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Sitting on Pitches
If you hit the breaking ball early in the game, the pitcher and catcher know what you hit. It's a game of adjustments. I'm convinced that most hitters look fastball, curveball, slider, change-up on a 0-0 count. Guys, it's not going to get it done. We're not that good. You hear all these players and coaches say, "Man, I'm going to look for the fastball and adjust for the curve or the slider." Well you know what, it's not that easy.

I remember Rich Amaral told me a story about Edgar Martinez. Edgar would be sitting on a breaking ball and take a quality hack at it and try to drive it to right center and just take a great swing and hit a line drive somewhere. Edgar Martinez, probably the greatest right-handed hitter that's playing right now, and he sits on pitches.

You don't just sit on a breaking ball thinking, "Oh, I'm looking for a breaking ball." You've got to watch the pitcher and see what he's throwing. If you're batting sixth, you should have five at-bats off the pitcher mentally. Don't be tricked when you get up there. Watch the game, stop messing around in the dugout.

Look For Your Pitch
I remember watching the Astros and Jeff Bagwell was up and he took a 0-0 fastball right down the middle and the TV announcer was like, "What's he looking for?" You know what, he was probably looking for a breaking ball, but I guarantee you he did it because that's what he thought he was going to see and he had the discipline to take the fastball. That's good hitting..looking for something off-speed and taking the fastball, or vice-versa. I think that's what gets most hitters in trouble. They have that ounce of ego where they say, "Man, I can't let that fastball get by me." That's not great if you never see it. Look for something that you're going to get rather than what you want to hit.

Watch The Game
When you're facing guys that you've seen in the past, I want you visualizing how did he get you out, where did you get your hits, what pitches did you hit earlier in this game, what you're going to do off this guy.some positive visualization.

Batting Averages
Why would we dictate our success on our batting average when we can do everything right and still go 0-for-4? That's crazy. Go up to the plate and forget about your batting average. Be a great competitor. Do not care what you hit. If you have enough quality at-bats and try to drive the baseball, that's all you can do. You're going to be confident every single day, every at-bat.....Forget about your batting average and you're going to be a great competitor. Even guys that hit .340 want to be hitting .350, and they beat themselves up mentally.

You're not going to have as much success if you think about your batting average. If you go 3-for-10 in this game you're going to be a millionaire hitting .300. That means you're failing at least seven times. That is such a negative mindset. I think the batting average destroys more young kids because it doesn't teach a kid how to fail and be confident. Whoever has the most quality at-bats, whether it's getting the guy over, hitting the sacrifice fly, or hitting the ball hard.that's what it's all about. That's the only thing you can control. If you do that enough, I promise your hits will come and your mind will be much more positive.

Attacking the Inside Part of the Baseball
This will keep the ball fair and give it some backspin. You're going to hit some bombs if you have the power by attacking the inside part of the baseball. The bottom line is we have the same exact bat speed on a hard ground ball to short or second as we do on a gapper or home run. It's how we attack the baseball: whether we hook it by hitting the outside part of the baseball, or driving it by attacking the inside part of the baseball. The only thing that the pitcher dictates is where we're going to drive it.

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Quality at Bats by Steve Springer - Only $24.95 Hitting is about confidence every at bat. Everyone says baseball is 90% mental...Then why do we work on it less than 10% of the time? After 14 season in professional baseball, including stints with the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets, Steve Springer's breakthrough audio CD (or cassette) has helped players learn the most important part of hitting: the mental side.   34 minutes "You're cheating your kids if they don't have this CD...It's outstanding!"   - Clint Hurdle, Colorado Rockies Manager

The Top Four Reasons for Poor Hitting Production
Adapted from 13 Reasons Why Pro Baseball Can't Teach Hitting by Rob Ellis

If these four areas are faulty, the hitter is fighting the tide. He can hit, but he will not be as effective as he could be. Usually, faults in these areas pick up weight and gradually wear down the hitter until he is eliminated from the game.

1. Poor bat (hand) speed. If the hitter does not have the hand speed to counter a fastball, he won't succeed.

2. Poor swing plane. A flat swing plane takes away the pitcher's fastball. This done, the hitter can begin making timing adjustments for other pitches. If the hitter has not neutralized the pitcher's fastball, he is vulnerable to all pitches. Acquiring the proper swing plane requires a change over from amateur to professional mechanics. Most players and coaches don't have the insight to see this, though Hank Aaron and Mike Schmidt insist on it.

3. Inability to rotate the hips effectively. This is a result of poor swing plane. Without quick, full rotation of the hips, the hitter is vulnerable to the inside half of the strike zone. With this vulnerability, he is not free to look "away," where most pitches are thrown.

4. Poor thinking. This means inability to think along with the game situation, and pitcher-catcher-pitching coach combination. This also means a hitter whose philosophy of hitting consists of conventional wisdom and misinformation.