A major obstacle some young hitters find themselves facing is the fear of being hit by the ball.  Young hitters are not alone in this area.  Many older, more advanced hitters sometimes find themselves in situations where they too, have developed an extreme fear of the ball.  When a pitcher can instill fear into a hitter’s mind, he has defeated that hitter.

If you, the hitter, have a fear of being hit by the pitch, you are not concentrating on the job at hand- seeing the ball.  This doesn’t have to be the case, however, there are steps you can take to help you eliminate this fear:

• Learn how to track the ball.
• On pitches above your waist, turn your shoulder and head back towards the catcher.
• Get the bat head down to the ground to avoid fould balls.
• Practice this with tennis balls in your drill and practice times.
• Have someone throw the tennis balls high and inside. Learn the technique of turning the proper way.

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.

My 11 year old son hits much better in the more competitive AAU than in LL. In AAU, he really drives the ball. Line drive extra base hits. His mechanics are good. quick hands, uses legs, stays down on the ball. In LL, he doesn’t use his legs, swings at bad pitches, doesn’t drive the ball. I know its a mental thing. He says he is tense. I think its a holdover from last year. His first year in LL majors, he did not hit well then either. (partly because he got hit on the elbow.) He works really hard, takes extra BP. But this is primarily mental. How can I help him overcome this psychological barrier.

Answer:

It’s true when people say that this game is more mental then physical. You talked about him taking extra batting practice, which is very good, however how muck time is he spending creating good mental habits. As much time as he spends in the cage he should spend visualising himself having success. Let him go over mentally all the success he has had in his AAU league. Have him go up to the plate with nothing on his mind except him knowing that he going to have success in that at bat. With this attitude he will always dominate.

The HEAD GAMES methodology is exceedingly simple and fun to use.  This simplicity is an absolute requirement if an athlete aspires to attain the “seventh heaven” of Baseball Excellence.  If there are those who desire or have tried complex theories, which are doomed to failure, I recommend that they  get on board with hundreds of athletes who have discovered the awesome power of HEAD GAMES.  Accolades, testimonials & endorsements continue to pour in from across the world.  The success of HEAD GAMES has been and continues to be unprecedented and unparalleled. Ladies & Gentlemen, start your powerful “mental engines” by choosing the holistic philosophy of HEAD GAMES, and begin to enjoy life and success on and off the field.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -Walter Herbison - He consulted with Mississippi State Baseball from 1988-1992, the Atlanta Braves in 1990, LSU in 1991 and 2000, the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs organizations and many other amateur and professional teams. Nationally, he has consulted with many players individually — from youth leagues to Major Leagues.

Individual examples: Several players who exemplify this philosophy in action are: Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds, Jim Thome, Bernie Williams, Manny Ramirez, and Eric Chavez; the list goes on and on.  Recognize the fact that these hitters are also among the top ten in base on balls.  Look at this list of hitters and ask yourself if you think they go up to the plate looking for a walk… of course not.  The walk is a by-product of having a good strike zone and not giving in to the pitcher by swinging at his pitch.  Unfortunately, most littler league and high school coaches think walks show a lack of aggressiveness.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is not that any of these individuals (or teams, for that matter) are not aggressive; these are some of the most aggressive hitters in the league but also the most disciplined.

Hitters that consistently swing and make outs early in the count are actually fearful hitters.  They fear striking out.  They’ll hit the first thing close that they see.  Contrast this to the confident hitters who do not fear getting deep in the count and making the pitcher work.  This philosophy gives you the best of both worlds, that is, if you’re disciplined enough and mentally tough enough to use it.

I recently read in Mike Schmidt’s book that his favorite drill for hitters is “pepper”. What are your thoughts on playing “pepper” as a way to develop the hands, bat control, etc.?

Answer:

Pepper will develop bat control if played the correct way. Use no more than three fielders and one hitter at a time. Have the hitter hit one hoppers to each fielder, do not allow them to use more than one ball. If the hitter hits the ball past the fielder the hitter must go get the ball. This is an incentive for the hitter to have good bat control. Of course if the fielder makes the error he must retrieve the ball.

As they become proficient at the short pepper move two of the fielders back to about twenty yards and have one of the fielders throw to the hitter at the regular short distance, the hitter must now hit long pepper to each of the fielders. This helps them to develop bat control along with the proper bat angle. We have our hitters play pepper on a daily basis.

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!

My daughter’s batting average increased from .423 in the first 10 games of the season to .580 in the last 10 games. Everyone has taken notice of how well she is hitting the ball. She is in post season play now and continuing to work hard.  My question is that she seems to tend to rotate her hands too quickly (too close to impact) on occasion (perhaps when she’s trying too hard), hitting the top of the ball, resulting in bouncy ground balls. Does this seem to be a likely reason for bouncy ground balls? How do we correct this?

Answer:

Good job with your daughter, it sounds like she is doing great.   As you know you don’t want the hands to roll over until well after contact. That being said, be sure your daughter is staying inside the ball and she is not casting her top had too soon.

The answer may also be in a lack of strength at this time. Work on staying inside the ball and not rolling the top hand, but this habit may eliminate itself with swing strength.  I would have her do fence drills and one-handed drills if she is strong enough to do so. Concentrating on not rolling the top hand too soon. Another drill you can do is a top hand release drill. Have her swing the bat and after contact and before she rolls her top hand have her release her top hand, keeping her top hand palm up, do not allow the top hand to roll over at all. This will help her to feel the top hand palm up, have her perform this drill off of the tee or in soft toss. It will feel a little strange, and this is only a drill, have her take her regular swing in the game, not thinking about any of these drills.