Don’t change Little Johnny’s swing; he’s hitting good.
I have read it more than a few times on this website and other places how batting instructors should not make changes if a hitter is already hitting good. I say hitting what good … mediocre pitching? We sure wouldn’t want little Johnny changing something because he might be uncomfortable. Heck he might even struggle and do worse until this necessary change that could help him hit good pitching becomes natural.
So here is where I find most coaches, players and parents miss the boat. To win championships or for kids to have a chance to advance to the next level, you need to instruct hitters in the fundamentals and drills that will enable them to hit top level pitching.
How many coaches really know what, and how to teach these players fundamentals that could really make a difference? My guess is that when you get right down to it, not very many.
If there were, would you really see good pitching carving up lineups so regularly? I’m talking about many hitters not even being able to move it, let alone drive it. They may be a .400 high school hitter against average pitching but they can’t touch the better stuff.
Why can’t they? Look at their swing and if you have an instructor that really knows what they are doing, they’ll tell you why in short order. How many kids have even had their swings video taped and broke down? I am amazed that in this day and age, a lot of kids on a lot of teams would say they haven’t.
My idea of a good time is not debating and trying to explain the fine points of the swing or hitting using my keyboard. What I’m trying to convey is perhaps something that we can all agree on. Can we agree that it is not normal for a hitter to be consistently off balance when they are swinging? It is not normal for a hitter to consistently be sawed off on an inside pitch. It is not normal for a hitter to not be able to actually drive a ball to all fields. It is not normal for a kid to be lunging or on their front foot so much that they have to swing down on the ball. And you can go on and on. These imperfections are magnified when the pitching gets better. In fact they may be hardly noticed by all but the better hitting instructors when the player is facing mediocre pitching.
It’s pretty sad when a college coach takes a look at an excellent high school hitter who has worked hard and is a good kid but the experienced coach recognizes that the kid’s swing probably won’t allow him to catch up to better pitching and therefore does not offer him a scholarship.
So coaches, you want to know why your hitters can’t hit good pitching, it’s probably because you can’t or you haven’t been coaching them to.
Hitters, you want to know why you do not have a picture perfect swing? It’s probably because you’ve never received the right instruction or if you have, you were not willing to pay the price to make it your natural swing. You might even think that you are a good hitter already but are failing to measure your success against top level pitching.
So Hitters, do not allow your mediocre mechanics to determine the level of the play you advance to. Strive to have the fundamentals that will allow you to advance as far as your God given ability like bat speed, size, speed, etc. will take you. And don’t end up being known as a good hitter but not against great pitching.
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