How to Raise Your Batting Average 100 Points
By Coach Mike Jackson
As a
college coach and instructor who runs a
baseball academy year round, I spend a lot
of time talking and teaching the skill of
hitting a baseball.
Too many
times players and coaches are too concerned
with the mechanics of the swing and forget
about the mental side of hitting. We can
spend hours going over swing mechanics and
even players with beautiful swings may still
only end up hitting .250 or even less.
I'm
amazed whenever I ask a player, "What's your
favorite pitch?" I get all types of answers
from "curveball on the outside corner to
fastball low and away" but most of the time;
it's a question that kids of all ages have
no answer for. Most players answer the
question with, "I like strikes." The plate
is 17 inches wide and the strike zone goes
from the 'letters' to the 'knees' now that's
a pretty big area for which a strike can be
called.
It's
important for players to learn and
understand which pitches they hit the best.
After all, if you don't know what pitch
you're looking for, you will most likely
wind up swinging at bad pitches and not
waiting for 'your pitch'.
Over the
course of a season, the difference between
batting .250 and .350 is possibly only one
more hit a week! That could be a seeing eye
base-hit or a bloop over the first baseman's
head! More importantly and perhaps even
easier is making one or two less outs a week
by not swinging at bad pitches. I see plenty
of baseball games and I'm amazed at how many
players swing at a first pitch curveball.
Most of those players wind up making an out.
I'll ask the player, "Why did you swing at
that pitch? Were you looking for a
curveball?" 99% of the players I ask that
question to respond with a “no”. When I ask
why they swung, they say because the pitch
was a strike. Once you explain to them that
you shouldn't swing at a pitch that you
aren't looking for with less than 2 strikes,
you can see the light bulb go on! Ask
yourself how many times you've swung at a
bad pitch and made on out and you'll be
surprised at how many times you can recall
doing that.
Most
players are afraid to hit with one or two
strikes on them. I tell players it's better
to be 0-1 in the count than 0-1 in the game.
If you take a pitch that you aren't looking
for, the next pitch you see may be 'your
pitch' and that increases your chances of
getting a hit or at least making a good
swing.
It's also
important to get yourself ready for each
pitch. Too many kids swing defensively. They
wait too long and swing tentatively. You
must assume that each pitch you are about to
get is 'your pitch'. If you assume it's your
pitch you'll be ready for it. It's much
easier to have the mindset of yes - yes -
yes - swing! If instead you think in the
batters box, maybe - maybe - yes - swing,
then you aren’t being aggressive. It's much
better to think yes - yes - yes - no, that's
not my pitch than to say maybe - maybe - yes
that's my pitch.
At the Hit &
Run Baseball Training we spend a lot of time
on swing mechanics with players and an equal
amount of time on helping kids learn what
their favorite pitch is and then being
disciplined and aggressive so when they see
their favorite pitch they are ready to make
a good aggressive swing at it.
Simply put…
your approach is: Assume and be ready to hit
the next pitch, expect Fastball, and decide
a location you are looking for the pitch,
and be ready to hit it. If it’s not what and
where you’re looking for, then the only
decision you have to make is “not swing”.
Good luck!
As always, if you have questions or need
help with your game, stop by Hit & Run
Baseball and ask for Coach Jackson. I’ll be
more than happy to assist you.
Previous Topics on Coaches Corner:
Four Essential Skills of a Pitcher
