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.
How To Practice Swinging A Bat
We have talked several times about the bat path and its importance. It is one of the hardest parts of the swing to master because it is a reaction and hard to control. There a several moving parts that all need to be coordinated to optimize it. If one or more breaks down, the bat gets “offline” with the pitch and leads to inconsistent contact. It must be practiced over and over again to perfect.
Pre-Season Hitting - Timing
We have finally come to the tail end of our indoor training sessions. Hopefully our swings have been honed to perfection. Our focus now has to change from technique to timing. Use these next few weeks to prepare more for game situations. There is a reason major league spring training is 5-6 weeks long. It takes big leaguers that long to get their timing down.
The Hitting Position - The Hands
The hitting position is the moment your stride foot lands and you are about to swing the bat. This is one the most key positions in hitting. For major leaguers, regardless of how they set up in their stance, they are all within inches of the same position at stride landing. If the most successful hitters in the world do this, you have to say there is a reason for it. It puts their body in the best position to maximize both power and speed. For this blogpost, I will focus on the hands because young hitters tend to struggle with this the most.
Hitting Quick Fixes - Hand Positioning
The quickest fixes you can make are the ones you can control, and that starts in your stance. Lots of times kids get into bad habits just by where they start their hands. If their hands are too low, they may have a big uppercut swing. If they start too high, they may chop down too much. If you find your hitters struggling with consistent hard contact, watch their hand placement in their stance. The biggest adjustment here is the kids have to remember where to place their hands. They can control that, but they need to practice it.
Drills, Drills and More Drills
Drills are a great way to get the player to feel what you are trying to get them to feel. If done properly, they can benefit the players immensely. If done improperly, they are reinforcing bad habits.
“Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent.”
How To Choose A Baseball Bat
Lots of different factors can go into choosing the right size bat for your player. The most obvious ones being height and strength. Bat manufacturers today do a great job of combining both bat length and appropriate weight for each age level.