Posted by: The Hitting Guru (hitman3527@aol.com) on Thu May 11 08:54:46 2006

> > > Born hitter vs Learned hitter?
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> > > I’ve played and coached my whole life…I firmly believe that some people can hit, and other can’t.
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> > > Can you take a player that can’t hit and make him adequate…sure. Can you take a born hitter and make him force, defiantly! Can you take a non-hitter and make him great, I don’t believe so. There’s no video or book that has the secrets to developing a truly great hitter.
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> > Dubb. I happen to agree with you to a great extent. If you were to take a group of kids who had never been exposed to any instuction you would probably get some hitters and some non hitters. Some kids are just better athletes than others. But a large degree of improvement can be made especially at lower levels of play.
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> > In the case of a Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders, one can easily see that both were great athletes and probably could have been great if not at least good at any sport. But neither had the greatest baseball mechanics though Bo Jackson was an allstar and Deion Sanders hit .300 one season. This just proves that athletic ability, hardwork, and strength have as much to do with success as good technique. And even Michael Jordan who had one of the slowest swings of any minor league player was able to hit fastballs to at least allow him around a .200 average at professional level competition in one year.
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> > With regard to secrets in developing a truly great hitter, the verdict is still out. In slow pitch 16 inch softball most long hitters exhibit rotational mechanics and have similar swings and prelaunch positions. But at the major league level a greater variation exists as a player must deviate in many instances in order to ensure consistent contact while complying with what his role is on the team in order to stay in the lineup.
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> "Some kids are just better athletes than others."
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> I'm not talking about 'athetes' i'm talking about HITTERS! Some guys can hit some can't, Bo Jackson and Dieon could hit, they just happend to be great athletes as well. (One thing i found fasinating was Mickey Mantle from the left side of the plate home to first was just as fast as Dieon.)
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> As i'm watching baseball tonight, John Kruck- athlete or hitter?


John Kruk could flat out hit (as sloppy looking as he was). As to whether he was a good/great athlete, I would have to know how he fared in other sports. A guy like Gabe Kapler is a good athlete, works hard and hustles, but his batting technique stinks. He could benefit from better instruction. He hits what he does because of his athletic ability. The same can be said for Carl Everett hitting from the right side. I do see your overall point regarding the can and cannot of hitting.