After techinque, what makes a great hitter

[Quigs10]

I guess you can develop hand/eye but I think a lot if it is just natural. I think the best hitters at every level just have that. You can build up strength and work on technique to get better but you still have to square it up consistently. I have to disagree with Quigs that luck has a component. Maybe for a few weeks or some time but great hitters are not lucky.

(whispers....) I was joking... my % don't actually = 100% on purpose. You know..a la the old Yogi Berra quote about "90% of baseball is mental...and the other half is physical."

The "luck" part that I refer to are the bloopers that drop in or the mishits that find a hole or a soft spot to die before a player can get to it. But, as they say, "It all evens out in the end." ...with line drives that get caught or the frozen rope thats snagged or the deep bomb that an OF sno-cones.

 

[BigSkyHi]

"get your mind right"

 

[Mike-Coach Q]

Seeing the ball and timing

if the greatest hitter in the world closed his/ her eyes, how well could he/ she hit? Timing and seeing the ball to me is the most important thing in hitting IMO.

With the help of my daughter as a player , we put a routine together that helped her.
1. In The dugout - Photo album ( 1996)
2. On deck - mental self talk and timing
3. walking to the plate- your confident walk
4. in the box- be in the moment seeing out from within
5. pitch coming- soft to fine focus slow the ball down.
6. repeat as needed.

most players have a routine , as my daughter did before we made this one. If you sat your athlete down and wrote out her hitting approach step by step, I’ll bet some of it can be improved upon. Good luck

 

[BigSkyHi]

 

[625ender]

The best hitters who own the mental game take coaches and everyone around them along for the ride