Recall their best hits, or worst "almost hits"? Such as getting "robbed" by an outstanding defensive play? All things being equal.
My son is an 8th grader, and he seems to spend as much time dwelling on woulda/shoulda/coulda been great hits that just curved foul or when some kid made a terrific grab...
No right answer of course, just wonder what other folks think. And sorry if this was the wrong forum to pose this question.
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My son is an 8th grader also, so I'm not answering this from a HS perspective. Things could change next year. In a nutshell, he flushes the ab's and games after they're done. I asked him what he remembered, good and bad, from last year. He had to really think about it, but he was able to give me one good and one bad. That's as much as he could recall in a couple of minutes. From my experience with him, he's like that during the season also. When it's over, it's over.
Recall their best hits, or worst "almost hits"? Such as getting "robbed" by an outstanding defensive play? All things being equal.
My son is an 8th grader, and he seems to spend as much time dwelling on woulda/shoulda/coulda been great hits that just curved foul or when some kid made a terrific grab...
No right answer of course, just wonder what other folks think. And sorry if this was the wrong forum to pose this question.
Can't dwell on the almost was "hits". As long as his form his good and he's hitting the ball hard, the hits will eventually come.
My son is now playing at a DII JUCO, but back just before he played HS ball (JV) he was having a terrible streak. He was hitting the ball hard, but always seemed to be right at someone. By the time he played JV, he started getting "hits". Throughout his varsity career, his batting average just kept getting better. Sophomore year - about .335, Junior year .350, but his senior year he was on a tear - finished with a .430 average and two HR's.
His "hit of the year" came in the district championship his senior year. 7th inning his team is down by one run (on our home field - we were hosting the tournament). There's two outs with a runner on as he comes to bat. Previous batter had hit a 2 run HR in the 5th to pull us to only one run behind so the opposing coach intentionally walked him. My son works the count to 3-1. Next pitch is an inside pitch that tails toward the middle of the plate - he rips into the left field corner for a stand up double that drives in the tying run. My son's team would go on to win in the 8th. It's one of the hits I'll always remember. Good times.
Like FoxDad said, cant dwell on the shoulda/coulda... if he is getting the ball in play and making solid contact, the hits will eventually come. Sure, every player has that moment where they touch first base and is shaking their head while jogging back to the dug out because the defense made a good play. But, did he score a run, did he move the runner over, was it a 7+ pitch plate appearance? There are many ways to have a successful AB, or as we like to say "a productive out". Tell your son to keep working hard and try to look at it as a team success rather than a personal failure.
This was just a general for discussion thread. No dwelling here. I was just curious as to what others think.
I think the focus of good hitters is to make solid, hard contact... After it leaves the bat-head, a lot of it's up to the "baseball gods" and good luck... Unfortunately, there could be a string of bad luck, like FoxDad said... The trick there is to not get down or flustered and just keep swinging - easier said than done.
Ask your son - "what is his role as a hitter"?
Bob
Santa Rosa, CA.
My son is a junior in college now and he, and I, remember his best hits back to LL days. I believe this is one of the best things of all the years of baseball. We have the same exact memories of many of his games over the last 13 years.
Most times we will both remember the same hit, but sometimes one of us will have to jog the others memory with the location of the game or by describing the field. Either way I love those conversations.
When 70% or so of the memories for a hitter are negative you better remember the positives
I've always believed that one of my son's strengths as a player is focusing on the successes and not the failures.
Last fall he had one horrific game at the plate. I believe he struck out 4 times. Never, ever had he had such a bad game. Amazingly, he didn't get his knickers in a wad over it. And of course the slump ended and he started hitting again.
My son has hit fewer than a dozen homeruns and I was trying to remember all of them, but I couldn't. I do remember 4 of them fairly clearly.
I think we remember the events that occur at both ends of the spectrum. The worst "almosts" because we dont want to let them happen again, and the best successes because we do want them to.
On top of that, both sides make for some of the best stories to share with our buddies, kids, etc. IMO
