Posted by: Tom Waz (sluggoking@msn.com) on Sun May 9 03:45:51 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

I wrote about this a few weeks ago to a mom with a 10 year old and I feel teacherman has touched on it to...you must prepare for EVERY pitch as though it will be a strike. You need to decide when to begin moving your hands, stride...etc and do this on every pitch. When you decide NOT to swing then stop. If your not getting your foot down when the pitch is about 1/2 way home you're too late. - Tom Waz