• GET THE LEAD-OFF GUY OUT - 85% of the time a lead-off walk scores in the inning. Throw strikes and give the the lead-off hitter a chance to get himself out. Get ahead in the count.
• MAKE HITTERS CHASE 0-2 and 1-2 pitches. Base hits with these counts are what starts big innings.
• KEEP THE BALL DOWN with a runner on first. Give your defense a chance to turn the double play.
• KEEP THE BALL DOWN and IN with runners on 2nd, 3rd, or 2nd and 3rd with less than 2 outs.
• KEEP THE BALL DOWN and IN with runners on 3rd with less than 2 outs. No sac flies.
• GOOD HITTERS LIKE TO SWING - Let them swing the bat...but at bad pitches for them to hit. Keep the ball away from pull hitters. Pitch good contact hitters under their hands.
• RUNNERS on 1st and 3rd with no outs, unless the game is on the line, Work to get a groundball by keeping the ball low. Help your defense get a double play. BAD FACT: Runner at 3rd with no outs scores 75% of the time.
• VISUALIZE A SUCCESSFUL PITCH and LOCATION before each pitch. Know where every pitch is going. Have a purpose for every pitch.
• VARY YOUR LOOKS - With runners on do not get in a trance or habit of being a "one looker" or "two looker". Be unpredictable. Do not let them "know you" or "have definite reads". Pick over more than three times-in-a-row at least once in the game early. Use the "look back" move to see if the steal is on.
• DO NOT LET THEM HAVE A BIG INNING - 65% of the time the winning team scores more runs in one inning than the losing teams scores in the whole game. Do your job and prevent their big inning before it happens.
I have mentioned the big inning several times. A big part of preventing the big inning is making sure the outfielders keep the batter off second and held to a single as much as possible.

Another important fact to remember from a coaches standpoint is that 95% of all runs are scored with the pitcher throwing from the stretch. That makes it vitally important to make sure at least 75% of all bull pen work is done out of the stretch.

By Jim Morris, Head Coach University of Miami

The most important zone to learn to hit is the outside zone. Three quarters of pitches that a hitter sees are on the outside part of the plate or off the plate away. Most breaking balls and change ups are away from the hitter. Every hitter should concentrate on the outside pitch!
The contact point for the hitter on an outside pitch is much closer to the catcher, or deeper over the plate, than the other pitches. Contact for the low-and-away pitch is opposite the back knee. The middle-away pitch is contacted opposite the mid-line of our body. The up-and-away zone is met even with our front shoulder. The lower the pitch, the deeper you let it get. The more the pitch is away, the deeper you let it get; more so than based on the pitch’s height. If the hitter gets too far out front, the angle of the bat causes the outside pitch to be pulled. Unless the hitter is very strong physically, he ends up pulling many weak ground balls and fly balls to the left side.

Hitting the outside pitch out front means the hitter has expended most of his power by the time contact is made. Hitting the ball deeper in the zone enables the hitter to drive the ball toward the opposite field. The bat is angled toward the opposite field when contact is made at the proper point. When contact is made the hands are ahead of the barrel. The low-and-away pitch has the bat angle of approximately a 45-degree angle to the ground. The middle-away pitch has the bat horizontal to the ground. The up and away zone is contacted with the barrel about 15 degrees above the hands.

Most hitters stride at about the point of release from the pitcher. They do this because they have no idea what type or speed the pitch is at that point. When the hitter strides, the weight is transferred to the back foot. To compensate for slower pitches (curve ball, change up) there is a pause or separation between the stride and swing. Otherwise, the hitter has completed his swing and here comes the change up! There is a longer pause or separation on pitches that are outside or low, because they are hit deeper in the zone and have to travel farther.

To keep from pulling off the outside pitch, the hitter has to stay closed in the front side. When the front hip, shoulder, and then the head pulls off the ball, chances of hitting it solidly are remote. The hitter either pulls the outside pitch, hits it off the end, or swings and misses.

