Learn How to See the Ball

So when does hitter first see the baseball? Where does hitter look for a Pitchers Release Point? How does hitter track and recognize FB/CB/CH? How many times does hitter actually see the 95+ FB? At release, at half way, at 30 feet?

Release point: that place by his body where the pitcher first exposes the ball as his hand moves forward to throw.. You identify it watching the pitcher as he warms up and/or pitches. See it better if you align your stance with it (not with the plate) – Remember, it can differ fron righty to lefty, overhand to buggywhip releases, and end positions on the rubber. Release points can vary by the width of the Rubber plus two armlengths, from rightys to leftys.

Visual Pickup: as he exposes the ball with the forward motion to release, pick up the white of the ball and follow it in, and that flash of white becomes the ball.

You’ll pick it up and follow it better and longer if your stride and motions are smooth. To check & drill for smoothness: pick a speck on the wall (release point), set up your stance with it, stride to it, see how steady the spot remains through the stride and early upperbody moves. If the spot doesn’t remain steady into the latter, you’ve got analyzing and work to do.

You can track the 95mph pitch unbroken, to well within 10 feet. (Ask a catcher)

Pitch recognition: different folks do it different ways. Most pick up seam/spin pattern as an early warning sign to react to. But it demands an early and clean visual pickup.

I believe that in a clean early visual pickup and good followup, you’re focused so well on the ball that you don’t sense the background, and all you see is ball. But if the pickup etc aren’t right, you’re forced to separate the ball from the background, you see it all, so the ball looks smaller..

How to Hit the Curveball

All Major League hitters can hit a fastball, only the best big league hitters have a solid plan to hit the curveball.  No one can hit the great curveball, even the curveball low and away, the hall of fame pitcher’s pitch.  Even the best hitters don’t swing at that pitch until they get two strikes.

So why would I be crazy enough to try to teach you to hit a curveball if it was an un-hittable pitch?  The answer is simple.  The best pitchers in the baseball can not throw their off-speed pitch in a great location for a strike consistently.  Therefore, there is good news.  You don’t have to hit the un-hittable curveball.  Your job is to be prepared and in a good position to hit the pitcher’s mistakes and take advantage of his weaknesses.

The secret to hitting the curveball is:

• Preparation
• Knowing the different types of off-speed pitches
• Being familiar with same side/opposite side pitching
• Studying the pitcher’s habits
• Practicing curveball drills

Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect, Perfect Practice Makes Perfect

Winners are made in practice.  Everyone says, “You have to practice like you play,” but very few know what that really means, and even fewer do it.  Practicing like you play is quality practice, and it takes mental toughness to practice with that knid of intensity and desire.  Watching Greg Maddox and Roger Clemens practice their pitching between starts, you can see their intensity and concentration.  When they throw a bad pitch, they do not have the attitude, “It’s okay; it’s only practice.” Instead, Maddox and Clemens both respond like they do in a game; they get upset.  When they do not execute a pitch the way they want to in a game, they adjust, refocus, and get it right.  This is also exactly how they behave when they practice.

In practice, you should push yourself to do it right, again and again.  You pust pressure on yourself to be consistent, because that is what it takes to be great.  You cannot hit one or two balls hard out of 10 swings and call yourself successful.  Great players are able to repeat their mechanics and approach consistently, day in and day out.  You do not make the Hall of Fame in any sport by having one great year.  You are a Hall of Famer by performing at a high level for many years.  Consistency starts with good practice habits.

Keeping the Front Side Closed During the Swing

Many well-meaning coaches give poor coaching advice.  For example, when a coach tells a hitter that he or she needs quicker hips, but does not explain the correct movement of the hips, this will lead to:

• A front side that pulls out too early or hips that might slide forward.
• The hitter pulling off the ball too soon; the hitter not staying square to the plate.
• The feet being late getting into the proper position which is very important when talking about having a consistent approach.

Sliding hips come from pushing off the back foot which can lead to a tilt in the hips and shoulders.  This in turn can cause a poor angle on the swing.

Where to Put Your Hands and Arms

Let’s examine the correct placement for the hands and arms.  This varies from player to player, yet despite these variances, there is success with each.  If you look at Craig Counsell, he holds his bat up over his head with the barrel of the bat pointing to the pitcher. His stance looks very uncomfortable.

Contrast this with Eric Davis who holds his bat down close to his belt buckle.  There is an important fact to know here.  No matter where these guys stand, or how their arms are in the stance, after they take their stride, all good hitters come to the same point with their hands.  That point is right around the shoulders which is about the top of the strike zone, on top of or behind the back foot.  It is not where you start, but where you finish that matters.

