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Hitting

KEEP IT STILL

Ever wonder why certain players just always seem to hit the ball with authority all the time? It seems as though in every at bat, the ball is jumping off their bat. A lot of it lies in the first part of hitting – to keep your head still.

Ted Williams always said to heap your head still when hitting. Tony Gwynn too. Watch video of Barry Bonds or Albert Pujols whenever you get the chance. They are masters at it.

Let’s not discount that there are other parts of the swing as well, but consider this common sense example…

If you are standing still and a car drives past you, you might say it was going fast.

However, if you were in a car yourself traveling one way and another car was in the other lane traveling the opposite way, you would notice that everything looks even faster. So how does that relate to baseball? Well, when the ball is being delivered toward home plate, if your head is moving forward, it’s a pretty safe bet to assume your chances of making good contact go down.

Therefore keep your head still. The more still it is throughout the swing, the better hitter you will be.

THE STRIKE ZONE (PART 1)

Understanding the strike zone is not enough. The majority of us expect so much of our players in terms of them knowing “what is a strike” and “what is not.” It’s easy right? Anything that crosses the plate is a strike from the knees to the letters. If it doesn’t, it’s a ball and no swing is required.

The truth is that there are so many more variables to this question. The real question that should be asked is, what is that particular players strike zone? What can they hit and not hit? What can they hit and what can they hit well? What can they hit well and what can they absolutely crush? Knowing this can allow growth to soar in terms of hitting.