Hitting the Attica Red Ramblers Way
“HITTING THE ATTICA RED RAMBLERS WAY”
By Rich Stoll, Attica HS Varsity Baseball Head Coach
Aggressive hitting is the foundation for any good offensive baseball team. At AtticaHigh School, we expect our varsity hitters to be aggressive in their approach and fundamental in their swing. The following is a list of important characteristics that we value in our hitters. Players that excel in hitting and are strong academically may create opportunities to play college baseball after high school. The qualities we emphasize for success as a varsity hitter at AHS are listed below. We call them “The Ten Commandments of Hitting”. The first five points deal with the mental approach to hitting. The last five focus on the fundamentals for a proper swing.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF HITTING
1. Have an Aggressive Mindset
A. To be successful a hitter must always be aggressive in his approach. A young hitterlearns to hit by swinging the bat, not by taking pitches. Hitters should think thatevery pitch is going to be a strike. “Think strike and then react”.
B. Be aggressive early in the count. Pitchers are trying to get ahead by throwingstrikes. Swing at those strikes. Hitters who find themselves always behind in thecount are taking too many pitches. If a hitter is consistently behind in the count, he will get a steady diet of breaking pitches and pitches just off the plate. If hewill go to the plate with a positive, aggressive attitude, he will get more goodpitches to hit.
C. Hitting is a one-on-one battle with that pitcher. Statistically the pitcher has an edgebecause a hitter can fail to get a hit 7 out of 10 times and still bat .300 and be considered a good hitter. So, if the hitter does not have the right approach, hewill not win many battles.
2. Have a Positive Approach to Every At Bat
A. You cannot be overcome by negative thoughts such as a previous unsuccessful at bat, crowd noise, umpires, poor weather, or poor field conditions. Negative thinking will cause you as a hitter to become tentative. A tentative hitter willusually be unsuccessful.
B. Remain positive in all situations. A negative approach will breed negative bodylanguage that will ultimately cause the hitter to lose the battle.
3. Be Mentally Tough
A. You cannot be intimidated by any pitcher. You must have the mindset that nopitcher will get his fastball by you. You must be fearless.
B. Battle every pitch. Don’t give in to the pitcher. Fight off his best pitches. Keepon battling until you get the pitch that you can drive. When tight gamesituations arise, have the confidence that you can and will hit in the clutch.
C. Relax and see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand. Put the ball in play with good bat speed. Hit it somewhere. Give the defense the opportunity to make an error.That can’t happen if you take strike three looking. Win that battle! Compete!
4. Handle Failure in a Mature Way
A. Understand that failure is a part of hitting. Babe Ruth struck out 1330 times. Keepyour emotions under control. Uncontrolled emotions after an unprofitable at bat will hinder a hitter’s progress and success.
B. Be responsible for your own actions. You must react with maturity and self controlafter unsuccessful batting appearances.
C. Do not question the umpires calls. You hit and he will umpire.
5. Be Able to Adjust to Various Situations such as Hitting with Two Strikes
A. With two strikes the hitter is in more of a defensive mode. Think about what the pitcher has thrown to other hitters in this situation. Does he have a great curveball? Has he been working the outside of the plate?
B. With two strikes you can’t expect to get your pitch (i.e. from the middle in) so don’tlook for it. Instead, look to hit the ball up the middle or to the opposite field. Keep your hands back. You want to look fastball but you may get the breakingpitch, so keep those hands back and don’t commit too early. Look for an outsidepitch and just react and be quick enough to turn on the inside pitch.
C. With two strikes, shorten up your stroke and your stride. The idea is to make contact no matter how sharp his breaking pitch is. Expand your strike zone.Look a ball width off the plate. Do not take anything close.
D. Look for strikes and not balls. Look for a fastball but anticipate a breaking pitch.You can adjust down.
6. Select the Proper Bat
A. Choose a bat size that you can handle. Most HS players will use a 32-29. There are some who are strong enough to control the 33-30. The important thing isthat you generate excellent bat speed, put the barrel on the ball, and drive it.
B. All HS bats must be BBCOR certified.
7. Use the Proper Grip
A. There should be a slight choke up between your bottom hand and the handle knobfor better control.
B. Your middle knuckles on both hands should be lined up. This gives your handsfreedom of motion and a whip-like action as you bring the bat through the hitting zone.
8. Use the Proper Stance
A. You must have good plate coverage. This means that you stand close enough to theplate that you can barrel up the outside strike, but far enough back that you can turn on the inside strike and pull it. Center yourself in the batter’s box in line with the middle of home plate. Your front foot should be pointed toward the plate and not too closed as this will restrict the hips.
B. You must have good balance and a solid base to be a good hitter. Therefore, yourfeet should be spread a bit more than shoulder width apart to provide for a goodbase of support. You should feel your weight slightly forward on the balls of your feet and not back on your heels.
C. Your back should be straight or slightly bent forward while your head is level andturned toward the pitcher to get a full view of the incoming pitch. Likewise yourshoulders should be level and relaxed.
D. Your knees should have a slight bend. The hands are positioned at shoulderheight about 6 to 8 inches out away from the back shoulder. Hold the bat at a45 degree angle which will lessen the distance for the bat head to travel for pointof contact to hit the ball.
9. Use the Proper Stride in Preparation for the Launch Position
A. Your stride should be approx. 6 to 8 inches in length. Keep your hands and weight back on the back leg as long as possible during the stride. Having a short andconsistent stride is extremely important for control of the body as you prepare tohit the ball. Very important to keep your hands and weight back, conserving thepower until the moment you begin to swing.
B. Your stride should be forward toward the pitcher on the ball of your left foot (forrighties) and not on the heel. This allows for your weight to stay back on theright leg where the energy and power is conserved.
C. As you stride forward, the hands move slightly back in preparation for the launch position.
10. Use the Proper Swing
A. The stride and swing go together. As the hitter takes his stride forward, he turns or opens his hips as he simultaneously powers the bat forward into the strikezone in a slight downward arc.
B. As the hips open up and as the hands comes through you will pivot up on the backright foot. In doing so it is as if the ball of the right foot is “squishing the bug”.The right leg will now be in an “L” position after turning the hips. All this allowsyour hips to be quick and then the bat will be quick as you make contact with theball where it is pitched.
C. The slight downward arc is important in the swing because we want to hit line drivesor hard hit ground balls that will put pressure on the opposition. This slight downarc swing path is essential as it will bring a higher batting average, fewer strikeouts and more line drives.
D. To learn the mechanics of a proper swing, remember to break it down to thesethree steps: load, turn, swing.
Practice, practice, practice! If you stay committed to having an aggressive mindset and a powerful swing, then you most certainly will improve and be on your wayto reaching your potential as a hitter. Stay coachable and keep working hard to maximize your God-given abilities. May you have a great season at the plate for your AtticaRed Ramblers! Let’s Go Big Red!