Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Mon Mar 14 20:59:53 2005

> What I would suggest you work on is your speed. There are tons of drills and exercises you can do to increase your speed and therefore your batting average.

Hi Guys,

One aspect to consider before you delve into this metamorphosis is that, at least in a historical sense, Harmon Killebrew, Reggie Jackson, and Mark McGwire are given more exposure than Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Pete Rose. None of the former hit above .300 for a lifetime average, but compiled impressive statistics in the power categories. The opposite is true for the latter players.

Why? Is not the contributions that some make to "small ball" the equivalent that others make to "big ball?" Absolutely not.

Getting on base only affords another opportunity to win a game; driving runs in, on the other hand, actually wins games. This is the reasons that pitchers would fear a hitter like Barry Bonds more so than a "punch-and-judy" guy like Ichiro Suzuki.

If a hitter wants to gain a tremendous amount of respect, he / she must improve his / her batspeed. Information on just this topic can be acquired by perusing through sites such as batspeed.com, mikeepsteinhitting.com, and hitting-mechanics.org. I am not saying the single hitters like Tony Gwynn deserve respect. On the contrary, I am saying that of two commensurate groups--the lifetime .300 hitters with little power, and the career sub-.300 hitters with ungodly power--people will be more likely to draft the "heavy hitters" over the "table-setters."

If you try, and still fall short of turning yourselves into power threats, you always have the option of pursuing a career as a "table-setter" available.

Until then, hit from the side that gives you more power.

I sincerely hope that my input pushes you to be the best that you can be!

Sincerely,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com

P.S. I wish you both nothing but the best of luck in your quest as baseball players and / or coaches.