Posted by: Patrick (macknolyapain@yahoo.com) on Thu May 11 10:05:43 2006

Dubb,

In the case of all great hitters, they all had really good eye hand coordination, but you could make the case to say that ALL major league ball players have pretty good e-hc. These are the qualities, that I think, are what separates the great hitters from the average; a consistent approach at the plate (mechanics and mindset), the abilitly to honestly forget what happened at the last at bat (good or bad), and the ability to get a good ball to hit on a consistent basis. That last sentence takes, timing, mechanics, and a great mindset at the plate. Oh yeah, and millions of swings (strength in the wrist and forearms doesn't hurt either) Yes I know that there are great hitters that play this game that seem to be able to swing at anything a make contact a la Vlady, Yogi Berra, or Joe Medwick. But it's like Ted Williams says "how many times do you see a hitter swing at a bad ball and nothing happens? A good hitter can hit a ball that's in the strike zone 10X better than a great hitter with a ball that's in a questionable spot. In regards to the born hitter vs. learned hitter argument, your natural talent will give a guy a head start on how much he actually has to work at hitting. But, if he doesn't use and perfect that ability he(or she) will lose it. Ted Williams has given us a perfect example to follow. Yes he was born with the natural reflexes, e-hc, etc., but he worked hard to perfect his craft. He "hit until the blisters bled." "A great hitter isn't born he's made. He's made out of hard work, commitment, and sacrifice." Roger Hornsby- from TSoH.