Learn How to See the Ball at the Right Time

So when does hitter first see the baseball? Where does hitter look for a Pitchers Release Point? How does hitter track and recognize FB/CB/CH? How many times does hitter actually see the 95+ FB? At release, at half way, at 30 feet?

Release point: that place by his body where the pitcher first exposes the ball as his hand moves forward to throw.. You identify it watching the pitcher as he warms up and/or pitches. See it better if you align your stance with it (not with the plate) – Remember, it can differ fron righty to lefty, overhand to buggywhip releases, and end positions on the rubber. Release points can vary by the width of the Rubber plus two armlengths, from rightys to leftys.

Visual Pickup: as he exposes the ball with the forward motion to release, pick up the white of the ball and follow it in, and that flash of white becomes the ball.

You’ll pick it up and follow it better and longer if your stride and motions are smooth. To check & drill for smoothness: pick a speck on the wall (release point), set up your stance with it, stride to it, see how steady the spot remains through the stride and early upperbody moves. If the spot doesn’t remain steady into the latter, you’ve got analyzing and work to do.

You can track the 95mph pitch unbroken, to well within 10 feet. (Ask a catcher)

Pitch recognition: different folks do it different ways. Most pick up seam/spin pattern as an early warning sign to react to. But it demands an early and clean visual pickup.

I believe that in a clean early visual pickup and good followup, you’re focused so well on the ball that you don’t sense the background, and all you see is ball. But if the pickup etc aren’t right, you’re forced to separate the ball from the background, you see it all, so the ball looks smaller.

Stop Striding to Where the Ball is Pitched!

Many coaches mistakenly tell their players to stride to where the ball is pitched.  This is not good advice.  In order to be consistent with your approach, you need to stride to the same spot every time.  If your timing is going to be correct, your stride food will be down by the time the ball is halfway to home plate.

This must happen in order to execute the proper swing.  If you follow poor advice and stride to where the ball is, you will be limiting yourself to that one area and you won’t be able to make adjustments.

Keep your stride short

The Stride should be no longer than 8 inches.  If your stride is too long:

• Your weight is going to go too far forward.
• Your hands will come forward prematurely
• Your head will have too much movement
• All of these will make it difficult for you to see the ball clearly, and your bat speed and power will be greatly diminished.

Taking The Right Approach to the Ball

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 proper path to the ball.

Also, mentally the hitter must not be thinking home run or have these types of thoughts in his mind.  These thoughts 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.

Hitting with Proper Extension

The follow through should be a personal preference.  While many hitters feel like they have a better swing with a two handed finish; other feel the one handed finish works best for them.  Some hitters use both methods depending on where the pitch is.  For example, many hitter finish with two hands on the inside pitch while releasing their top hand on the ball away, this allows them to stay through the ball better.

All good hitters stay through the ball and keep their head down past contact.  Some hitters, though not all, have problems keeping their head down past contact.  It seems that their back shoulder forces their head off of the ball too soon when they finish their swing with two hands.

There are many hitters that do not work on their follow through and therefore are not consistent with the final aspect of their swing.  In order to be consistent, work to perfect your finish.  Many times solely working on the follow through will still not completely eliminate the problem because problems with a hitter’s follow through occur early in the sequence of the swing.

Proper Hydration

As listed in our nutritional absolutes water is one of the most important nutrients in your diet. All athletes should drink adequate amounts of water for optimal performance. Without enough water, not only are you not able to work at your top performance but it could even cause dehydration.  Dehydration is can be very serious. During physical activity your body temperature increases. As your temperature increases, you body compensates by sweating. This sweating evaporates and then cools your body down. If you are not replacing the fluids that are lost in sweat, your body may become dehydrated. Once you become dehydrated your can no longer sweat. This is very dangerous. Some symptoms of dehydration include:

•    Increased body temperature
•    Heat cramps
•    Chills, nausea, and clammy skin
•    Heat exhaustion
•    Hallucinations

In order to prevent dehydration take these precautionary measures:
•    Drink plenty of water before during and after workouts
•    Increase your water intake in hot weather. Weigh yourself before and after exercise, for every pound lost drink 2 cups of fluid
•    Never rely on thirst alone to determine fluid intake

VITAMINS AND MINERALS
The last two items in the nutritional absolute list are vitamins and minerals. It is the consensus of the majority of nutritional experts that a person only needs a well balanced diet to meet all the nutritional requirements the body demands, I tend to disagree. Most kids simply don’t eat properly. Besides not eating properly the demands of the fast paced world in which we live further depletes our bodies of these vitamins and minerals. The answer to this problem is very simple, take a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement to offset any deficiencies you may have in your diet. By reading the labels on the bottle, you can easily determine your recommended daily allowance.

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