Posted by: Teacherman () on Sat May 8 15:20:36 2004

Hi there,
>
> I am a ballplayer from Germany and I have a huge problem with my batting for a while now. When I pratice with a tee or any soft toss drills, my mechanics look okay and I really hit the ball hard and have a real follow through. If I hit some balls for outfield practice, I really crush the ball.
> But when I step to the plate, I feel overmatched and I am not really hitting. All I can do is make some contact. I am not swinging the bat, my hit looks more like a bunt. No stride, no hip rotation, nothing. It takes me too long to decide wether to hit or let the ball through. Are there any drills or anything else I can do to have the right timing and hit a ball with authority.
> Thank you

Learning to swing doesn't mean you can hit. Swinging and hitting are two different things, but related. Swinging is just that, swinging. Hitting is timing. And good hitting is the good swing with good timing.

If you learn to swing but don't learn how to time a pitch, then you'll never see the good swing in a game. What happens is, because of the time shortage, you have to rush your swing and what comes out isn't what you've worked on against a tee or soft toss. Rushing is a major problem in many players.

You have to learn to start earlier and still stay under control so you can make the necessary adjustments. There is a pre-swing and a swing. The preswing has to be done with rhythm and timing so that the swing can come out fully.

Many batters wait relatively still and then explode. IMHO that is a mistake. A rushed, pull off the ball swing is all you get. You have to gradually build up to an explosion, with this explosion at the right time in relation to the pitch.

Very difficult to put into words. You have to carve out the amount of time it takes you to complete your pre-swing and swing out of each pitch. Don't take too much. Don't take too little. A very small margin of error exists. But, you need the full amount of time. And, you have to learn to start this at the right time. This amount of time varies from player to player. But it is very noticeable when it's rushed.