Switch Hitting – Yes or No?

Question:

When should a player start switch-hitting? What do you consider a good age to begin? How proficient should the hitter be from his strong side before he begins learning to switch-hit? Do you consider learning to switch-hit to be a big advantage for being recruited by college/pros? Just off the top of my head, it seems that many of the top hitters in the Majors are not switch hitters.

Answer:

My son and I started to work on switch hitting when he was about 10 years old, but he didn’t start switch hitting in games until he was 13. I wanted him to get a real feel for balance through his swing and develop more strength before I put him in a game situation. When he started switch hitting in games, he hit only left handed for the entire year (he’s a natural right handed hitter). This was the year he was going to go to the big field and I thought he might struggle somewhat switch hitting, but most kids struggle when moving up to the regulation size field anyway so I didn’t worry about it. He ended up having some success and has improved to the point to where he is a better hitter from the left side.

If you want your son to switch hit, you should have a reason for having him do so. Does he have some speed? If he has some speed, or potential to have speed, then there are some advantages to hitting from the left side. If he is going to be a power hitter with little speed, than I would say let him stay on one side. Most switch hitters are natural right handed hitters, there is a different advantage for left handed hitters. Most pitchers are right handed, hitting from the left side hitters will not have to deal with the offspeed pitch breaking away from them. Another big advantage to switch hitting is that players won’t be platooned if they are proficient from both sides of the plate.

If my son would have been a natural left handed hitter, I don’t believe I would have taught him to switch hit. But don’t hold me to that because I have a 2 year old and he hits off the tee lefty, I think because he watches his brother hit from the left side so much.

See the Ball!

Question:

My son struggled at the 16 year old JV level this season. The bottom line is he just doesn’t pick up the ball consistently. The zone he has the most problem with is that first zone, leaving the pitcher’s hand to the first 10-12 feet. He fights off a lot of pitches because they get on top of him, sees it too late. He can’t ever attack it out in front of the plate. When he sees it early and likes it, he most of the time jumps at it and gets out on his front foot, either topping the ball or getting under it. I have Harvey’s Vision Training, have used it a bit, he’s into his Legion Ball now for the summer and I want to help him NOW ! That’s where you come in, Dave. It’s not as easy as saying “See it coming out of the pitcher’s hand”. What now !!????

Answer:

The first action that needs to take place is that when his stride foot comes down, the hands have to go back. This will get him into a good position of power and allow him to see the ball. It sounds like he usually starts too late, and gets beat on balls, or he starts too early and all his weight comes forward. I would rather him start too early then too late, if he starts too late he will get beat on balls every time.

However, he can start as early as he wants if he gets into the position of power. Once he is in the position of power, don’t have him thinkn about seeing the ball out of the pitcher’s hand, have him only think about seeing the ball. If a hitter thinks about seeing the ball out of the hand he might follow the hand instead of the ball. Have him start early, and only think about seeing the ball. Good luck with the season.

3 Keys to Hitting Success

Once you do have your hitting fundamentally correct, to set yourself above your competition, not merely resting on your laurels and thinking that your current success will be enough, you need to concentrate on these three keys to success:

Work ethic
What is your work ethic like? Are you the first to come and the last to leave? If you are not doing more than your coach asks, it’s not enough.

Ability to make adjustments
Don’t wait 2 weeks to make an adjustment. Adjustments should be made game to game – at bat to at bat-pitch to pitch. I used Jordan’s at bats as an example. Learn to make the adjustments necessary to get you past your present difficulties. Believe me, the difficulties will come. The sooner you make the adjustment the shorter the duration and severity of the difficulty.

Not being afraid to fail
Sorry but I have to jump to another sport to illustrate this point. Tiger Woods will possibly go down in history as the greatest golfer ever. What did he do after he had so much success including winning the Masters at his young age, something no one had ever done before? He changed his swing. His critics thought he was crazy. Having had so much success, why would he change? We frequently hear the saying, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” I disagree. Just because it’s not broken, doesn’t mean you can’t make it better. Tiger obviously agrees. He wasn’t afraid to change – to make himself better. He wasn’t afraid to fail. The results speak for themselves. You will only improve when change takes place. You’ve heard me say this before, you either will get better or worse, you won’t stay the same.

Getting Ready for the Big Game

Sports giants are people willing to pay the price for excellence.  Brooks Robinson took 200 ground balls a day from the time he was 12 year old until the end of his career.

Nolan Ryan is legendary for his dedication to his conditioning and his personal work habits.  In addition to having strong work habits, it is important to note the fact that dedication and effort is channeled toward specific performance goals.  On a day to day basis, the great athletes work on the things that are necessary to achieve their outcome goals.

Some may regard the hard work involved in developing the principles outlined in this book as a huge sacrifice, but a highly committed player doesn’t look at it as a sacrifice, but rather as a choice that involves sacrifice.  As a player, you need to decide what price you are willing to pay to become the best that you are capable of becoming- on and off the field.

How to Hit with Leverage

Question:

When I transfer my weight back at the beginning of my swing, my back leg seems to bend a lot (almost want to collapse). Is this because too much weight is going back, or my leg is not strong enough, or what?

Answer:

I am assuming the way you found out that your back leg was collapsing was by watching video of your swings. If not, then make sure to have someone record you swinging in batting practice, doing side toss, and in games. The reason you should look at these different stages is because you may be swinging too hard. Perhaps you are too far back on your leg, but usually a hitter’s back leg collapses when they are trying to hit the ball too far and hard. So make sure to see those three different shots, because if you are swinging too hard in the games, you probably are easier in your side toss drills when you are relaxed. This would just tell you whether you have an effort level problem, or a mechanical problem. If it is effort level, then you might just need to relax, and not try to do too much with the ball. And if it is mechanical, then you probably should take a little weight off the back leg when you start your swing. Hope everything goes well.

Hitting with the Proper Stance

As you look around the baseball and softball world, you will see all types of different stances.  From Little League to the Major Leagues the stances will vary.  As a young player it is good to initially experiment with different types of stances. I’ve heard Ted Williams says that he would see a new player come into the league and like something this player was doing with his stance and he would try it.  He always went back to what he was comfortable with buy he wasn’t afraid to try something new.

You shouldn’t be afraid to try new things, but at the same time you should not be changing your stance everyday.  Find a stance that is comfortable and workable and stick with it.  When something is no longer working for you, make and adjustment!

Proper Swing Path

It is very important to take a proper and consistent angle to the ball, the lower half of your body is what allows you to take this angle.  If the feet and hips are not working correctly, the hands and arms will not be able to take the correct path to the ball.  Also mentally the hitter must not be thinking home run or have these types of thoughts in his mind.  These thought will throw off the proper swing rhythm and sequence of the swing.  The approach must be fundamentally sound from the ground up or somewhere along the line you will reach your ceiling and improvement will stop.  This is why it is so vital that these mechanics are learned as soon as possible, the more time that lapses, the more difficult it becomes to overcome.

A Long Swing can be the result of:

• Using too heavy a bat
• Having used an aluminum bat which has such a large sweet spot that gives the appearance of a good swing which can be deceptive until you face good pitching
• Trying to hit the ball too far and over swinging