The Importance of the Two-Strike Approach

I was talking to a fellow coach the other day, and I told him there are three books that form the foundation of my coaching philosophy: the Bible, "The Mental Game of Baseball," by H.A. Dorfman, and "Moneyball," by Michael Lewis (author of "Blindside," by the way).

"Moneyball" is so profound on so many levels (and parents, you have to wade through Billy Beane's antics and language in the book, so approach with caution). It really challenged me to look at the game -- in particular offense and statistics -- in a fundamentally different way.

One of the principal ideas in "Moneyball" is how the Oakland A's approached offense. They consistently looked for their pitch; they were patient. When they got it, they attacked and they hit it hard. They wore out opposing pitching staffs by running up pitch counts. They utilized this philosophy in the early 2000's to notch back-to-back 100-win seasons with a shoestring budget and small payroll. I was intrigued. As we play so much in a tournament format, running up the opposition's pitch count seemed to be the baseball equivalent of a map to buried treasure.

So, we changed our approach around here after I read "Moneyball." One of the things that I initially adopted from the book, however, that I have since changed is the absence of a two-strike approach. The A's preached looking for one's pitch all the way through an AB, even on two strikes. The rationale was simple: It made more sense to take a borderline pitch than to weakly put it in play and have a MLB defense almost always make a play.

But high school defenses are different than MLB defenses (insert "duh."). And high school games have six fewer outs (at least). And high school umpires are different than MLB umpires, with wider and more variable strike zones. In short, it pays more on a lot of levels to put the ball in play with two strikes in high school than to take your chances on a borderline strike three call.

My opinion is that a lot of misjudgments about high school baseball are made because of the failure to differentiate between how the game is played at various levels. Certain plays, for instance, work great at the JH level. But in high school, things change. And they change more still as the competition gets tougher up the ladder.

We encourage all of our hitters to work a good two-strike approach. This involves both a mechanical adjustment (to enable them to cover the whole strike zone, plus 2-3 inches, with a quicker stroke) and a mental one (our pitch is now the strike zone, plus 2-3 inches). Also, we need a fighting mentality with two strikes. We are battling to win the AB.

Our approach is that we allow the hitters to determine their own particular mechanical adjustment. Some choke up, others shorten loads, step lighter, etc. It's an individual choice, from our perspective. But it is important that the hitter make some adjustment to be able to handle all pitches with two strikes, more than simply "his" pitches.

Clearly, a two-strike adjustment will help us win a lot of battles with pitchers and create more offense with two strikes. It also give a hitter another tool in the "toolbox" when he may be struggling. For instance, I have found that using the two-strike approach is a good way to make contact and get it going at the plate.

But it does something even more profound ... A good two-strike approach makes a hitter more confident in hunting his pitch earlier in the count. Why? Because he has no fear of going to two strikes. He knows he can/will have success there, too. So, the good two-strike approach at the back end of an AB makes a hitter better earlier in the count, as well.

It all works together.

"Bounce" & the Talent Myth

Two great, thought-provoking books that have really challenged my thinking are "Talent is Overrated" by Geoff Colvin and "Bounce" by Matthew Syed. Both approach the mystery of success and talent and reach a similar conclusion -- talent is, indeed, overrated.

Both books contain the evolutionary theories and beliefs of the authors but I would recommend you filter through this part and get to the larger (and I believe true and biblical) message -- that we are responsible for our actions and lives. With God's help and our obedience, our supposed limits are much less than we previously imagined.

Sure, there are elements of opportunity and also talent itself (certain folks are simply unsuited to be, say, an NBA center), but the larger point of the books remains. You are capable of much more than you realize, so get to it.

Here are some insights/quotes from "Bounce" that I found noteworthy:

Expertise (created through practice) leads to instinct.

The "child prodigy" myth is just that -- a myth. And yes, that includes Mozart, whose father was a master teacher and was working with Mozart at a very early age.

"Mere experience, if it is not matched by deep concentration, does not translate into excellence."

