In 10 games this season I am 2-15 and in a major slump. I have no confidence whatsoever at the plate. Any help to get through this would be great.
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Something I read about Cal Ripken. Take a T and a bucket of balls to your local field. Hit them off the T. Look to drive the ball into the outfield. Watch them. Mix up the "pitch" locations. Day after my kid did this he ended up with 2 bases loaded triples. Keep at it. Good luck.
First off much of your problem seems to be mental. Two for fifteen is not a MAJOR slump. After fourteen collegiate games this season my son who hit .351 last year was hitting .240. He was hitting in bad luck and a little pull happy. Some minor adjustments and now after 52 games he is at .353.
You need to get your head right, check and see if you need to make some minor adjustments. You probably have had success before and one doesn't forget how to hit overnight. Each AB is a separate event. Don't let yesterday's game affect todays AB's. Don't even let your last AB affect the next one except for what you learned about the pitcher. Good luck and think...when you are up there it's the pitcher who is in trouble, not you!
Originally Posted by nspeltz11:
In 10 games this season I am 2-15 and in a major slump. I have no confidence whatsoever at the plate. Any help to get through this would be great.
Two things: Realize that every hitter gets into bad slumps. I had a period a few years ago where I was 0-25. That was a bad slump. You start swinging at bad pitches that you wouldn't swing at normally. You start pressing. So just relax. Secondly, hit the ball up the middle. Focus on trying to hit the pitcher in between the eyes with a line drive. Use the big part of the field. Pull it only when you're supposed to. Hit it the opposite way only when you're supposed to.
Just keep calm, and work on hitting the ball where it's pitched. You'll be fine.
Be honest with yourself. It could be a lot of things that are wrong but right now is on your mind. The 1st thing you are doing right is accepting you have no confidence. So you have to start baby steps. Without knowing what's wrong... are you swing and miss? hitting to somebody? taking too many good or border line pitchers? Try to answer those questions and ask someone else to validate. Would like to hear the answers to those to provide more feedback.
Albert, I have had really bad plate approachment lately and I have been shifting my weight forward causing a lot of weak grounders.
Turn your socks and sliding shorts backwards...
My son has me take video when he is in a slump. He looks at it and makes adjustments. It is usually something small. He gets the tee out and hits until it feels better.
Good luck!
Keep your approach simple. Just have one thing on your mind: I'm swinging at everything, the decision is already made..I'm swinging. Your body will know how to take the bad pitches. Make sure you are keeping your hands back while you stride. (Assuming you have a good stride / timing mechanism)
My boy was eleven and struggling to hit the baseball. Sure, I was a volunteer coach, but I admit that I didn't have the knowledge to help my son get out of his slump. I barked out the same old commands... "Keep your eye on it!", and "Swing sooner". Nothing helped.
So, I found a certified hitting instructor... and he solved my son's flaw in ten minutes. Til' then, I simply didn't have the right information. I quickly enrolled in a training program to become a certified hitting instructor myself.
I discovered that hitting is not overly complicated --- if you have the right information. I have literally taught hundreds of kids hit the baseball.... and replace "baseball anxiety" into smiles!
For example, here are three messages I got, just on Monday!
"Ben, just wanted to thank you for those early sessions with Garrett. He moved his way up to cleanup spot on a very good team." ~ Mike L."Can you please resend Colton's most recent hitting video? P.S. Kudos to you, he hit a home run on Friday night and Nick hit a home run today! Keep up the good work." ~ Kellie, F
"Sorry, I don't usually email during a game...but... Lee just hit a line drive right over the pitchers head!" Gary, L
These accolades aren't magic. They simply have the information that I finally helped my son with... So, I decided to share this information with the world.
You can find it here: https://www.udemy.com/seven-secrets-of-hitting/
Really? You came here with your first post to sell something with a link? Not the way things work around here and not good for your business. See home page for sponsorship opportunities (done the right way) or prepare to get blasted by a lot of connected baseball folks. And don't forget to apologize to the opening poster for hijacking his question with a shameless unpaid advertising plug.
Not trying to make waves, simply sharing the information that helped my son. Don't know if you are more offended that I'm a first time poster, or that I posted a link? Not a big deal... if I didn't follow your protocol or rules for sharing information on a forum... moderator can easily delete the post.
My apologies.
Normall, like mentioned above it is a very minor issue. Do not over react and make it worse. Spend a little extra time in the cage and have a buddy video for you. I bet you will see a minor flaw quickly. This happens to all hitters. Stay aggressive trying to hit the ball hard to all fields.
Stick with it and good luck!
