significantly outside the strike zone. So - back to "plate coverage" - it is simply how much area a batter can cover with their bat, in three dimensions, from the spot they plant their feet in the batters box. Good plate coverage means they can hit a ball solidly anywhere in the strike zone. Plate coverage is more important for the novice baseball player who needs to concentrate on their mechanics. Professional ball players may purposely set up knowing they can only cover a certain portion of the plate early in the count. This allows them to look for a particular pitch and be in the best position to hit it well. If the batter gets their second strike they may shift their position in order to cover the entire strike zone – but sometimes they won’t, gambling the pitcher will not be able to throw a pitch in the very small amount of strike zone outside the batter range of plate coverage.
The second person to answer you is correct about approach to improve your plate coverage.

Answer 2

How much area around home plate a batter can cover with his bat. Some hitters can`t get the bat around fast enough on an inside pitch, so don`t cover the inside well. Most batters have some weakness in their swings, so plate coverage isn`t perfect. Some will chase a high fastball out of the strikezone. The best way I can think of to better your plate coverage, is to know the strike zone, and work on your swing.

Answer 3

By standing close enough to plate to be able to hit outside pitch, while still being able to hit inside pitch.