I will not be held responsible for my opinion but here has how I have always told my son to approach hitting vs. pitching. The hitting approach: During every at bat you need to make adjustment in your approach. Many things come into play. The number of outs. . . runners on base. . . the predictability of the pitcher. . . and the most important is the count. An 0-2 approach is completely different than a 2-0. Focus while hitting? I say no. How in the world can a player not be focused standing in the batters box? If you want to focus on something, focus on trying to relax. Being over focused creates anxiety and tension, two of the biggest culprits in hitting.
Harvey Dorfman warns about trying to focus on the pitcher. I can’t tell you exactly what he says because my son has the book, but in the “Mental Keys to Hitting” he warns of the dangers in focusing too much and too early on the pitcher. Seems as if the brain is more receptive to pitch recognition in the first few seconds. Relax, see the ball, hit the ball.
In pitching I am a firm believer in the one pitch approach. There is only one pitch a player should focus on and that is the pitch he’s getting ready to throw. Of course the count is important as to pitch selection and location but there are two other people that have that responsibility, the pitching coach and the catcher. As a senior in high school my son threw a perfect game. He was unaware, as was I, that the game was a “perfect game” until it was over. I knew he had a no hitter going but the way I had taught him to approach the game was to ignore the emotions of the game and focus on one pitch.
My son is a two way player and I can tell you it is a major challenge trying to control the emotional rollercoaster associated with taking the ball on the mound and stepping into the batters box in front of five to ten thousand people.
Fungo
CADad is right on. . a great pitcher wants the ball. . the tougher the challenge the stronger the desire.
