to many strikeouts

Without knowing anything else... is he striding on every pitch?

It is hard to answer without seeing. However from my experience players who do well in soft toss, T-drills.... in a cage but it does not translate into live hitting usually have a timing problem.

Also many times the relax and smooth cage swing and approach becomes too fast and jerky (load) in live hitting. He needs to trust what he practices and not worry about making outs.

What you could do is video his cage session. Then video his in game at bats. See if there is a difference with his stride, his load, his hands, his slot.....

"too many strikeouts;"



I'd video but you should be able to see whether you have a visual tracking, mechanical or timing problem. It takes great hand-eye coordination coupled with sound mechanics to hit a baseball consistently. Any of those can be off against live pitching. However, everything revolves around really fine focusing on the baseball center!

I'd start with visual tracking. Use a broom stick or small fungo and golf whiffle balls as regular practice drills. Also, mix small balls into his soft-toss and cage work. It forces them to closely "track the center" of the baseball. When my boy was young I put his initials on the center of every baseball he hit off of the tee and it was his job to visually pick it up and pound it every time. Line drives, cage length were the goal That visual process then is applied to seeing the pitched ball. Many times you find out they are just seeing the ball but can't tell you what or where they are looking at; top, bottom, center or what have you.

quote:

Originally posted by Walkerr:
My son has a descent swing, hit well in the cage, soft toss or hitting off a tee. Will make teams that he tries out for but when he is in a game he is constantly missing the ball. We have had his eyes checked and he is now playing with contacts. What can he do to make more contact.

Video would be helpful. Just guessing wildly here, sounds like a bat drag issue.

Which eye is the dominate eye?

Bob

quote:

Originally posted by Bob Williams:
Which eye is the dominate eye?

Bob

Hits well in the cage, hits bad in games.

In the absence of more info, the most likely explanation is that he's a 5 o'clock hitter--a mental or emotional explanation instead of mechanical.

There's no sure-fire way I know of to convert 5 o'clock hitters into 6 o'clock hitters. (BP at 5pm, game at 6pm)