How do you break a slump?

Originally Posted by SluggerDad:

Player we know -- good friend of the family - starts out with a bang.  11 hits in his first 20 AB's (20 PA's) including 2 doubles, a triple, and a dinger, with a quite modest 3 k's.   Kid is feeling great, says ball looks like a grapefruit.  He cannot be gotten out.

 

In his next 45 AB's (58 PA's) (starting the game after a 3/4 day)   he goes 8 for 45, with no extra base hits and a far less modest 19k's.  Now he looks lost at the plate and I'm told it's really, really getting to him.  I know baseball is a cruel game that gives and takes at its own mysterious whim.  But how do you re-find it, when you're in a slump like that?   And how do you not let it eat away at you when you are? 

 

I sure wish there were some magic words to help, but I’m afraid there’s just not enough information to go on. Was the pitching he faced earlier the same caliber he faced later? Did he change bats? Did he change hitting coaches? Is there some “personal” problem he’s having with his significant other? Are his parents divorcing? Has his eyesight failed him? Is there some other physical problem he’s having?

 

There’s so many things that can affect a hitter, all anyone not intimately familiar with the kid would be doing as guessing. I feel bad for him, but at this point about all I could advise is for him to go back to the routine he had earlier, and  hope everything else is the same. Good luck!

It can be so many things.  Could be completely mental. Could be a swing change or approach change. One little undetected mechanical issue.  Conflicting coach/instructor directives. Better opposing pitching... etc., etc.  Is he still hitting balls hard?  Does he feel healthy? 

Not knowing or seeing him personally, some options to consider may be...

 

-Get mentally right.  The Mental Game of Baseball is the go-to book and he can pick and choose appropriate chapters for quick read.

-Get a video clip of his swing beginning of season and take a current clip and compare.

-Check with hitting instructors and coaches about what they are seeing that is different.

 

The loss of power may be telling.  Could be something as simple as a grip change or back foot starting to flare out or stance getting a bit too wide or front side not getting closed.  Could be just the typical ebb and flow cycle hitters tend to go through. 

 

When I get players I know/coach going through slumps and I can't spot a specific issue, we hit the cage and go through check points.  Each player usually has their own specific set of two or three flaws or bad habits that they tend to fall back into.  So, we'd drill down on one at a time until they came out of the cage feeling "found" again.

 

Most important, whatever you do, don't let him read this overloaded, convoluted, all-over-the-place post I just put up

 

slumpbuster....

What I have found helps is a bucket of balls, a tee and a field.  Just hit off the tee.  Check mechanics.  Unlike a cage, it helps to see where the ball actually goes - that you can actually hit the line drive to right center gap.  The visualization goes a long way.  Good luck.   

You know my kid? 

 

Not that big a slump but after a torrid start, Oldest Son of SoulSlam has struggled for last week or so...did some extra cage work yesterday and will head down tonight after Moms' day dinner. He thinks he knows what he needs to adjust... hope so. 

One thing I wonder -- apropos the thread about coaches "playing to win."  What do you do with a player like this -- a stud in a slump --  if you are his coach?   Do you keep riding him, in the same spot in the order  (2 hole)  hoping he will return to form?  Move him down in the order?  Sit him and go to your second option while letting him work on things, away from game intensity pressure?

 

Coaches differ, I know.  But isn't this where you get to show your stuff and earn the big bucks?  (that's a joke).  

 

But seriously this is one place where the relative shortness of a HS season makes it challenging to manage.   58 PA's covers a lot of games, relatively speaking, in a HS season.  In  the big scheme of things, it's not that much, I guess.  If you had a longer time horizon -- like in MLB -- you would almost certainly  just ride it out and chalk it up to normal ebb and flow.   You don't really have the same luxury in a 30 game or less season.   (and you probably don't have nearly as many alternatives either.). 

I'm a bit hesitant to respond since some of your recent posts suggest you are having some serious issues with HS coaches  but what the heck...

 

Beyond what I stated earlier...

Every situation is unique.  We have had a few older players go through unexpected struggles at the plate this year with various types of problems.  We have also been hit particularly hard with loss of players this year so back-up options are quite limited. 

Regardless of any decisions we make with the game line-up, we continuously work toward getting slumping players back on track every day at practice.  Many of our practices during the season include simulated game-situation hitting, so we can reasonably monitor progress.

