"Be aggressive." Keep your eyes on the ball ... swing level. "Don't strike out." Ahhh ... all those things we have heard a thousand times over rattle in and out of our brains, but what do they mean? And are they really helpful?
I have found in coaching hitters over the past decade that much of the mechanical is ... mechanical. That is the simple stuff, really. That is where people tend to spend their time. But where the real difference is made is in approach.
But let's first take a brief look at mechanics.
Mechanically, we are looking for a few simple markers in our swings: 1) short to the ball (swing as compact as possible); 2) minimizing movement, especially of the head; and 3) a free and athletic swing with lower-body explosion.
Especially during the season, we want to keep mechanical adjustments minimal to avoid remaking our swings. The time for big adjustments is the off-season. With our team, we have sound enough mechanics that no such major adjustments are required. So, tweak instead. One thing that I have coached hitters to do in order to generate solid contact when we are missing (both topping and popping) is to widen our stance. This will both reduce movement and also make taking our bat directly (the shortest path) to the ball more natural. There are other techniques to reduce movement and shorten the path to the ball, but this is the most effective one I have seen in-season.
Really, though, we need to master our approach. You may remember the "E's."
Let's back up first, though, and remember the power of routines, both on a macro level (how are you getting prepared each game to hit well ... re: rest, getting ready, doing the things that make you ready to come to the park ready to play) and on a micro level (how to you get ready for each AB, when do you start, what are you doing in the hole, on deck, at the plate, etc? Are you studying the pitcher? What are you saying to yourself at each stage?)
Note: If you are flooding your head with a bunch of information, especially mechanical, when you are at the plate, you are asking for trouble. Full head = slow hands. You need to be on auto-pilot essentially at the plate. The last time you are thinking about mechanics is the on-deck circle where you are providing yourself with short, simple mechanical reminders, at most. When we are at the plate, we are on auto-pilot. This is why routines and habits/patterns built in practice are so critical.
As a hitter, you need to know what pitch you are looking for when you head to the plate. Have a plan. "Expect your pitch and hit it where it wants to go." Most hitters who are lost at the plate either have no/little routine or no/little plan, or both. They remake themselves from AB to AB. They ride the highs of success and the long valleys of slumps. And as they move up the competitive ladder, the valleys get longer and deeper. Eventually, they don't come back up.
So, be different. Have a plan. Know what you are looking for. See it. Expect it. Be aggressive, but with a defined plan. Our approach is controlled and smart aggressiveness.
This is so critical to understand: Our approach is hardly passive. That is, we are swinging until we are not. We are thinking we are going to see our pitch (noting that many pitches will be balls, and more still may be hittable, or even strikes, but not what we are looking to hit). Read the chapter on hitting in "The Mental Game of Baseball." See how Al Oliver expected to see his pitch. As a result of his approach, he saw it more. And he hit it. That is what we are trying to replicate.
Having a great plan and knowing what we are looking for, we will take some strikes that are not the pitch we are looking to hit. No worries. This is part of our plan, and while the opposing team's pitch count goes higher and higher (and the pitcher weakens and we get to their bullpen) we are seeing more pitches, and getting better and better.
And then when we get to two strikes, we will be great two-strike hitters. Having a great two-strike approach gives us more confidence to selectively and relentlessly work our plan.
Generally, we are looking fastball before we get to two strikes and we are looking for a pitch in a location where we like it. If we get a hanging breaking ball in that zone that we can hit with authority, then we are going to hit that, as well. But generally, we are looking FB and we have an idea where we want to see it.
Our two strike approach involves a mechanical adjustment (we each do one thing ... or two ... to enable us to be shorter and quicker to the ball). We do this because we need to be able to react quicker to both get to a fastball and to wait out a breaking ball longer. "Our pitch" is now the strike zone plus 2 inches or so. So, we need to be quicker and have more plate coverage.
This leads us to the whole question of what kind of pitch we are looking for. As noted above, before we get to two strikes, we are looking FB. But now, with two strikes, we need to be able to handle the breaking ball. But, we start by looking FB and then we can react to the breaking ball. The reason we do this is because we can't look off-speed and then react to the FB. There is no time.
And where do we look with two strikes? Our buddy, former pro player and instructor-extraordinaire Kevin Castleberry, likes to look right down the middle and react to each side of the plate. I think that is about as close in as you want to get. A good plan is to look middle-away and react in. Like you can react breaking ball when looking fast ball, you can also pull your arms in when looking away. But the design of your body makes doing the reverse difficult, like it is when looking for a low pitch and then trying to hit a high fastball.
So ... with two strikes, look middle to away, lock in with your mechanical adjustment and eyes ... and battle.
And remember, you can use the two-strike adjustment to break out of struggles. When all else fails, go back to good eye patterns. Two-strike approach plus good eye patterns is a powerful combination. If you are struggling, go here.
As for "eye patterns," if this phrase still raises question marks for you, then you know why you may be struggling at the plate. When we say "eye patterns," it means we are concentrating on our broad-to-fine focus on every pitch ... and this starts in practice. We pick a broad focus spot before every pitch is thrown, and then we lock in on the ball at release point (fine focus) to the point of contact, and bam!! This is the most important "E" there is. The eyes are the key to hitting. If you are not hitting the way you want to be, this is most likely the place to start. Do. This. Every. Pitch.
And ... remember your ABC's. This can be critical. Build in good actions, breathing, and thoughts into your routine. Watch the great hitters. They all have a consistent breathing routine. And they are self-coaching short, positive statements during the AB (i.e., "line drive up the middle," "down through the ball," "see the ball, hit the ball, etc.). Find something that works for you.
For further reading and info, check out "Mental Game of Baseball," of course, by H.A. Dorfman. Also, Dorfman also wrote "The Mental Game of Hitting," which I think is perhaps the best book ever written on hitting approach; this book also marries up some of the great concepts from "Moneyball," which is a compelling read, as well.
See you on the field,
