Posted by: matt g () on Wed May 12 21:57:56 2004

Chris, I too had such problems with live pitching when I first started to use the rotational swing. Before I get started I will say this, when facing live pitching one must concentrate on the ball and know the strike zone. Sometimes when we hit, negative thoughts creep in and one can ask himself,"What am I doing wrong", rather than watching the ball and not allowing any mechanical thoughts into one's thought process. The time to use cues is during bp. A couple cues that I use and that may help you are: 1) Keep the hands back, it is a natural tendency to throw the bat at the ball and get out in front causing weak ground balls and popups. 2) Keep the hands and the body relaxed while at the plate, when someone is struggling they tend to tense up and that causes many problems. So remember, overcome the need to use your hands and arms by keeping them back and stay relaxed with the hands. DO NOT OVERANALYZE WHILE FACING LIVE PITCHING. Yogi Berra once said, "Think! How in the hell am I going to think and hit at the same time?