Posted by: T Olson () on Wed Mar 21 07:38:12 2001

Have had similar experiences. I think it's common that most players don't hit as well in games. Try to duplicate tricky pitch placements and offspeed situations in practice.

My feeling though is in games it boils down to lack of relaxation which causes tightness in games.

I am a big believer in the following to improve the situation in games....

Rocking back and forth between the insides of the feet. Waggling the bat as well. Waggling the butt even. Maybe all three--just keep the head from moving too much.

What will happen though, is in practice he's relaxed and doesn't need those tension-breaking methods, and may forget to do that. So in games it is either forgotten or feels unnatural because he hasn't been doing it in practice.

So for this to work, it needs to be done religiously in practice so it becomes second nature and not something new in game situations. I know that not every pro does it. But some need that.

It sounds simplistic, but I've found it to be an effective slump breaker.

Tim