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When you sit down and think about what it takes to be a good hitter…. you can overwhelm yourself with where to start. But it really is simple…. just not easy.
I hear it from hitters all the time…
- I want to be good
- I want to make the high school team
- I want get a college scholarship
- I want to improve the likelihood of getting scout attention
But, when I ask what they think they have to do to improve and become a good hitter…. they don’t know. How do you know what to work on, what to reflect on, and what to act on if you aren’t sure? It’s not their fault… no one has sat them down to understand what they need to do.
Now…. hitting comes down to the pitches you swing at and the pitches you take. That’s what you should be improving. If you are swinging at the same pitches at 15 that you were when you were 12, and are still consistently getting out ….you are not improving. If you are swinging at the same 0-2 curveball in the dirt at 15 that you were when you were 12, and still consistently getting out….you are not improving.
So how do we improve the pitches we swing at and the pitches we take?
? Read and study pitchers
? Practice hitting
? Don’t miss your pitch
? One extra walk and one extra hit a week
? Focus on the process
? Post Game evaluations
Read and Study Pitchers
Something hitters have a tendency to forget is that game day is about the opponent. It is the pitcher trying to get hitters off balance and off time. It’s the pitcher that creates hitting issues.
Every pitcher is different, they all have different:
? Body Compositions
? Setups
? Delivery
? Tempo
? Arm Slot
? Pitches
? Spin
And hitters tend to approach every pitcher the same. This is the problem. We have got to learn how to watch the pitcher and see what he is doing so we can have an individual plan for him. You will find patterns, habits and tendencies pitchers have with their delivery and pitches.
Then, as you continue to watch him, you will start seeing his:
? Situation tendencies
? Count tendencies
? Approach tendencies
This is what the best hitters in the world do….. they see the things each pitcher does, which is their advantage. When hitters start identifying cues, clues, and tips, as to how the pitchers approach them…. the confidence goes through the roof. It doesn’t take much for a hitter to feel like he has an advantage. Learning to read and study pitchers is an absolute must if you want to improve as a hitter.
Go on YouTube, and pull up videos on pitchers. Hitters do not watch pitchers enough…. watch pitchers…. they are all over YouTube. Read and study the pitcher and watch your hitting improve.
Practice Hitting
To improve as a hitter, you need to practice hitting. Not swinging, but hitting.
? Swing is physical
? Hitting is mental
If you are doing mindless work in the cages, mindless work is going to show up on game day. You cannot show up game day and all of the sudden have a mindset in which you will hit. At AMBA, all we do it take at bats. We hit, and I am able to take guys through situations and counts and really get deep into what they are thinking and…… how they are thinking. Our hitters love it and hate it.
? They hate it because its hard
? They love it because when they organize their thoughts better, they see growth.
They are able to better transfer what they are doing in the cages to the field…because we are focusing on how and what they are thinking. Too many focus on swinging…. on mechanics. Which is important, but if you want to improve as a hitter, then you need to hit. Practice hitting and watch your hitting improve.
Don’t Miss Your Pitch
Hitters will get their pitch most of the time, however, too many of them miss that pitch. It’s a frustrating scene…you get the exact pitch, at the exact speed and location you were looking for, and you either…
? swing and miss
? foul it off
Why do you think you would miss your pitch?
The most common things I hear are:
? I was in between on pitches
? I saw it and tried to do too much
? I didn’t have a plan for what pitch I was looking for
? It wasn’t the right situation or count
? The pitch, speed and location didn’t match what I though I saw among others things.
I have seen hitters take a 180, and have everyone asking, ‘where did this hitter come from?’…. by getting really good and going all in on their pitch and NOT missing it. Hitters eventually get to the point where missing that one pitch becomes an obsession… and it should be, because that would have changed the outcome of the current at bat. Learn to not miss your pitch and watch your hitting improve.
One Extra Hit and Walk a Week
Baseball seasons are long, and for us to keep things into perspective…we need to break the season down to weeks at a time. Our goal each week is to get an extra hit and an extra walk a week. How do we do this? We are evaluating the pitches we swing at and the pitches we are taking.
For example:
Let’s say you hit .250 last year. When you break it down, it was 5 for 20 each week. If you were to change that average by an extra hit and extra walk, you would then pull in…6 for 19, right? 6 is the one extra hit, and the walk would take away one plate appearance. 6 for 19 is a .315 hitter. That’s a 26% increase in batting average. Most hitters would kill to increase 26%. By evaluating the pitches that you are swinging at and taking, you can now have a plan to lay off pitches you are chasing…which is letting you be more disciplined and focused on what you are trying to do as a hitter. Get one extra hit and walk a week and watch your hitting improve.
Focus On The Process
Focusing on the process is something we hear about a lot, but what does this mean?
Too many hitters focus on:
? Fears
? Mechanics
? Getting a hit
? Getting over the last at bat
Which distract them from the very thing that they should be focusing on….which is to see the baseball really well. Once hitters are able to organize their pre-pitch thoughts, they are able…to turn their attention to what really matters. When you step in the box, the thoughts are done, and now it becomes visual.
Visual as in:
? See the trigger
? See the baseball
? See spin
? See movement
Hitters need to be present, and it’s very hard to do, so at AMBA we tell hitters that they need to focus on… talking to themselves, instead of listening to themselves. Because your mind will wonder and it will lead you to thinking the wrong things. Focus on the process and watch your hitting improve.
Post Game Evaluations
Want to grow as a hitter, evaluate your at bats. It’s amazing to me how many hitters do not take the time to reflect on their at bats… what they did wrong and watch they did well. How can one assess where they are at, or where they need to focus, if they are not evaluating their at bats.
The conversation about your at bats need to be about:
? the pitcher
? seeing the baseball
? timing
? pitch selection
? adjustments
This shed light on the pitches you are swinging at and the pitches you are taking. This also allows you to start looking at what you need to do during your next practice session. Spend time evaluating your at bats and watch your hitting improve.
Conclusion
These are the 6 things you need to focus on and implement into you hitting improvement plan. It all comes down to… the pitches you swing at and the pitches you take. You need to know and understand what pitches and what locations you are consistently getting outs. And learn to adjust in the batters box, let the pitch go, or jump all over your pitch. Lack of improvements is why hitters level out…hitters quit because they level out, not because they can’t play. You constantly need to be leveling up and doing advanced work.
