Posted by: The Hitting Guru (hitman3527@aol.com) on Thu Mar 30 22:58:59 2006

> He has been fine until the last two weeks and now he is late on everything, 3rd base to shortstop, also he is having trouble with pitches just above the waist. He is 12 and about 90lbs and bats from the left side. Need some driils.
> Thanks Louie


I would suggest he experiment with choking up on the bat. Rod Carew stated in his book that choking up seems to make a hitter perform better. Barry Bonds (before the steroid issue) choked up and was successful. Ted Williams and Don Mattingly also choked up on occasion. I would also suggest that he anticipate the higher pitched ball and start his mechanics sooner. Sometimes a hitter has to gear up and anticipate in order to hit more effectively. Thus he may have to set a target that is further away from him and start his swing. Ex. Most major league hitters have to look for the fastball in order to hit it well. They cannot just look curve and still be able to pull the fastball. Also he may wish to do some dumbell curls with small weights.