BP vs. Game Situation

There are countless circumstances as to what might be going on. Many of them stem from nerves, tightness, etc. Experiencing any of this? I think any of us who have played ball of experienced what you are describing at one point or another.

Just give us some more to go on.

SH, a lot of it is your mental approach. You need to believe that you are a good hitter once you hit the batters box. Trust your abilities and go.

Also, do not try and do to much at the plate. React to the ball and trust!

Lefty...

quote:

Originally posted by Sdlefty:
SH, a lot of it is your mental approach. You need to believe that you are a good hitter once you hit the batters box. Trust your abilities and go.

Also, do not try and do to much at the plate. React to the ball and trust!

Lefty...

Lefty's got this right. The tricky part (more so than a hitting mechanics issue)is how to fix a mental problem. Growing up playing I'd hear coaches say, "just relax" etc. but never an explanation for HOW to do it. There are a lot of good and easy to read books out there that can help, one is The Inner Game of Tennis and even though it's tennis related, it does an absolutely amazing job explaining the mental game and how to get better at it.

I've also taken a little of what the author writes in the book above and related it to baseball. You can read it here if you choose. Nothing to buy on the page, just information.

Another good read on this topic:
Mental Toughnes Baseball's Winning Edge

By Karl and John Kuehl, Casey Tefertiller

By no means am I trying to minimize what the books can offer but to me the best way to relax is to get many, many, many at bats. The best way to get comfortable is to do somehting over and over so it's more natural. Only way to do that is to play more.

I agree with you coach, getting tons of at bats will promote comfortability in the box. However, when slumps come on, and they most certainly will, hitters needs some ammo to fight through the negative thoughts in the mind. Books, and APPLICATION of the information along with the experience gained from many at bats will help.

When you hit in the cage...
1) are the balls hit to the ground? Or are they returning to the pitchers hand?
2) Are you hitting curveballs?
3) Are they mixing speeds?

Nate I do agree with you 100% on needing the tools to handle slumps.

Nate, great site BTW! We share many of the same philosophies when it comes to hitting. Keep up the great work.

And Coach we never stop learning. This where some of these baseball books can give a fresh perspective.

Keep swinging it... Lefty...

Lefty, thank you for the compliment on the site. I agree with you on the learning part, always looking to learn more.

SH, what do you typically work on in BP?

SH Baseball;
Can you take the cage philosophy to the field?

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Williams:
SH Baseball;
Can you take the cage philosophy to the field?

Bob

And another good approach would be the opposite...
take the field philosophy to the cage.
So many hitters do extra work in the cage (great) but they just get in there and take cuts and cuts and cuts with no specific plan. Often, you will want to work on specific mechanics. But you should also be working on situational approaches and pitch recognition. This is particularly effective if you can get someone to throw you a live cage session and mix pitches. Take your time between pitches and dictate count, situation and your thought process. Work on identifying off-speed and pitch location. The more you do this, the more your performance will match when you step in the box come gametime.
If you only have a machine to work with, at least move yourself around the box to simulate various pitch locations. But if you don't get mixed speed pitching with some frequency, you will not get the results you are after. There is a big difference in performance for all hitters when they know what speed the pitch is coming vs. not knowing.

What is the objective of the hitter?
Answer: "to see the ball"

When a player is on the field, there are many distractions; parents and coaches and teammates yelling "get a hit", hit it hard; players and trees moving, sun in his eyes; the pitchers confusing "motion"; the umpire; the catcher talking and his mind thinking "I cannot fail".

In my discussions with Willie Mays and my son's discussions with Bonds and Manny, there is a "common" tread.

"A high level" of the hitter's focus and concentration on "seeing the ball". The removal of all distractions.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Williams:
What is the objective of the hitter?
Answer: "to see the ball"

When a player is on the field, there are many distractions; parents and coaches and teammates yelling "get a hit", hit it hard; players and trees moving, sun in his eyes; the pitchers confusing "motion"; the umpire; the catcher talking and his mind thinking "I cannot fail".

In my discussions with Willie Mays and my son's discussions with Bonds and Manny, there is a "common" tread.

"A high level" of the hitter's focus and concentration on "seeing the ball". The removal of all distractions.

Bob

Great point Bob! Simplify and see it.

Yes Bob, thanks for adding that to this conversation. I always love examples from greats, especially Mays.

The reason of course why "seeing the ball" works is because if there is true focus on something, there can't be split focus on anything. Doubt, frustration, and low self worth in baseball thrive when there is split focus. I give this same advice with pitchers. Instead of looking at the catcher's mitt, truly SEE a spot on the mitt. Makes a world of difference.

Nate;

The pitchers are taught to fine focus on the catchers web.

When I batted off Bob Gibson in the South Dakota Basin League, I used my eyes and ears. I listened for the sound of the ball. It was scary to see only an "aspirin" tablet.

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Williams:
Nate;

The pitchers are taught to fine focus on the catchers web.

When I batted off Bob Gibson in the South Dakota Basin League, I used my eyes and ears. I listened for the sound of the ball. It was scary to see only an "aspirin" tablet.

Bob

Excellent Bob, that's exactly my point. Unfortunately, I think many youth pitchers today are taught to throw to the glove, which of course can been seen but not really focused on as you explained.

Yes, I use the same approach in golf. The smaller the target/focus the better the result...