Why baseball is a year-round commitment

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.” – Zig Ziglar

It seems that more amateur players than ever are scaling back on their summer baseball commitments. Some are even choosing not to play at all. But here’s the thing: Baseball is a year-round commitment. You don’t have to play in actual games during the summer, but you need to keep honing your skill development.

If you choose to limit the number of games you play this summer, here are several alternatives to help aid in your development as a hitter.

Go see coach – Use the summer to develop your swing mechanics with a professional swing coach. Sound information and quality reps will give you a functional swing. Remember – 3,000 reps build a habit, so it’s crucial that you stay in the groove. Shoot for 200 swings per day for 15 days. You’ll still have time to enjoy the summer.

Be instinctive – You develop good hitting instincts by facing live pitching either in an indoor facility or on the field. Most of your pitcher teammates would love to do a 50-pitch bullpen session with you. This will give you an opportunity to focus on making adjustments to your swing without the pressure of getting a hit. If you have three separate pitchers throw 50 pitches, three days a week, for 4 weeks during the summer, it’ll get you ready for game action.

Watch the pros – Nothing beats watching your favorite Major Leaguers play the game. Study their swings. Watch how they load. Absorb their approaches to the plate. You can learn so much by watching batting practice at a Major League game. Every player has a routine he sticks to during the games. If not, he won’t be around long. Watching the game in the stands allows you to anticipate pitches and develop instincts that your in-game experiences don’t always allow.

Play video games – That’s right, the players’ batting techniques in your video games are the real deal. When I was in spring training with the Cubs, we all had PlayStations. It helped me hone my instincts, and gave me the ability to make quick adjustments as a hitter.

The bottom line: Don’t sit on the couch too much. In the end, you learn the game on the field as much as you can. And while cutting back the number of games you play is alright, just be careful. You don’t want to lose your feel for the game.

 

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Your 3-step guide for transitioning into summer baseball

While developing a good swing is an obvious step to being a good hitter, having good swing mechanics without proper timing is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter.

Spring baseball is almost over for many of you. Next up – summer ball, which affords more time for practice and games. As your spring season winds down, following are three things you can do to help transition and prepare for the rigors of summer baseball.

1. Master the skill of timing – While developing a good swing is an obvious step to being a good hitter, having good swing mechanics without proper timing is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without peanut butter. One just doesn’t work without the other. Timing is when you get to a loaded position to swing the bat. Good timing will help you track the ball better (which also helps with plate discipline) and use your lower body to produce power. One of the best ways to improve your skill of timing pitchers is to stand in the batter’s box in the bullpen when a pitcher is warming up. Don’t worry about swinging a bat – that’s why the tee is there. Make time to develop and maintain proper timing.

Remember: If your swing isn’t on time, you don’t have a chance.

2. Study pitch patterns – Why do pitchers throw breaking balls? Why do they throw inside, up and down, and change ups? It’s simple: Good pitchers throw good pitches to prevent undisciplined hitters from getting extension and driving the ball. Like everybody else, pitchers are creatures of habit. If you understand their pitch pattern, you can find success by combining a good swing with an educated guess.

During the spring, spend more time studying pitchers while you’re in the dugout.

3. Limit your strikeouts – I had a bad habit of fouling pitches off when I was in a hitter’s count – 0-0, 2-0, 3-1 etc. That always increased my chances of striking out. The reason: I tried to do more with my swing than was required. To make matters worse, I’d look at another pitch for strike two, and then over swing for strike three. Sound familiar? At times, two strike pitches are tough to hit. The best way to prevent striking out is to avoid fouling off that first strike.

Foul balls are going to happen, but if you stay within yourself and trust the swing that you’ve been working on, you’ll get more hits and less strikeouts.

For more on how to increase your hitting prowess at the plate, check out our online hitting lab or set up an appointment today.

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Time to eat well and workout

The greatest wealth is health. – Virgil

You put so much positive time and energy into building and perfecting your body for spring baseball. It’s a lot of work – a lot of hard work. And like anything in life, the development process is half the battle, followed by an intense maintenance program.

