The Coach's Corner/ Three Vitals Elements of Hitting

1. SEE THE BALL

This might seem obvious as there are no blind players in the Major Leagues.

(They all go into umpiring). But as the ball travels from the pitcher to the plate

in approximately .4 of a second and the hitter must determine the speed, spin

and location and whether to swing in approximately .2 seconds, the sooner he

can pick up the ball the better. When hitters are hitting well they speak of “seeing

the ball well” and when they are slumping they are not “seeing the ball well”. What

is the difference? Those that are “seeing it well” are picking it up right off the pitchers

fingertips. Those that are not, have not narrowed their focus from including the outfielders,

the birds in the trees behind the fence or even the moon. By the time they pick up the ball

it may have traveled 3 feet and they have lost precious hundredths of a second in the

critical decision making process

2.KEEP YOUR WEIGHT BACK

Hitting is timing and pitching is destroying timing. If the pitcher can get a hitter out on his

front foot, he can own him with off speed stuff. The longer the hitter can keep his weight

coiled on his back side the longer he gets to see the ball before making the critical

swing/take decision.

3.YOU ARE NO BETTER HITTER THAN THE PITCH AT WHICH YOU CHOSE TO SWING

I have previously written a TIPS FROM THE COACH concerning the importance of selectivity

when hitting. It is archived at http://www.tipsfromthecoach.com/tip.php?item=9 . Suffice it to say

that even on pitches in the strike zone, the hitters will have a higher percentage of success on a

fastball down the middle than a breaking ball on the black. He should be selective and swing only

at those pitches with which he can expect a high degree of success early in the count and lay off

those strikes that he can not expect to have great success until later in the count. How often do you

hear a slumping hitter complain of “just not getting any good pitches to hit”, after swinging and making

an out on a first pitch breaking ball on the black. He never gave the pitcher a chance to make a mistake.

He got himself out by his inability to see the ball off the pitchers fingers, costing him valuable decision

making time, then he committed his weight onto his front foot and swung weakly at an off speed pitch

out of his “hitting zone”

It all sounds so simple. But these three elements are the crux of the on going struggle hitters face.

Yours in Baseball

THE COACH

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