Wait, who wants to LOSE power when they’re hitting?
Nobody of course, unless you’re attempting a sacrifice bunt!
But there are common problems among hitters — even the pros — that can sap you of your power. Both players and coaches should be aware of these minor, correctable flaws.
For years, the knock on Alex Rodriguez was that he never performed to his capabilities in the playoffs. In October and November of 2009, he put that to rest. What changed?
There is a simple, old school hitting philosophy that continues to make a lot of sense for hitters at every level: wait and weight.
This “reminder” has been used by some of the greatest hitters in MLB history. For example, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly, Rod Carew, and George Brett have all, at some point, admitted that [...]
Learn to breathe? Who needs to “learn” how to breathe? Didn’t we figure that out about three seconds after emerging from the womb?
Well, yeah, but, not really.
You learned to breathe to survive, not necessarily for optimum efficiency. Possibly, some knucklehead gym teach along the way taught you puff out your chest and suck wind [...]
What do you do when you’re in the on-deck circle? Any of the following?
Swing a weighted bat
Stretch out arms, wrists, back, legs
Take practice swings
Apply pine tar to the bat
Adjust batting gloves and socks
Check out the people in the stands
Nibble on sunflower seeds
All of the above
The first five options are somewhat helpful, but only part [...]
Every hitter I speak to — regardless of age — wants to hit the ball farther more consistently. Singles hitters want to hit doubles, doubles hitters want to hit home runs, and homerun hitters want to hit balls further and more frequently over the fence. Often, batters think they need to change their mechanics in [...]
Despite the MLB’s influx of muscleheads, the truth is, you don’t need to be musclebound to hit for power. This has been covered here before, so we won’t waste space.
While excellent mechanics will do more for your swing than your “max” bench press, there’s no question that strong hands, wrists, and forearms will also [...]
If you have watched the NLCS between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, you may have noticed that a few of the Mets hitters — specifically power hitters Carlos Delgado, David Wright, and Shawn Green — often hit the ball the other way. While you may expect to see “spray” hitters such as [...]
Ted Williams was the greatest hitter who ever lived … or at least, that’s what he kept telling himself. All kidding aside, the “Splendid Splinter” was probably one of the top five hitters of all-time, if not the best. This book — one of the few of its kind when it was originally published — [...]
Some visitors have emailed me regarding a good choice of wooden baseball bat, specifically a maple bat.
Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the maple bats; I prefer good old ash. But then I guess that goes with my “old school” ways, doesn’t it?
However, I have used several maple bats in games and practice, and [...]