Spring can be hectic. There are practices, games, and then all that time you should be spending to make adjustments. You can’t any quality time in the weight room, and there’s way too much fast food consumed.

But without sacrifice and commitment, you won’t succeed as a hitter. Working out and “eating healthy” isn’t a seasonal thing – it’s a yearlong sacrifice and commitment.

If you want your body to take care of you, you must take care of your body – period.

I remember starting the season with the Cubs with a 34-inch bat, and then dropping down to a 33-inch model two months later. I got lazy. I had every excuse in the world for why I couldn’t work out, but I showed up on game day expecting to get two hits. That strategy didn’t work out too good for me. And, guess what, it won’t work for you either.

If you don’t have time to hit the gym, consider the following routine:

Monday & Wednesday
Push ups – 100 reps
Russian Twist core exercise – 100 reps
Rice bucket – 5 minutes (1 minute work; 1 minute rest)

Tuesday & Thursday
Walking Lunges – 100 reps
Russian Twist core exercise – 100 reps
Rice bucket – 5 minutes (1 minute work; 1 minute rest)

Sunday
Jog – 15 minutes

If you have the time, check out www.Go-Rapid.com. You’ll be glad you did.

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Understanding the cause and effect of your swing

As a hitter, you’re going to experience one of two things: “slumps” or “streaks without a hit.” The difference lies in how much you understand your swing mechanics and those cause and effect relationships.

I remember learning about cause and effect relationships in the second grade. The process of problem solving and critical thinking became a lot easier after I was introduced to this.

Diamond Directors breaks your swing down into six parts.

As a hitter, you’re going to experience one of two things: “slumps” or “streaks without a hit.” The difference lies in how much you understand your swing mechanics and those cause and effect relationships.

Take Albert Pujols. The Angels slugger will never experience a slump because he understands his swing, pitch patterns, and most of all, how to identify the cause and effect of failure.

After a 0 for 4 game, a hitter will say, “My swing is too long,” or “I’m not letting the ball get deep enough,” just to name a few. The next day, he will focus his attention in batting practice on shortening his swing or allowing the ball to get deeper. The following day, when he plays again, he experiences the same failures. The reason: He didn’t identify the cause.

Let’s take those two above scenarios. Often times, if you don’t get your front foot down in a good load position, on time, it will cause your swing to “get long,” and it “won’t allow the ball to get deep.”

Solve the cause – and you will solve the effect.

The Diamond Directors strategy breaks the swing down into six parts:  stance, load, approach, contact, extension and your finish supported by timing and tempo.

By developing a good understanding of your swing mechanics, you’ll be able to identify the cause of your problems and the effect they may have on your swing. You must spend your time wisely to make the proper adjustments at the plate. If you do, you’ll get more hits.

Listen – there is still a lot of baseball to be played in 2012. So let’s get started today. There are several ways I can take you to the next level – both Onsite and Online.

Click here to experience Diamond Directors today.

 

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Game on – making the adjustment

“Being a successful hitter requires having knowledge of your swing, sound mechanics and the ability to make quick adjustments.”

Spring is here. Your off-season, winter work is over – the lifting, the running, the hitting in the cages. It’s time to play ball. Time to put your swing into action. Game on.

Being a successful hitter requires having knowledge of your swing, sound mechanics and the ability to make quick adjustments. Most young hitters struggle to make adjustments because they confuse the process with “fixing” their swing.

Simply put: making an adjustment means you are able to do something different in order to get the best outcome.

A good high school hitter is able to repeat his swing 50 percent of the time. If an opposing right-handed pitcher throws sharp sliders on the outside corner of the plate to a right-handed hitter, he should expect to hit the ball in the immediate direction of second base 50 out of 100 times. That’s considered having a strong “repeatable approach.” Hitters at the collegiate level repeat their swings 60 percent, while major leaguers do it 70 percent of the time.

Read: Hitting skills pay the bills.

