// STRIKING ART //
Form and technique are not enough when preparing hitters. Teaching hitters form and to hit specific pitches is only 25% of the battle. Instilling confidence, and coaching a player on how to approach an at bat through clear communication and decision making is the true solution. This newsletter is devoted to assembling a team of hitters full of confidence and poise and teaching each the individual the “art” of an at bat.

// TRAINING CONFIDENCE //
As a player you will hear, “see the ball - hit the ball”. Anyone who has ever played this game will know hitting and producing runs for your offence is much more complex. Yes picture perfect form and technique will increase the odds when a player steps into the box. But, the will to win will prevail when the form fails. Personal confidence is the key.

With this being said, form should not be the focus when a hitter steps into the box. It amazes me how many coaches over coach the swing within an at bat. Between pitches coaches bark out orders to fix form. Or even worse they point out flaws within the hitters swing and offer no solutions. Yes, hitters have to be able to adjust between pitches, but information overload is damaging and jerks the hitters focus. Coaches should gently guide the player through the at bat all the while building confidence. When a coach is calm, the hitter is calm, and when the hitter is calm she is more confident. When she is confident she can zone and is more likely to execute.

When a hitter fails the confidence killer should not be the coach. Why coaches can’t comprehend this and think before they speak or react is beyond me. Know your words and know your numbers. As hitters the odds are stacked against us. When a player fails, believe me they destroy themselves enough. Pointing out individual errors not only exhibits poor behavior but means nothing more than a poor coach making himself/herself feel better at the child’s expense.

// A THINKING BLUEPRINT //
The art of an at bat begins with an initial game plan and evolves as the at bat continues. A player should always know the outs, the inning, and the score. She should also read the defense, communicate clearly, and be familiar with those on base and the hitters behind her in the line-up. Knowing what to look for and when is essential to executing a successful at bat within an orchestrated offense.

Words of advice…Plan but adjust on the fly. What should be considered within this plan? How does the plan change from pitch to pitch? Some questions a hitter should ask herself before she enters the batters box are:

1. Do you want to hit the first pitch?
2. Do you want to wait for a pitch to place the ball behind the runners on base?
3. Do you want to hit a pitch to expose a weakness in defense?
4. Do you want to score the run and how?
5. Do you simply want to move the runners to scoring position for the next batter?
6. Can you battle this pitcher with 2 strikes?
7. Are you looking to draw a walk?

Mind you these are just a few of the thousand questions a hitter may ask herself before entering the batters box, but it is a good start when mastering the art of an at bat.

// THE HAPPY ZONE //
Let us first begin with a happy zone. What is certain is a hitter must know what pitch she prefers and when to look for this pitch. Sometimes she may see this pitch early on; sometimes she will need to work the count gambling on its delivery. Sometimes she will never see it.

My coach defined a hitter’s pitch as your own personal happy zone. Hitter’s pitch = Happy Zone. Typically we used the happy zone when we were hitting for ourselves, no one on and no one out, or we were in a position to score runners with a hit. Sometimes this pitch is identical to the offensive situation, sometimes not. A hitter’s pitch also occurs when a hitter can be extremely selective. Counts where a hitter can look for her happy zone are: 0-0, 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 (green light only, and 3-1. A 0-0 count means the hitter can wait for her perfect pitch because she will have 2 strikes to battle. 1-0 is exactly the same. A 2-0 count means the pitcher must pitch a strike or she will be way behind in the count. If she takes a strike that is not in her happy zone this allows the hitter to still be in a slight advantage. A 3-0 count is usually a take pitch, but when given a green light, this is the most selective pitch of a hitters at bat. You must execute or it is a wasted at bat. If it isn’t perfect a hitter still finds herself with a massive advantage with a 3-1 count. A 3-1 count is the most defining moment when a hitter chooses to work the walk or attack. If she takes the next strike she better be able to battle with 2 strikes and/or have a very selective eye. With a 3-1 count she may also want to expand her happy zone slightly.

I preferred to hit unless my team needed baserunners desperately. Some players I played with were better at working a walk. Know yourself.

Note: Coaches who expect their hitters to always take the first strike are greatly inhibiting their hitters and ultimately their offence. If teams catch on to this they will use it to their advantage.

// PRETENDING //
Like I said before sometimes a pitcher will never serve to your happy zone. They may have your number and know you struggle with a certain pitch or location. This is when you need to pretend you love the pitch you hate and hit it early in the count. I worked endlessly to master my weaknesses. Even though I preferred low and outside, I had to adjust mentally when facing pitchers who attacked with riseballs and low and inside drops. I changed my pitch preference early.