"Research across domains shows that it is only by working at what you can't do that you turn into the expert you want to become."

Making mistakes can lead to mastery if you are being stretched and learning in the process.

Training with superior players increases learning.

Why the smart get smarter and the good get better: " ... the very process of building knowledge transforms the hardware in which the knowledge is stored and operated."

A good practice is one that stretches your limitations each time.

Creative innovation also results from the rigors of purposeful practice.

Good practice also contains feedback that communicates what is going right/wrong.

Those who believe that intelligence/performance are transformed by practice have a growth mind-set. Those who labor under the talent myth stall and stagnate in the face of difficulties.

Michael Jordan: "Mental toughness and heart are a lot stronger than some of the physical advantages you might have."

"Praising children's intelligence [or talent] harms their motivation, and it harms their performance."

" ... [T]each others to see challenges as learning opportunities rather than threats."

In competition, fear causes athletes to worry about results and an overemphasis on mechanics that leads to tightening up.

Go back to perspective. Value what really matters, as opposed to the particular result/outcome. Then the result becomes much easier to attain.

Good routines are a key part of excellent performance.

Those who truly excel are able to get past both triumphs and failures sooner. It takes maturity and a healthy perspective to keep driving on.

The brain is more involved in perception than the eyes.

Attention is a resource with "severe capacity limitations," but experts "create more bandwidth" by automating a number of tasks.

It takes about 10,000 hours of purposeful practice (individual work on specific areas of need) to reach world-class status at a particular craft.

Bottom line: The number one factor that is present in, and distinguishes top performers from their counterparts, is the amount of time they practice on their own.

"It is practice [on your own], rather than talent, that holds the key to success."

Maybe some of these high-caliber performers can be homeschoolers?

"Experts are People, too"

I received the following recently from Coach Ron Wolforth. Take a look, let it soak in ... do some thinking perhaps about the "experts" in and around your life. There are a lot of these in the baseball world, you know, and they are certain that if you just fix this one thing, hold your elbow just so, do it exactly as they did, pay them by the hour, of course, well, you know the rest ... I've told a number of you my thoughts regarding our over-reliance upon instructors and "professionals." Well, fasten your seat belts (Coach is blunt, okay?) and check this out:

"'Life support turned off and expected to die, teen makes remarkable recovery

'NEW ZEALAND -- Kimberly McNeill, 18, was expected to die following a serious car accident she was in last December, but she shocked doctors when she made a remarkable recovery and was able to leave the hospital Monday.

"'A team of doctors forecasted the New Zealand teen would never survive her injuries and took her off life support against her family's wishes.

"'Kimberly crashed not far from her home in late December. Her parents, both acupuncturists, would not accept that their daughter could die.

"'It was doctors at Auckland City Hospital who switched off Kimberly's life support machine 15 days after being transferred to their hospital.

"'Kimberly defied all the odds when she not only was able to return home this week, two months after her wreck, but she was walking and talking.

"'The accident nearly claimed her life. Her father James McNeill said, 'To have her home so early is another outstanding milestone ... Kimberly has a long way to go but the sky's the limit.'
McNeill said both he and Kimberly's mother, Jackie Kiddle, would not accept the doctors' prognosis. Instead they drew on specialist acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners for support during the critical period when life support was withdrawn.'

"#1. This is what happens when we acquiesce most or all of our responsibility to think and decide to 'EXPERTS'. If you don't think this is our future in the USA ... I believe you are naive. That's what many elitists already believe should be the role of the EXPERT...to decide things for us silly, stupid, uneducated NON experts. This should rarely happen in my opinion. Experts should be used as our counselors ... not our rulers.

"#2. Exactly who is an EXPERT? In a Socialist society like New Zealand...an expert is ANYONE the government claims is an expert. I absolutely and completely reject such a notion. In my opinion, #1. I choose my expert(s). #2. I choose what part of the expert's advice I wish to follow and what advice I reject. #3. Then I'm held accountable for that decision.