What adjustment should you make with a slider if you’re pulling it to the shortstop instead of driving it to second base? You must focus on hitting it toward first base. While you’re missing your target (second base), at least the barrel of your bat remains inside the ball. If you keep the barrel of your bat inside the ball often, the hits will come.

So many hitting flaws can be corrected by understanding your swing mechanics, and the cause and effect relationships. I love my job because of the immediate feedback I’m able to see and the ability I have to empower my clients.

Let’s get started today. There are several ways I can take you to the next level – both Onsite and Online.

Click here to experience Diamond Directors today.

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Your eyes don’t lie

“The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” – Henri Bergson

I was very fortunate to play baseball at the professional level. If I could do it all over again, I would watch more swings of comparable hitters. I’m a visual learner, which means I generally can mimic actions really well. This really helps my golf swing.

But video technology wasn’t assessable during my collegiate and professional baseball career. In my day, if you weren’t a kinesthetic or auditory learner, well, good luck to you.

For me, seeing is believing. Once I see it, I can understand it; I can feel it; and then I can become it.

At Diamond Directors, we use Dartfish video analysis during our onsite Hitting Lab sessions. The Dartfish Video Analysis system is a standard video computer software system that helps analyze your swing mechanics. The system’s “SimulCam” and “StroMotion” technology enables us to record your swing and compare it to previous recordings of your swing.

This not only helps identify swing flaws, but it also helps our visual learning clients trust what we’re saying.

It’s true: Seeing is believing, especially if you’re a visual learner.

I have simplified the mechanics of swing into six working parts and three components. For a complete look at our analysis on this, check out our Diamond Director blogs. As long as I can see your swing on video, I can diagnose it and prescribe sustaining drills.

If you don’t have the time to visit our onsite Hitting Lab, press the record button and let’s take a look at what you’re doing. It’s time to set some records.

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How to make your feet work for you

My minor league manager Sandy Alomar once told me that in order to have good hands you must develop your feet.

When it comes to hitting mechanics, footwork may be the most under coached area of them all. Most hitters work diligently to prevent long approaches without paying any attention to their feet. At Diamond Directors, our goal is to eliminate the bad habits and help you do the right things every time you step into the batter’s box.

Below are three bad habits you should avoid with your feet.

1. Not getting your foot down properly will cause a long approach
A good load base is when your feet are aligned with the length of your bat – from your back foot to your front foot. Your front foot also must be firmly engaged in the ground so that you may leverage your body from your approach-to-contact – think extension an finish. If you load with your front heel up, you’ll be forced to rush it down before your approach, causing you to spin away from the ball.

2. Not getting your front foot down on time
You must get your entire front foot down on time, and properly, in order to direct and maintain a proper hand path to the ball. A good hand path allows the barrel of your bat to follow, which fosters good contact and lots of power. Check my Tool Box for an illustration on proper timing and drills.

3. Over rotating your back foot
Most hitters are taught to get their hips started before their hands. That method worked for me when I was younger. And then I started to see breaking balls. As long as your bat is in your hands, you should initiate your approach with your hands, and allow your feet to support your hands for power production. If your back foot rotates past a straight line to the pitcher, you’ll lose a direct path to the ball with your hands.

To get an up-close and personal look at these drills and more, check out our complete offerings of online training drills and hitting lab sessions. Sign up today.

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How to get more hits

Every hitter wants to find ways to get more hits. For many players, hits are the validation for a game well played. But let’s face it, if you don’t understand the process of getting hits, your approach may be just plain luck. I’ve seen it too many times – the “luck” approach leads to slumps and stress.

But there’s good news out there. Here are six things you need to get more hits. You must:

1. Know the opposing pitcher

2. Get loaded on time

3. Take a good approach

4. Hit the ball hard

5. Have a little luck

6. Understand that when all else fails, do something

To effectively use your swing, you must understand it. Think about it like this – You wouldn’t start playing a video game before understanding how to play it.

The Diamond Directors’ approach breaks the swing down into six parts with two supporting components. The stance is followed by the load, approach, contact, extension and finish, while tempo and timing support your swing mechanics. (See 6 steps you must know now to fix your swing)

If you want more hits, you must build – and then continually maintain – sound swing mechanics.

