Posted by: toti (penaosvaldo@hotmail.com) on Mon Aug 4 09:47:07 2003

So I posted > href="http://www.batspeed.com/messageboar
> d/output/11945.html">last month about
> my hitting troubles. Basically, I swing down on
> the ball (or at best, level); I lunge rather than
> rotate (although I clear my hips pretty good, so
> I hit good infield practice, a lot of hard ground
> balls); I probably stride too much. Jack said I
> had a "back-side swing with little or no help
> coming from the lead-side" (and if he could
> explain that sentence a little more...).
>
> I planned to post another clip from a tape from
> this weekend, showing my swing when I have
> all those things in mind while at the plate-
> straighten the front leg, lower the back
> shoulder, swing up at the ball, etc. (I hit into a
> 6-4 FC). When I looked at it last night, I looked
> (to me) the same as I did in the animated gif I
> linked to last month- making contact with an
> outside pitch with a flat swing and my butt
> sticking out and my front knee bent.
>
> I suppose two weeks is a bit soon to start
> seeing results from trying to radically change
> one's hitting approach so much. Still, it's
> frustrating to KNOW what you should be doing
> up there, and then feel like all that flies out the
> window as soon as you see that ball coming
> at you.
>
> Can anyone suggest some training tips? I
> read somewhere someone suggested putting
> a ball under your trailing armpit to keep that
> elbow down (and then read a response
> disagreeing). I know one silly way to fool
> yourself with something like that isn't a
> long-term solution to anything, but maybe
> something like that, if repeated often enough,
> can help me train my muscles enough to
> 'remember' what to do when it counts. I've
> been hitting off a tee and hitting from the
> cages, and I think I'm doing it correctly there-
> not every time, certainly, but at least in the
> cages I can think about what I'm doing and
> conciously change my stroke for the next pitch
> if I don't swing the way I know I should. I feel
> like I lose that in the actual game. Is it just
> psychological, or am I just at that awkward
> point right before I put what I've learned to
> use?
>
> Matt

hi matt:


i sympathize because you are really trying. success in hitting comes harder than in any other sport so keep practicing.

i was linear and suffered the frustration and consequences.

here is my advice. if you want to save yourself a lot of time and aggravation buy some tapes on rotational hitting and correct yourself. this is the best shortcut. you will never, i repeat, never do it without help. hitting is already complicated as it is. this forum will only help you that much. i regret so much the time i spent with shots in the dard and the frustration. i was just like you. the convertion to rotational will happen in a month if you work hard. then all you have to do is adjust it to live pitching.

another thing you can not go to the plate with all this in your mind. you will never hit. what you need is to build the muscle memory BEFORE YOU go on to live pitching.

good luck.

toti.