Get To It, Get Through It
Lots of good hitting instructors teach, “Short to the ball, long through it.” That is a sound theory. However, that quote needs explanation to the baseball novice. As a hitter, you want to be as quick as you can to contact, and then follow through fully to maximize power.
Hitting Slumps - Pitch Selection
We talked the other day about timing. If your timing is off in your approach, your consistent hard contact will suffer. Coaches will say a lot of things to help hitters get out of slumps. “Swing at the first pitch,” “Don’t let yourself get to two strikes,” “Be aggressive,” “Take until you get a strike, see some pitches.” What does all this stuff mean to a hitter? The bottom line, your hitter may be swinging at bad pitches or letting good pitches go by. Once you get into your season and you feel your timing is good, pitch selection is the now the key.
What Gets You In A Slump - Timing
You have waited all winter for Opening Day. It has now come and gone and you are 4-5 games into your season, and hitless. What was childlike anticipation has turned to frustration. If I have said it once, I have said it a thousand times, there is a reason major league spring training lasts 6 weeks. It takes hitters that long to get adjusted to the pitching.
Baseball Thinking 101 - Fielding
Instinct is when anticipation meets opportunity. If you can anticipate the play before it occurs, your chance of being successful greatly increase. What exactly does this mean? Think ahead. Plays happen fast and knowing the situation ahead of time will allow you to execute the proper play.
Baseball Lessons From the Super Bowl
Close games are nearly always won or lost on a few key plays that change the game or the momentum. Last night’s game was no exception.
Two key plays triggered the outcome. The catch by Manningham and the drop by Welker. While the catch was a great play by both quarterback and receiver, the drop by Welker allowed the Giants to get the ball back in order to make that play. It would have been a great catch as well by Welker, one he has made a thousand times, just couldn’t come up with it.
Hitting Approach
I’m sitting here watching the Braves play the Giants in game 2 of their best of five series and something huge comes to mind... how to think as a hitter. It is the bottom of the first inning with two men on, Pat Burrell comes to bat. Braves starter Tommy Hanson has just walked Buster Posey on 4 pitches. Quick, if you are Pat Burrell, what are you thinking as you are walking to the plate?
Staying Within Yourself
As the baseball playoffs begin, it is a great time to watch and see what the best hitters in the game do. You will not be able to see the preparation they do before the game and in the clubhouse, but you will see each at-bat. The best hitters know the type of hitters they are. They know which pitches they handle best, study pitcher’s tendencies, and wait for their pitch. They go up to the plate with a plan and execute it.
Hitters Checklist
Hitting Skills Checklist
The All-Star Game
As we approach the mid-summer classic, a few words to the wise: watch and learn. The games best hitters will be taking center stage and the fundamentals that got them there will be on display for all to see, for free, especially the home run hitting contest. Their mechanics are impeccable. Don’t watch the pitch or how far the ball goes, watch what they do. How do they stride? What do their hands do? Watch their hip drive. Watch their follow through. How is their balance? The broadcasting network does a phenomenal job of showing some slow motion video that really allows you to see what makes them successful. Can or does your swing compare?
When I watch mlb games or highlights, I watch the hitters; I don’t focus on the hit itself. I want to see what they do that makes them great hitters. That is what makes a student of the game, someone who really wants to learn. If I’m not doing what they are doing, I need and want to learn how.
I was watching an old rerun of the 1976 All Star game today and saw something amazing. Al Oliver was up and hit a chopper to the first baseman. He busted down the line and almost beat it out. His helmet flew off he was running so hard. I had to rewind to make sure I saw it correctly. A player actually trying to beat out an infield chopper to the first baseman in an All Star game that back then meant nothing? That is something that does not show up in the box score. Effort.
Another example was Mickey Rivers sliding into second base with his cleats up high to try and break up a double play. Not the cleanest play in the world, but effort nonetheless. It almost worked.
Gives you an idea of what it takes to make it to the big leagues and to be successful. If you want to learn and emulate from the best, do not miss this opportunity. Watch. Learn.
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Mid-Season Blahs
Here we are in the middle of the travel season and now you feel like you are wearing down when you should just be hitting your stride. Tired, slow, dragging, no energy, no bat speed, no fastball? There may be some reasons why.
First, school just ended a week or so ago. You were used to getting up at a certain time, eating at a certain time and going to bed at a certain time. Now you are staying up later, sleeping longer and maybe not eating as exactly as you were before. Your internal clock is a little mixed up and your body is telling you so.