I believe that with 2 strikes in any situation any hitter should change his mental approach more than his physical approach. [Though it can certainly be argued that changing the mental approach will change the physical approach somewhat and vice versa and I will not attempt to refute that]. With less than two strikes and one out and a man on third in a close game late innings and a power guy up, I want a Sac Fly [assumming the runner on third has normal speed]. With another hitter, I may want a squeeze bunt. With a man on first and the right hitter, maybe a hit & run or a run & hit. If we are several runs ahead or several runs behind, things would be different. Food for another topic.
With two strikes, the equation changes. Almost everyone has said "I want the ball put in play". In other words, ABSOLUTELY NO STRIKEOUT, preferably not a walk but if you have to you have to [if they don't pitch you a hittable pitch you have to take the walk]. Fight off borderline strikes until you get a pitch you can hit. The zone in which you are going to swing at the ball is wider both vertically and horizontally than when you have less than two strikes. You swing at what you can make contact, not necessarily only what you can crush.
To accomplish this different task there should be a different mental approach. Focus on picking up the pitcher's pitch as soon as possible. Don't guess as you might in other counts. Hit the ball where it is pitched. Be prepared to hit the pitch that comes into the weakest part of your hitting zone but at the same time be flexible enough to adjust to hit any pitch in or close too the umpire's strike zone for the day. And [here I expect some disagreement] BACK OFF THE ACCELERATOR A LITTLE BIT. When you drive a car and are coming to a slightly more dangerous piece of road, you don't hit the brakes immediately; you back off the accelerator a little bit to gain better control of the car. You need to gain better control of the bat.
Great Topic.
TW344