ProGrip, Inc. is a company that I originally started to sell the batting grip I invented to teach athletes hands the proper way to hold a baseball bat. After moving to Southern California to pursue my own playing career, while giving lessons, I noticed how many of these baseball players were holding the bat improperly and how much they were HURTING their own swing. I had taught lessons since I was 17 but never so many at once doing between 25-35 a week and this problem was EVERYWHERE! At all age levels and players of all different ability levels, not playing up to their potential because of an impropriety in their swing they didn’t know they had, and didn’t know how to fix.

This is when I began thinking of how I could fix this problem. After a whole lot of tireless work ProGrip is here. So many young athletes all over the world enjoy playing the game of baseball and usually begin between the ages of 5-10. All of these future baseball players should be provided with the best possible experience and opportunity to not only see success, but to learn the many valuable life lessons that the game of baseball has to teach. Without proper instruction, especially in the sport specific training era we live in today, kids get left behind. Not because they do not have the potential or ability, but because without proper instruction they will not see the success they desire and most people won’t enjoy something when they feel they are not good at it. Baseball is a fundamental game with fundamental principles that can all be learned, no matter how talented a natural athlete you are. The bottom line is the harder you work, the more results you will see. Private baseball instruction and academies can get expensive and for many it’s just not an option. Due to the lack of instruction at the lower levels from little league all the way through high school, young athletes are not given the tools they need to succeed. They develop bad habits and in turn do not see success in baseball they desire, especially in the hitting department. When a young man comes to me for lessons at 14, 15 and 16 years old, it becomes my job to break these bad habits they have naturally picked up. If they have been doing the same thing wrong for the last 8-10 years of their baseball life, not only is it difficult to break these habits, it is uncomfortable because these simple actions such as holding the bat improperly are ingrained into their memory. Holding a baseball bat properly, although one small action, sets you up for either success or failure at the plate. If you think about it, holding the bat is your only actual connection to hitting the ball and how you hold the bat affects your swing tremendously. Many young baseball players when picking up the bat not only hold it too deep into their hands but they hold the bat way too tight as well. All of the strength, flexibility and dexterity in your hands lies in your fingers and ANYTIME a baseball instructor teaches a player how to hold the bat they tell them to lay it down in their fingers and then pick it up continuing to hold it in their fingers. Also, it is extremely important to hold the bat loosely. When holding the bat tight our muscles are contracted. For our fast twitch muscles to fire properly our muscles must be loose so you see how this prevents the hitter from swinging as fast as they can. I invite you to watch a boxing match or martial arts match. You will never see a boxer tense while fighting because his muscles must be loose to be quick and the quickness of the punch translates into power. The baseball swing is the same exact thing. Quickness equals power and you must be loose to be quick.

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!