A good coaching point when teaching hitters is to get them to stride toward the opposite middle infielder with a closed front toe. The right-handed hitter strides toward the second baseman. If the hitter strides with an open front toe, toward the pitcher, or in the bucket, the front side of the body opens up too early. This toe-to-instep stride not only helps on pitches away, but also keeps the head on the ball longer. The low pitch and outside pitch are the leastwatched zones because they are farther from the eyes.

The back hip is the important hip when hitting the outside pitch. The front hip stays closed. Then the hitter really pops the back hip into the outside pitch. Driving the back hip into the ball provides the power to drive the ball hard to the opposite field.

Every swing starts inside out. This means the arms do not extend too early behind the hitter. Getting outside or around the ball makes the hitter pull the outside pitch. Staying inside the ball allows the hitter to drive the ball to the opposite field. At the point of contact on the outside pitch the arms are extended.

Mentally every hitter looks for the outside pitch first. If you start to look for the inside pitch initially, you open up too early in the front side. Look away first, where you stay closed in the front hip, shoulder and the head/eyes stay on the ball. Then if the ball stays inside you can adjust to the pitch and turn on it if you are quick. Look ouside-in but swing inside-out!

WHY YOU CAN’T HIT!




The Average baseball/softball player
practices hitting only 33 seconds per day!




Baseball/Softball season lasts 16
weeks at the high school level.




If you practice 5 days a week, 2.5
hours per day, this would total 80 days of practice per season or 200 hours
total.




Half of this time (100 hours) is
spent playing scheduled games.




Of the remaining time (100 hours), 50
hours are spent practicing defense, and 50 hours are spent practicing offense.




Generally, 15 players divide the 50
offensive hours, giving each player 3.5 hours or 200 minutes of hitting
practice per season.




If the player does not play other
sports, the player actually practices about 33 seconds per day per year, a
musician practices no less than 3.5 hours per week or 182 hours per year.




Basketball players practice shooting
and tennis players practice hitting 40 times as much as basketball/softball
players practice hitting.




Most Olympic athletes practice 4-6
hours per day, 300 days per year, or 1,200-1,800 hours per year.




The Average Baseball/Softball Player
Practices Hitting Only 3.3 Hours Per Year!




Kevin Seitzer, former third baseman
for the Kansas City Royals, worked out 6 days a week in his off season, and hit at least 300 balls a day.




Jim Lefebver, former hitting coach for the Oakland A’s said, “At spring training, Tony LaRussa and I got together and decided that the only way for our team to be successful would be for them to swing a bat 200 times a day. We didn’t care how they did it, live pitching, machine pitching, tee, soft toss or dry cuts, just so they got 200 swings a day.”


How much time have you spent working on hitting the baseball? When is the last time you picked up your bat, on your own?

An article such as this one really makes you think about what work truly is. When you think you are working hard, are you really?

Hoping and praying for victory is fine, but deserving

victory is what really matters.




Victory comes only to those who work long and hard,

who are willing to pay the price in blood, sweat, and

tears. Hard work is the building block of

achievement, without it everything else is worthless.

You can start with a goal, but before you can obtain

it, you must truly deserve it.




When it comes to work ethic, there can be no

compromise. Nothing meaningful or lasting comes

without hard work. When it comes to close games and

the pressure intensifies, the team who worked harder

will win.




You should put your heart and soul into everything you

do. But this won't happen unless you choose to make

it happen. Success is not a lucky break. It is not a

divine right. It is not an accident of birth.

Success is a choice.




All goals are attainable, but each requires an action

and commitment. The choice is yours.




The difference between a successful person and others

is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge,

but rather a lack of will.




The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion

to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their

chosen field of endeavor.




Do the right thing in all situations, no matter who is

not watching.




THE KEYS TO SUCCESS




1. Set goals. Decide what it is you want to

accomplish and do whatever it takes to obtain your

goals.




2. Commit to excellence. Invest in yourself.




3. Back your goals with plans, persistence, and

determination.




4. Be determined to learn something new every day.




5. Use practice time wisely; push yourself to be the

best every day.




6. Identify and associate with winners.




7. Guard your integrity as sacred. Your reputation

is difficult to restore.




8. Treat others the way you wish to be treated.




9. Work hard and you will succeed.