Some pitchers know how to pitch strikes around your happy zone. Sometimes they simply don’t have them in their arsenal of pitches. Predicting location will give the hitter a huge advantage.

I recently witness a hitter of mine in action take 7 low and outside pitches in a row. After she learned to love this pitch she has exploded offensively. Not only can she hit this pitch early, she is seeing more pitches in her real happy zone.

Another scenario where you may switch your happy zone is when a pitcher is living off of a pitch and you want to force her out of her comfort zone. The riseball is a perfect example. The riseball is the defining pitch of this game. It is the most difficult pitch to throw, but when throw successfully is also the most difficult pitch to hit. I have seen coaches instruct their team to lay off a riseball 3 to 4 innings into a game where the pitcher is clearly in control with this pitch. I suggest just the opposite, look for it early and hit it hard. Adjust your happy zone, hit high, and take control. If she is out of the zone with this pitch then yes lay off of it, but if she is close to the zone and the umpire is giving her strikes, force her to bring it down or change her pattern of pitches.

Adjusting the happy zone to score or move a runner within the same at bat is something mature hitters execute consistently. For example, you may come to bat with 1 out and a runner on first, early in the game, with a scoreless game. Initially you were looking for a pitch to pull or take up the middle to avoid the double play because the runner does not have exceptional speed. The pitcher throws a wild pitch and the runner advances to second. A 1-0 count is a hitter’s pitch, but now you are looking for a pitch to place behind the runner. This way she can advance to 3 rd or even score. Even if you were to ground out to the second baseman, the runner can advance and the hitter behind you has greater odds of scoring the run. If you were to keep your happy zone geared to pull you may hit into a situation where the runner is forced to hold and you may be thrown out, thus forcing the hitter behind you to score the run from second instead of third. Or your team will have to hit two singles instead of one to score with 2 outs. So the pitcher then throws to your previous happy zone and you take the strike knowingly. You still have one strike to wait for the outside pitch to move or score the runner. Be patient.

With runners in scoring position, with less than 2 outs, and no force play available, a hitter has many options. She can score the run of a sacrifice fly; if the second baseman is deep or has a weak arm and your runner on third is lighting fast you can score her with a slow ground ball to 2 nd. Or you can send the ball opposite field and attempt to score 2 runs. Whatever the case, a hitter should make up her mind before she steps into the box how she will score the run(s). Once this is done she will then establish her happy zone, real or pretend.

And finally the first and third at bat from a batters perspective. While the runners remain at first and third with less than two outs the batter has two things to consider when the coach does not move the back runner into scoring position. Score the runner at third and avoid the Double play. Most teams don’t know how to defend a 1 st and 3 rd so what I have seen is the runners advance easily. But, should the batter attack the first pitch when the coach typically runs the 1 st and 3 rd even if the coach fails to communicate a take? NO. Most coaches I have seen lately neglect their hitter and only communicate with their runners. So the hitter fouls off a pitch or they hit into a double play. Hitters in this situation can anticipate taking a pitch and getting a green light only after the runner at 1 st advances. This may take 2 strikes, one strike to read the D and one to move the runner. Work within a structure don’t always hit for you.

// TALK WITH YOUR HANDS LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES //
Here is just a little something extra to tie it all together. Communication between the batter, baserunner, and both coaches can reduce the likelihood of a batter second guessing herself and making poor decisions in the box. Too often I only see the offense communicate when a “special” play is on. (bunt, steal, hit and run) I may have a different approach than other coaches, but I even have a signal for hit away. Every pitch of every inning I am communicating and the batter is communicating to me and the rest of the team. This establishes the norm, applies constant pressure on the D, and makes it more difficult for them to detect when we are on the go. Baserunners are expected to reply with every signal. Here should be the exact procession of communication. Coach to hitter - Baserunner(s) to hitter and coaches – Hitter closes the series when she signals back. The first base coach halts the play immediately if a signal is missed. Usually I can keep an eye on a runner at 3 rd, but this is solely the responsibility of the first base coach. How does this help the art of the at bat? If I signal hit to my 3 hitter on a 1-0 count, after I gave her the take sign the previous pitch, with a runner on 2, no outs, in the bottom of the 7 th, in a tied ball game, she immediately knows I want her to hit or move the runner with her swing. We took the first pitch to read the defense and I have made up my mind this at bat is for a hit. I have made a decision, now it is up to her to kill the ball. No Bunts. Use the bat. She knows exactly what is expected of her and the entire offence is on the same page.

The next newsletter will be devoted to controlling the little voice in your head when you step into the batters box. J

Good luck to everyone the remainder of the summer season!