WHAT THE GOOD HITTERS DO

WHAT THE GOOD HITTERS DO!

ALL HAVE DYNAMIC BALANCE

        FROM START TO FINISH

ALL HAVE SEQUENTIAL ROTATION

        "FEET FIRST - HANDS LAST"

        THE LOWER HALF DELIVERS THE BAT

ALL HAVE A FIRM FRONT SIDE AT CONTACT

        FRONT LEG SNAPS STRAIGHT JUST BEFORE CONTACT

ALL ARE STRONG AT CONTACT

        ARMS ARE NOT EXTENDED AT CONTACT

ALL FINISH HIGH

        TWO HANDS "TO THE BALL AND THROUGH THE BALL"

HITTING

THE FOUR ABSOLUTES AND MORE

1. DYNAMIC BALANCE - IS AN ABSOLUTE

SET-UP (STANCE) MUST BE BALANCED AND PLATE COVERAGE IS ESSENTIAL

DYNAMIC BALANCE IS "KNOWING AND CONTROLLING" YOUR CENTER OF GRAVITY (BELLY BUTTON) FROM START TO FINISH. CONTROLLING THE CENTER OF GRAVITY IS GOING FROM "ONE BALL OF FOOT TO THE OTHER." AT FOOT LANDING, THE FRONT FOOT WILL BE SLIGHTLY OPEN WITH THE WEIGHT BEING ON THE INSIDE BALL OF FOOT.

KEEP YOUR WEIGHT ON THE BALLS OF YOUR FEET AND USE THE LEGS TO KEEP A STRONG BALANCED POSITION. STAY OFF YOUR HEELS AND KEEP YOUR HEAD OVER YOUR BELLY BUTTON.

ALWAYS TRY TO STAY TALL!

2. RHYTHM AND TIMING

THE SET-UP (STANCE / APPROACH) MUST HAVE SOME TYPE OF RHYTHM OR CADENCE THAT IS USED AS A TIMING DEVICE. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO HIT FROM A "DEAD STOPPED" POSITION. REMEMBER THE LAWS OF INERTIA - "A BODY IN MOTION TENDS TO STAY IN MOTION - A BODY AT REST TENDS TO STAY AT REST."

RHYTHM IS A CONTROLLED MOTION THAT HELPS THE BODY TO GET TO THE LAUNCHING POSITION AT THE CORRECT TIME.

A HITTER MUST "START EARLY" OR BEGIN MOVEMENT BEFORE THE PITCHER GETS TO HIS RELEASE POINT. IDEAL TIMING USUALLY STARTS AS THE PITCHER BREAKS HIS HANDS DURING HIS DELIVERY. THE FRONT FOOT OF THE HITTER WILL LAND ON THE GROUND WHEN THE BALL IS ABOUT HALF WAY TO HOME PLATE. NOW THE HITTER IS READY TO ATTACK ANY AND EVERY PITCH THAT HE CAN RECOGNIZE CORRECTLY.

YOU'RE DANCING (IN SYNC) WITH THE PITCHER AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF MOVEMENT. STAY RELAXED AND "LOAD UP" YOUR POTENTIAL ENERGY EARLY SO YOU CAN BE ON THE GROUND "ON TIME" AND READY TO FIRE THE BAT THROUGH THE HITTING ZONE. WHEN THE PITCHER BREAKS HIS HANDS YOU ARE DOING "YOUR THING" TO GET READY. RECOGNITION BEGINS!

3. APPROACH / STRIDE

THE STRIDE MUST BE SHORT ENOUGH TO KEEP STRONG, BALANCE, AND LONG ENOUGH TO FIT THE HITTER'S BODY TYPE. A VERY LONG STRIDE PUTS THE HITTER'S HEAD CLOSER TO THE PITCH AND THE BALL WILL SEEM FASTER THAN NORMAL.

THE FRONT FOOT IMPACTS THE GROUND WITH A SOLID BASE AND ON THE INSIDE BALL OF THE FOOT. ROTATION BEGINS AT FOOT LANDING. THE BACK HEEL COMES UP QUICKLY AND STARTS ROTATION.

STAY TALL AND LAND ON THE INSIDE BALL OF YOUR FOOT (SLIGHTLY OPEN). "STRIDE TO BALANCE" AND BE READY TO ATTACK THE BALL WITH YOUR LOWER HALF FIRST.

4. ROTATION - IS AN ABSOLUTE

HITTING IS FLUID SEQUENTIAL MOTIONS INVOLVING TWO MOVEMENTS. FORWARD OR LINEAR (STRIDE) AND THEN ANGULAR OR ROTATIONAL (SWING). KINETIC ENERGY (MOVING ENERGY) IS TAKING POTENTIAL ENERGY AND TURNING IT INTO MOVING ENERGY BY ROTATING BODY SEGMENTS SEQUENTIALLY IN THE CORRECT ORDER AND TRANSLATING ENERGY FROM THE FEET UP THE BODY AND FINALLY TO THE BAT HEAD ITSELF. BAT SPEED IS CREATED BY A CORRECT SEQUENCE OR "FEET FIRST - HANDS LAST."

