A lot of people talk about hitting on social media, YouTube, in the dugout, in the seats, everywhere. I think a lot of people forget how hard it is to actually hit a round ball with a round bat. It takes skill, practice, patience, and yes, luck. Any one of those things can go wrong and well, you don’t get a hit that time up. It sucks. That being said, any one of those things can also get you a hit, so it does balance out.

I’d say the question I get the most is “How can I be a better hitter?” The answer for me is always be comfortable. Sure, there’s a lot of things you have to do right to be a goodhitter, and that post is a mile long about mechanics and the “right way” to hit. Inevitably though, you’ve got to be comfortable in the batter’s box to be a good hitter. Even if you are doing all those “right things,” if you are thinking about them, or you aren’t comfortable with them yet, you won’t commit fully to them, and it won’t work.

I’m a big fan of getting in the box and just letting my athletic ability take over. Focus on the pitcher, you vs. them. It’s truly that simple. That’s what makes this game so great. So much of it comes down to a 1 on 1 matchup. Hitter versus pitcher is usually how a player quantifies their performance that day. When a hitter gets in the box, as a coach I want them to focus on one thing, the pitcher. Get in there and swing hard. Let your body work, let it do what it’s capable of. If you’ve done enough of the leg work in practice, you have a good chance of repeating that good work in the games. By the time you get up to the plate though, you’ve got to have that clear mindset, just you versus that pitcher. The little drills and tweaks you make to your swing, those are practice, in the game, be confident, and swing at 1000000% velocity. Attack that pitcher. Your body will do what
it’s supposed to do, that’s why we practice.

Personally, I am by no means a text book hitter. I’m sure there are hitting coaches out there who would look at my stance and cringe. They might even hate how I get started, load, etc. What I do correctly though, I’m relaxed, confident, and very comfortable. I know what my body can do and what it can’t do. If you can start your day in the batter’s box by being comfortable, you’ve jumped a big hurdle on the way to success. Now you’ve just got to hit the ball. That’s easy, right?