 

We try different game day solutions depending on the problem.  In a few instances, we had 3-4 hole hitters struggling because they weren't handling being pitched backwards or around well, so we moved them down in the line-up (unfortunately, that left us with less-than-ideal hitter types in those spots).  In one instance, we kept the player in the game defensively but DH'd for him.  In another, we platooned based on opposing starting pitcher type or what position was open for us (based on who was on the bump for us that day).  In another, the next man up got the opportunity and took advantage while another got an opportunity and did not.  Sometimes, just a game or two on the bench does wonders (but can hurt the team when the option is clearly not as capable).  Sometimes the gap in options is too wide and you just have to try and work through it.  Once in a great while, a player will prove to be a gamer but not very good at practice.  But it is rare that the better players don't show themselves during the many, many hours, reps and situational drills at practice.  In all cases, we must consider how any change may affect us defensively as well.  Sometimes, we can't put in the other player because it will be too disruptive to the continuity of the D.

 

We have one player who is more than capable of starting as a hitter but refuses to put in the necessary efforts defensively to win back a starting spot.  I'm sure, from a spectator standpoint, and from an offensive stat standpoint, this looks like a terrible coaching assessment and decision.  But the players totally get it... and I think appreciate it.  And we know it is the right thing to do.

 

I do wish we had the problem of being deeper in talented players.  Been there with other teams. In that situation, the starters work harder to keep their spot and we would generally be a bit quicker at giving the next guy his shot.

 

You are certainly correct that the short HS season makes things more difficult when this happens but we spend an awful lot of time with these players outside of game days.  There really aren't many surprises.  We usually know what we're gonna get when we make a change.

Like I said before cabbage, you can come manage any team my kid plays on any day of the week, dude.

Thanks SD!  Let us know how the friend's scenario plays out.  Hoping for the best for him.

First of all if the kids a hitter he's a hitter. I want to first look at what is going on with his at bats. Is he missing pitches he normally rakes? Is he fouling them off? Is he getting down in counts a lot when he normally didn't? Is he being overly aggressive when he normally is not? In other words is there something he is doing that he normally does not. Is he still hitting the ball hard but at people? Is there something going on with his swing? In other words I want to see if this is a mechanical thing, that turned into a mental thing as well. Or is this a mental thing that has turned into a mechanical thing.

 

When I have a hitter that is going through something like this I always take them one on one for a few days. I make sure they are where they are when they are going good mechanically. I give them opportunities to have success in practice. I build their confidence up. I might move them up in the order. I might move them down. It just depends. I might force the issue with them early in games. Hit and run. Green light 3-0. Tell them no matter what I don't want a walk here. First good pitch you get hammer it. There are many ways to try and get a kid to stop thinking about failure and to focus on just doing a job.

 

Sometimes slumps happen because a kid develops a mechanical flaw that does not allow him to have the same success he is used to. Then it snowballs because he starts to doubt himself. He thinks the coach is doubting him. He thinks his team mates are doubting him. Sometimes it starts out with being mental. And he starts making adjustments that lead to mechanical issues as well.

 

If I know a kid can hit he is going to get every opportunity to work through these type of things. And it will make him a stronger hitter, tougher out. I had a kid who was an All ACC player his Jr year and high draft pick who was hitting .240 halfway through his Jr year in HS. Kid could flat out rake. But he had a team mate that was also an ACC signee who was raking. He started to feel pressure to live up to the hype. I had to have a heart to heart with him with his team mate to take the pressure off. He caught fire and all was good.

 

Confidence from those around you and in yourself is critical. Sometimes you got to go up there and just say WTH its just a game. Im just going to have fun and let it ride. Many times I would just tell kids "The worse thing that can happen is you get out. So what, the game can't last all night. Get up there and have some fun."

 

Many times I would joke with players after they would get out. Nice shot kid way to mash. On a weak grounder or pop up. Then I would just say "your fine have some fun.' No one wants to do good more than the guy with the bat in his hands. Coach them up in practice. In the cage. During scrimmages. Game time? Heck if its not going to be fun buy a fishing pole and forget this game. You as a coach can either be part of the problem "putting additional pressure on a player" or part of the solution "taking the pressure off the player." Players need to know you believe in them."

Slumps are a challenge mentally and so, a player has to be mentally strong.  My daughter just went 0 for 16.  She was hitting in the .420s and is now in the .380s.  Yet, she hit the ball hard but at people.  She didn't strike out much at all.  After every game, she had a good attitude.  She believed she would get that hit.  However, she caught a lot of &^%$ from some of her teammates.  In that span, she was walked 14 times. 

 

So, she figures out right away what was happening.  She was being pitched around.  If she wanted to swing at boarder line pitches or if the umpire was giving "the river" then she had to swing.  If not, she walked.  She hit a one hopper to the pitcher last night which resulted in an out.  She hit a massive home run foul before lining out.  She his a shot to right but they were playing on the fence.  Then, her last at bat, she was fisted and the ball fell in to left.  Go figure.  That is how you come out of a slump.  LOL!

