Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Fri Apr 6 05:50:59 2001

Well I have asked a lot of people about this but no one seems to have a good answer for me. I have always been a good hitter. My problem for this year is plate discipline. I will swing at a bad pitch and then let the sweet pitch go by. I also have trouble knowing if a low ball is gonna be over the plate or not and I end up swinging at balls in the dirt. As far as mechanics go I have been told by every coach up to the college level that I have a beautiful swing and a fast bat. Mechanics is not my problem it is my plate discipline. Thanks. Someone please help me with my problem.

Ryan -
The decision to swing comes at some point as the ball is on the way to the plate. Depending on pitch speed, you have to decide to swing when the ball is somewhere between 15-30 feet from the plate. Maybe more if the pitcher really brings some heat.

There are two areas you should examine in your approach -

what are you thinking about - as Yogi once said, you can't think and hit at the same time. About all you should be doing is gettintg a good read and allowing your body to react. It sounds like you are carrying the last pitch into the next pitch sometimes. Any 'thinking' has to be done between pitches, not when the ball is on the way. Thinking about count, what the pitcher might throw, etc. has to be done between pitches. Your mind has to be clear as the pitch comes in so you can react. You may want to lay off pitches in certain trouble spots (low for example) until you have two strikes. Hitting is a game of adjustments, lay off what gives you trouble OR only look for those pitches if the opposition catches on and goes there too often.

what are you looking at - it is not good enough to see the ball part way to the plate. You need to pick up the ball at release, then again part way in, so you can 'read' the location and, hopefully, the spin on the ball. There is information about vision somewhere on the net. Some old Setpro threads talk about two types of vision: ambiant - peripheral vision that picks of speed, movement; and (I forget the term) the vision that focuses directly on something. Much of hitting is ambiant vision. Too hard a focus can actually hurt your hitting. The eyes need to move, scan, etc. to be most effective with moving objects.
If anyone knows where to get more information on the vision area, let us know.
Ryan, I hope this points you in the right direction. Only you can tell for sure what areas apply to you.