"#3. Experts are people too. Very, very few people in the world ... are as expert as I am in pitching, yet I honestly don't view myself as an 'expert'. I know many people who know half as much as I do ... who are absolutely certain they know twice as much and relish in being an 'expert' disseminating their advice as if it were Gospel from the good Lord. They aren't cautious or hesitant what so ever about the possible fallibility of their thoughts or ideas. Some are even incredibly bright and capable and really have done their homework ... and then ... because they THOUGHT it ... it therefore must be correct. These people are possibly the MOST dangerous.
Don't believe me? I take my lead here from one of the premier cancer specialists in the world today ... Bernie Seigel. Here is what Dr. Seigel suggests you do if a doctor tells you or a loved one that a particular patient has X months to live.

"You tell the Doctor that you are going to make him a wager. If said patient passes away within twice the estimated time this doctor said the patient had remaining ... you will make a significant contribution to a charity of his choice. If the patient lasts one day longer than twice his prediction, the doctor will pay $100,000 to a charity of the patient's choice.

"Dr. Seigel says that NO doctor will EVER take that wager ... even with doubling the amount of time he said the patient has left. DOUBLING the amount of time! Yet they are so certain of it that they actually pass this information on to you as if it is TRUTH?

"Really? That is true unbridled arrogance.

"These experts in New Zealand made that same assumption regarding the young woman. So much so that they actually decided to turn her life support OFF ... Yet they couldn't have possibly been more wrong regarding the most important question this young woman will EVER face.

"What if that was YOUR daughter, son, husband or wife?

"Sarah Palin gets brutalized by the Left in this country regarding her take on so called 'death panels'. I'm not a big fan of Palin, but on this topic she is a lot closer than most believe she is. This NZ group truly acted as a 'death panel' for this young girl. They decided. They were wrong even when they were absolutely CERTAIN they were right.

"Please don't write me and tell me what happened in NZ would NEVER happen in the USA. Arrogance and experts deciding what's best for others knows no borders nor political affiliation...and I believe its pure evil and tyranny.

"What will happen to the group that blew this decision? Will the group be reprimanded? Disbanded? Decertified?

"You already know what will happen. Nothing. It will be glossed over as 'just one of those things that was unexplainable'. They just didn't see this coming. I would contend that these 'experts' should NEVER be dictating into areas where 'some things are unexplainable and things occur that they just couldn't see coming. Either THEY are not the right experts for this situation or NO expert can decide definitively in this specific case.

"#4. There is only ONE expert in what's REALLY important in YOUR life ... YOU. Don't let 'experts' run your life.

"Ask Lawrence Peter Berra. As a young man 'Yogi' worried his parents because of his obsession with a sport called baseball. They pleaded with him to be practical and to get an education and a real job. Finally Yogi went to a tryout in his home town of St. Louis and was told by Branch Ricky, considered at the time to be the preeminent judge of baseball talent in the MLB at the time, that he wasn't Major League material. His parents were relieved. Finally Yogi could now concentrate on getting and keeping a new job.

"Yogi had a different idea. Yogi proudly proclaimed, 'Mr. Ricky really doesn't know the real me. I know that because he didn't pick me."

"Which may possibly be the very first of many famous 'Yogisms'.

"The only expert Yogi considered listening to about matters so important ... was Yogi.

"But don't be too hard on experts ... experts are people too."

There is a lot there to ponder about what Coach Wolforth has said above. I am reminded of how some have said we have no chance here at the Mustangs because we lack "experts," no paid coaches, no staff instructors, no baseball "academy," etc., blah, blah, blah. Funny, but I think one of the things that has helped us is teaching players how to train and coach themselves on a number of levels. But, you be the judge.

Of course, there is a time and a place to seek help and additional guidance. I have my thoughts on this as it applies to baseball, but I am no "expert," if you know what I mean.

And as Coach Wolforth points out, the most important person to be making decisions about the direction of your life is you. You players, of course, are to do this within the confines of the authority of your parents and the Lord Himself. But you get the point.

Be responsible for your thoughts and actions. Make ways rather than excuses. And then see how far God can take you.