Last year, my son batted .475 all summer (50 or so ABs) with slugging like .775. Said the ball looked big and jumped on good pitches. Changed teams (supposedly an elite team) and his long-time batting instructor decided he was ready to add some complexity to his swing to expand the tool box. Weekend before his first DH on new team. Son went 0-6 with a few bad SOs. All roll-overs to 2B and weak pop-ups to SS/shallow LF (he bats LH). His coach got his swing back to where it was but then timing off and bad results. Then timing OK but confidence shaken. Bad fall season. To break the slump we had good timing. It was November and my son took the rest of the year off and focused on conditioning and velocity training. Started back up 8 weeks later and was MUCH better. Good luck. In my experience, slumps start with a mechanincal/timing hitch and then become mental. The latter is much harder to shake.

Whatever you do, don't call Pete Rose.  From a March 10, 2014 SI article:

 

Rose told the one about the time Petey had phoned him from the minor leagues, battling through an 0-for-22 stretch, to ask his father the best way to get out of a slump. And Rose answered, "How the hell would I know? I've never been in a slump. Call [Dave] Concepcion."

Fix mechanical flaws if u have any. Can't keep doing same thing and expect diff result.

if it's mental, learn strategies to help u get past it. I liked book Mental Side of Baseball-i think that was title. he even wrote one for just pitchers.

Voodoo, rum and a cigar?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gndH9mhHPk0

 

 

My son would over swing on occasion and fall into a slump or two. Still does. He likes to break it up by dropping a bunt down to third when they are playing back.  Easy base hit and he says he relaxes after that.

When mine goes into a slump, it's always mental.

He starts taking pitches or aims to hit oppo because of a situation.

Many times the ball pitched can't be hit oppo.

He's a natural aggressive pull hitter.

you obviously need a live chicken, a shot of rum and a cigar - you didn't wantch Major league?? Jaboo!

Agree with so many points here.  Slumps (real slumps not 2 0-3's in a row) are almost always mental.  Rarely you will see a slump where he is hitting it well but in bad luck for two or three weeks.  Most often a slump is self induced.  You take those two 0 for 3 games and you panic.  You slow your swing cause you are unsure of yourself.  You take pitches you would normally hack at.  Heaven forbid you actually start hoping for a walk (you are almost dead now).  Video is a must.  The main thing is to avoid the prolonged slump altogether by never changing what you do (assuming of course you are truly a good hitter in the first place).  Stay the course and things will change.  Ever think about how hard it really is to square up a baseball?  Its practically miraculous so if you don't do it for a streak of 5 or 10 at bats don't panic.  Funny this post came out now.  My son is in one!  Last night we were playing a team that knows him well.  He comes up and their coach is moving everyone back - even the infield (partially because he isn't swift and part I ally cause he tends to hit bullets at infielders) I looked to the other parents on the team and just kind of laughed and said they obviously have no idea how he is currently hitting.  And sure enough a K a hard groundout and a walk later he is 0 for 2.  It has taken so much talking to him and reassuring him to get him back to where he at least had decent swings last night.   I see the end in sight.  But he just wants to change bats, swing, approach everything when he takes a couple 0 fors in a row.  Part of the problem is these better hitters who are so used to hitting in basically every game suffer from almost shock when they go into a 2 game tailspin.  Then it becomes mental.  They change things and in turn it becomes mechanical.  Best advice get on it early (which I failed to do) don't change anything and try not to let him lose confidence.  Easier said than done.

P.S. Of course when you are in a slump none of your ground balls seem to find a hole, the pitcher never seems to throw you a cookie and they hit every corner and the ones they miss the ump rings it up anyway!!!  The baseball gods can be very cruel to slumping hitters!!

One thing that can help is to regularly video at bats. If a player starts hitting ground balls or pop ups, then go back and look at the swing and compare. Has something changed?

 

Video tells you more than trying to remember. Sometimes a batter has made a slight change in the stance without realizing it (opened up, more upright, or lowered/raised the hands etc...). And if the batter sees it himself, then it can help him adjust.

 

My kid had 3 bad at bats last night.  Came home and said "Dad, get the garage ready, I need to hit."  He did his homework and I got our setup ready -- basically a painters tarp and a tee.  We did some side flips.  He hit one so hard, went thru the edge of the tarp and put a hole in the drywall.  He goes, "Dinger" and he's done. (I'm thinking I need a new setup since he is now big and strong like bull).  Hopefully it will work tonight.