Montbello Baseball

 

 

Hitting Philosophy

 

 

 

 

1. Balance

2. Patience

3. Line Drives and Ground Balls Wins Games

4. Drills and Fundamentals

 

 

1.  BALANCE:

Having a balanced stance gives you a better chance of not moving your head during your swing, which in turn, keeps your eyes level on the pitcher throughout his motion.  The slightest movement of your head can result in your eye level of the pitcher’s release point changing, thus your chances of reading where the ball will be in the zone will be incorrect. 

 

2.  PATIENCE:

The longer you wait as a hitter, the better you will be.  It is not always necessary to swing at the first pitch because it’s a strike.  As a hitter, you should know what pitches that you are able to drive and which hitting zone you can handle with ease.  Patient hitters have the following qualities:

 

BATTER’S EYE

• When taking a pitch, watch the ball from the pitcher’s release point all the way into the catcher’s glove.
• Good knowledge of the strike zone and its vertical space given by your stance.
• Allowing the ball to travel further to recognize what kind of pitch it is and knowing which ones are balls or strikes.
• Seeing the ball longer gives you the opportunity to make contact with the ball in your power zone.
• Use your eyes to hit the ball.  Without watching the ball all the way to the bat, it decreases your chances of making good solid contact.
• When behind in the count, PROTECT THE PLATE.  Do not allow for the ball to go right past you if it’s boarder line.

 

KNOWING WHAT PITCH YOU CAN HANDLE

• Knowledge of your best hitting zone and what pitches you can drive.
• Attack your “MONEY PITCH” on all pitch counts.
• Having ability to handle more than one pitch gives you opportunity to drive more pitches
• Swing with control rather than swinging to hit hard.  The fact that you see your pitch doesn’t mean that you should swing as hard as you can, instead a nice strong hands to the ball approach will work.

 

 

3.  LINE DRIVES AND GROUND BALLS WINS GAMES:

It is the fact that the more you hit the ball hard on the ground or on a line gives you a better chance to get on base.  Young players are taught that hitting the ball up in the air is what causes them to hit the ball further which in turn makes them create poor, upward swings.  To create the hard hit balls, you need to swing down on the ball or on a level plane.  The move level your swing is, the greater the chances of you driving the ball and getting on base.  Remember, hard hit ground balls or line drives are harder to field then fly balls.  

 

 

4.  DRILLS

Good hitters are not made over night, you must work extremely hard to better yourself as a hitter.  The consistent participation in hitting drills will fine tune all aspects of your swing.  Facing live batting practice is not always necessary in working on your swing.  Instead, drills such as soft-toss, tee work, single hand swings, and etc., will be essential in your development as a hitter.

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