ATTACK THE BALL WITH YOUR LOWER HALF OF THE BODY FIRST. MAKE YOUR LEGS AND HIPS THE AGGRESSIVE PART OF YOUR SWING. YOU MUST LET THE LOWER HALF OF THE BODY CREATE BAT SPEED FOR YOU. THE HANDS ARE ALONG FOR THE RIDE.

5. AXIS OF ROTATION - IS AN ABSOLUTE

THE AXIS OF ROTATION IS AN IMAGINARY VERTICAL LINE AROUND WHICH THE BODY ROTATES DURING THE SWING. THE STRAIGHTER THE LINE THROUGH THE BODY - THE FASTER THE BODY CAN ROTATE. SO STAY TALL!

STAY UP (STRONG POSTURE) AND TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT AT ANY PITCH OVER THE PLATE. ALWAYS KEEP YOUR BODY UNDER A STILL OR STABILIZED HEAD. THIS MEANS KEEP YOUR HEAD AND EYES STILL WITH TWO EYES FOCUSED ON THE BALL. NO BENDING ALLOWED TO HIT LOW PITCHES.

6. BAT LAG - IS AN ABSOLUTE

BAT LAG IS THE FINAL SEQUENCE (LINK) OF ROTATION. THE BAT COMES LAST! "FEET FIRST - HANDS LAST." THE BAT LAGS BEHIND AND IS DELIVERED BY THE ENTIRE BODY "TO THE BALL AND THROUGH THE BALL."

HIT THE BALL WITH YOUR LEGS AND LET THE BAT COME LAST! CREATE YOUR BAT ANGLES (INSIDE / OUTSIDE / UP / DOWN) ACCORDING TO THE PITCH.

7. FRONT SIDE

THE BAT IS FIRED THROUGH THE HITTING ZONE AS THE FRONT OR LEAD LEG SNAPS STRAIGHT. THE FRONT OR LEAD LEG WILL SNAP STRAIGHT JUST BEFORE CONTACT IS MADE. A FIRM FRONT SIDE WILL NOT ALLOW THE HITTER'S WEIGHT TO DRIFT FORWARD OUT OVER A COLLASPED FRONT LEG.

WHEN YOUR FRONT FOOT HITS THE GROUND, THAT'S AS FAR FORWARD AS YOUR BODY WILL GO - ROTATION BEGINS NO W! SNAP THE FRONT LEG STRAIGHT AGGRESSIVELY JUST BEFORE YOU ATTACK THE PITCH TO COMPLETE ROTATION.

8. HEAD AND EYES

THE HEAD WILL MOVE TWICE DURING THE APPROACH AND SWING. IT MOVES FIRST DURING THE STRIDE, AND IT MOVES A 2ND TIME DURING THE SWING ITSELF. KEEPING THESE MOVEMENTS UNDER CONTROL IS IMPORTANT FOR SUCCESS AND RECOGNITION.

THE EYES MUST BE GIVEN A CHANCE TO TRACK AND RECOGNIZE EACH AND EVERY PITCH. GOOD DECISIONS WILL BE MADE WHEN THE BALL IS RECOGNIZED CORRECTLY.

MAKE THE BALL LOOK LIKE IT DOES WHEN YOU HAVE A 3-0 COUNT AND YOU'RE TAKING THE PITCH. YOUR EYES ARE RELAXED AND YOUR BODY IS READY TO ROTATE IN THE CORRECT ORDER TO DRIVE THE BALL SOMEWHERE.

9. CONTACT AND FINISH

HITTING THROUGH THE BALL IS A MUST. THE HANDS STAY ABOVE THE BALL AND THE BAT WILL ALWAYS BE BELOW THE HANDS. "ONE HAND IS UP AND ONE HAND IS DOWN" AT CONTACT. THE ARMS ARE NEVER EXTENDED AT CONTACT. THE FINISH SHOULD BE HIGH. FINISHING HIGH KEEPS THE BAT IN THE STRIKE ZONE LONGER AND DECREASES THE CHANCE OF ERROR.

LET THE BALL COME TO YOU AND HIT THE BALL JUST OUT FRONT OF YOUR LEAD LEG. YOU ARE STRONGEST AT 90 DEGREES. EXTENSION HAPPENS WELL AFTER YOU HAVE DRIVEN THE BALL TO A GAP. FINISH HIGH NATURALLY.

10. UNDERSTAND - FEEL - EXECUTE

WE LEARN THREE WAYS. BY LISTENING - BY SEEING / IMITATING - AND BY FEELING.

THE MOST EFFICIENT OF THE THREE IS "FEELING." A GOOD HITTER TELLS HIS COACH WHAT HE FEELS AND A GOOD COACH TELLS HIS HITTER WHAT HE SEES. TOGETHER DIFFICULT PROBLEMS CAN BE WORKED OUT AND CORRECTED. NEVER BE AFRAID TO FAIL OR SWING AND MISS.

YOU HAVE THE INFORMATION NOW. WORK HARD AND BE THE BEST THAT YOU CAN BE! KEEP THE HITTER'S ATTITUDE WITH YOU FOREVER!

REACH FOR YOUR DREAM!

Special Thanks to Ralph Dickenson for providing this information.