Posted by: () on Fri Mar 26 13:20:01 2004

"note-also helps hitter stay inside the ball on inside pitches."
>
> Hitters do not stay inside the ball on inside pitches. The only pitch that they are "outside" the ball on would be an inside pitch since they must hit the ball out in front more. Also, any drill such as the one you described where the hitter swings from a stand still position is not good. Essentially what you are doing is stripping the player of his rhythmn. The purpose of a (load,trigger,separation) is to allow the hitter to build up rhythmn and energy to get more bat speed. Just as a pitcher winds-up and throws. Having the hitter get into a load position and then pause is like having a pitcher start his windup and then stop in the middle of it. Everything the pitcher has done up to that point to build up rhythm and energy has now been lost. It is the same principle with a hitter. Any time you do soft toss, you want to make sure that the hitter is matching rhythmn to the tosser just as he would to the pitcher in the game.

Epstein's lower body drills should cure lunging. Combine that with a study of Mankin's upper body ideas then season it with Nyman's thoughts on mechanics, training and how athlete's actually learn, and you should just about have it covered. Epstein's thoughts on mental approach at the plate are excellent as well.