For this blog, let’s take a closer look at the first two items – know the opposing pitcher and get loaded on time. We’ll break down the other areas in the next few blogs.

Know the opposing pitcher

A good pitcher approaches each batter with a plan. If he has good stuff to support that plan, you might be in trouble unless you have sound swing mechanics. Before you step in the batter’s box, you must know all his pitches and pitch patterns.

While you don’t have to change your swing to hit the various pitch types and locations, knowing the patterns of pitches will help you be prepared. Pitchers throw a variety pitches at various speeds and locations to prevent you from getting extension. A pitcher won’t mind if you hit the ball hard, especially if he has solid defenders behind him.

When you step to the plate it’s crucial that you get ahead of the count. Be prepared. Get ready. And don’t forget to watch his pitch-pattern sequences while you’re on deck and in the dugout.

 

Get loaded on time

Getting ready to hit means getting your hands back in a hitting position, followed by a short, forward stride with your front foot. If done properly, your feet should be the same length as your bat. It’s crucial to get in this position on time. (Please visit the Diamond Directors’ Tool Box to see how to get your timing down).

Check out the timing illustration. Your load is probably the most under coached phase of hitting. Hitting instructors put too much emphasis on “letting the ball travel” and “quick hands.” Truthfully, if you aren’t in a good position, it’s very difficult to react.

Remember: Quality practice builds permanent habits.

 

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Bringing the rhythm to your swing

As you move from the cages and batting tees to live pitching, you should be ready to flip the switch that is your swing. We talked about timing and tempo, and the importance of having sound swing mechanics.

Now it’s time to talk about timing. And when you talk about hitting, it’s all about the timing. Truth be told, if you focus on it, timing is easy. Sure, an undisciplined hitter wants to hit balls hard without spending the time needed to master the art of timing. (Check out this timing exercise – and more – in our Diamond Directors Toolbox. If you’re not a member, sign up today.) 

But that’s not you. That’s not what a Diamond Director student does.

You know that a successful season at the plate means focusing on “when” to swing, not “how.”

To help set your tempo, try music. Musical choices are very important in complimenting your swing mechanics. If you think about it, this is why players carefully choose an appropriate song as their “walk out” music before every at bat.

Loading to hit means getting your hands back (your trigger), and then striding forward with your front foot. Remember, you must load before you approach the ball. Your trigger, your stride and your approach are the combination of three beats.

BOOM. BOOM. CLACK. These are the sounds of the Tomahawk chop – the rhythm that gets the Braves’ going each and every game. It is played at the perfect tempo – a tempo that helps each player rise to the occasion.

Do you have your timing and tempo down? Now is the time to get going.

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Organized chaos – Mastering the ‘How’ and ‘When’ of your swing

When it comes to the timing and tempo of your swing, sound swing mechanics are crucial. When you understand the how, you can focus on the when. Take the Yankees’ Robinson Cano. What I love most about Cano’s swing is his smooth and efficient tempo, which directly relate to his sound swing mechanics.

Talk about a quiet storm. You cannot make adjustments to quality breaking balls and off-speed pitches if you’re moving too fast and exhibit a lack control. (For a complete breakdown of mastering your swing, check out “6 steps you must know now to fix your swing.”) Don’t forget to mix the proper guidance, some patience and a strong work ethic.

Look at it this way – Great swings are like tornados – organized chaos.

So let’s focus on one aspect of the “when” – timing.

Knowing your opponent – When you step in the batter’s box, you should know what type of pitcher you’re facing. Does he have an above average, average or below average fastball? Good hitters can time a pitcher based off of his fastball. An undisciplined hitter wants to hit balls hard without spending the time to master the art of timing.

In the end, success comes down to being prepared, being focused and being ready to succeed. You’ll be on your way to a successful season when you don’t have to focus on the “how” and can concentrate on the “when” to win.

In my next blog, I’ll focus on the “when” – tempo.

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