How To Become A Consistent Hitter?

Visits: 0

Every hitter is looking to be more consistent…..

….and they should be, as it’s the way they are going to play well and stay in the line up.

But…..

When we discuss what this looks like, there is a breakdown in clarity and understanding.

At AMBA that is where we start with every hitter…..

• Clarity –  why, what, when, where of whatever you want to introduce to the hitter
• Understanding – ‘How to’ do whatever is introduced to the hitter

In a time where hitters have access to so much information…..

……they know and hear a lot of things but they don’t understand how it helps them become a better hitter on game day.

Let’s look at the process of becoming a consistent hitter:

• Read the Pitcher
• See the Baseball
• Timing
• Pitch Selection
• Swing

Being a good hitter is much more than having an optimal swing. The swing is important….

….but your ability as a hitter to:

• read the pitcher
• see the baseball
• be on time
• swing at the right pitch

……will improve your swing.

To further understand this, let’s break each part of this process down and you can see what it’s going to take.

Reading The Pitcher

 

I broke this down in the #1 Reason Why Hitter’s Struggle blog post. Check it out to read more.

This process is about reading what pitchers are doing:

• Setup
• Delivery
• Tempo
• Arm Slot
• Pitches

As you start seeing the game this way, you’ll identify cues and get a feel for what the pitcher is trying to do to you.

Trust me, when you know what the pitcher is doing and how he is approaching you, it is a lot easier to hit. So, this needs to be the main part of your ability to be consistent.

See The Baseball

In sports it’s called ‘being in the zone’, in baseball it’s ‘seeing the baseball’ well. Hitters must make this a priority…… to see the ball early, long, and deep.

There is tremendous benefit to seeing the ball early, long, and deep:

• Early – hitters are able to recognize pitch cues and direction out of the hand
• Long – seeing spin and velocity is information hitters can gather by seeing it longer
• Deeper – hitters seeing the ball deep allows them to see pitch movements

Again, this has to be a priority and it’s going to take time to master this skill, but it will pay off and allow you to prolong your baseball career…..

Hitting is all about the pitches you swing at and the pitches you take. Amateur hitters swing too much…..

…… meaning, they expand their zone and it causes them to chase pitches and get themselves out.

When it comes to being consistent as a hitter, we have to be consistent at seeing the baseball…..

….again, baseball is a decision making process. Give yourself a chance.

Timing

As we continue to talk about how to become a consistent hitter, we have to be consistent with our timing.

There are layers to timing that most hitters lack awareness of and therefore are on a never ending quest to be on-time.

The timing pieces are:

• Trigger – when the pitcher breaks his hands, hitters start their gathering process.
• See Ball – when the pitcher’s foot lands, our visual strategy should have got  our eyes to the release window.
• Stride – as the ball approaches the hitter, the hitter will take a slow and controlled forward move towards the baseball.
• Foot Down – the foot will be down anywhere between 12-20 feet in front of home plate.
• Swing – when the front foot gets down is dependent upon how quick the hitter’s swing is. The quicker his hands, the deeper he can see the ball…..therefore the better decisions he makes.

At AMBA, we work on the timing process in everything we do, as it allows hitter to:

• slow themselves down
• get in rhythm
• put off one’s most instinctive swing.

As you look at that process, recognize that it’s the pitcher and then the baseball that requires focus.

Hitter’s timing issues are not his swing…… address the areas above before you adjust your swing.

Pitch Selection

 

When the pitching gets good, the hitter must develop discipline.

Meaning: swinging at pitches or locations they are looking for and taking what they aren’t.

The best hitters are good because of the pitches they take, not the pitches they swing at.

How hitters develop this starts with being able to read the pitcher and see the baseball. Trusting his eyes and what he is seeing is real.

Most hitters do not trust what they are seeing, but that’s because they are looking for everything. They do not have a plan/approach  to help with what they are looking for.

Swing

There are so many different ways to swing a baseball bat, but what we see a lot is the hitter losing their rhythm.

A hitter’s swing must be instinctive if a hitter is going to show up and place his focus on the pitcher and baseball.

If the hitter is focused on his mechanics he will lose his thoughts and focus on the only thing that matters on game day….

…..THE PITCHER!

If hitters focus on being consistent in everything discussed in this article:

• Reading the Pitcher
• Seeing the Baseball
• Timing
• Pitch Selection

then their swing always gets better. Hitters have to understand that there is a disruption of something in this process that causes swing issues to happen.

So, they must focus on their approach first…. not the industry default of the swing.

Conclusion

 

I hope this article brings clarity and understanding as to what it takes to become a consistent hitter.

It seems like a lot but it isn’t. It is everything they are already doing, but now they are aware, therefore they can focus on certain skills that need more focus.

This process:

• Reading the Pitcher
• Seeing the Baseball
• Timing
• Pitch Selection

will make the hitter’s swing better!

Please focus, focus, focus on the process and the results will be there.