5 TIPS
TIP 1: DEVELOPING A ROUTINE
As a hitter one of the most important things you can do for yourself is developing some sort of routine when you get into the batter’s box. This will help you to focus in on your task at the plate, as well as making you more comfortable in the box. Being comfortable and locked in are two of the most important things for a hitter. If you look closely when any professional baseball player steps in the box, they will do the same things every time whether it’s wrapping their batting gloves tighter, cleaning the box with their cleats, tapping the plate with their bat or taking the same amount of slow practice swings. Your routine can consist of ANYTHING YOU WANT as long as you keep it consistent and do the same thing every time. This will IMMEDIATELY make you a better hitter.
TIP 2: HAVE AN APPROACH
An approach is having an idea of what you want to accomplish before you walk up to the plate. Your approach will change every time you get up due to the situation/pitcher you are facing. Traditionally when most hitters think of an approach, they think of things like hitting behind a runner with less than two outs to move him over, or hitting a fly ball to the outfield with less than two outs and a runner on third to trade the out for the run. Those things are important and those are approaches at the plate, but having an approach is much more than just that, it’s not just situational. You can have an approach EVERY TIME you get up to the plate. If you notice that the pitcher is working everybody on the outside part of the plate and you look for a pitch on the outer half and hit it hard the other way, you have had an extremely successful approach even if you make an out. Things like that won’t show up in the score books but they will play a pivotal role in giving you confidence at the plate. Each time you successfully execute an approach at the plate it’s one step closer to getting to that next level of baseball. By using an approach and having an idea of what you want to accomplish every time you walk up to the plate you will ALWAYS be a successful hitter.
TIP 3: HUSTLE
I know you guys here this from your coaches all the time already but the kind of hustle I’m about to talk about is just a little bit different. It is important to make sure your always running at the field hustling on and off, but the kind of hustle that I’m talking about is in game between the lines hustle. A lot of hitters even in the major leagues tend to get lazy when they hit a guaranteed base hit in a hole or when they hit a ball in the gap they know is a stand up double. Even when you know you have a base hit it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to the team that you bust it out of the box and make a hard turn at first base. As a runner you never know when a fielder is going to misplay a ball and if you make that good hard turn you can take advantage of the error and take the extra bag. If your just jogging into first and you see the misplay you won’t be able to take advantage of it and help your team. What if it’s a one run game and the next guy gets a base hit, you would have scored. Now it’s first and second or first and third and the next guy strikes out and you don’t score the run at all! You may have just cost your team the game! Every run counts and in the game of baseball you never know when the team is going to need it. So no matter whether it’s the first inning or the bottom of the ninth, bust it out of the box every time and make sure you take advantage of every misplay and
scoring opportunity the other team gives you!!!!
TIP 4: STEALING BAGS
This tip is almost unfair it’s so good and if you learn how to do this properly you can steal bases NO MATTER how fast you are. Pitchers tend to fall into rhythms while their pitching and especially with a man on base. Sometimes the rhythm changes and good pitchers will mix it up, but if you are always looking you can find the right opportunity. After the pitcher comes into his set position begin to count slowly “One, Two, Three, Four” and so on until he lifts his front foot and commits to home. In doing this you will find that many pitchers will commit and lift their foot on the same count a few times in a row. If you are looking for this and pick up on it, you can go BEFORE THEY EVEN LIFT THEIR FOOT because mentally you know they are going home before they even know it!!!! For example, if a guy commits on 3 twice in a row then on the third pitch you can steal on 2-2 ½ as long as you time it properly. This tool will enable you to get HUGE JUMPS and steal more bags than you ever thought you could!!
TIP 5: HARD WORK
Like anything else in life if you want to get better at baseball you have to commit yourself and work on it every chance you get. Just because you want to get better doesn’t mean it’s just going to happen. You have to put time in each and every day towards your goal whether it’s to raise your average, hit for more power, run faster or become a better fielder. What I can ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE you is that if you put in 20 minutes a day towards reaching your goal no matter what it is, you will see a TREMENDOUS difference in your abilities. Most of you guys think going to the batting cage once a week or just going to practice a few days a week is making you a better baseball player, but it’s not.
To truly change something you must make changing it habitual and work on it each day. Think about this, if Major League baseball players are still working for HOURS AND HOURS each day to get better and your not as good as they are, don’t you think you should be putting in a little bit more time into perfecting what you love to do. Most of them are required to show up on game days about 5-6 hours before the game begins to get their work in like taking ground balls and extra swings, but the GREAT ONES show up 8-10 hours before the game so they can become the absolute best they can be! The great philosopher Aristotle once said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit”!!!!! Take this and apply it in your life NO MATTER what it is you want to do and I GUARANTEE if you put in the time, you will see the results!