If This, Then That

Part of human nature is having this desire to understand the world around us, to define the rules that govern it. If this, then that. If I swing like this, I’ll catch a barrel. If I swing like that, I’ll roll over. If I think this way I’ll get a hit, if not, I won’t. 

The reality of hitting is there are very few – if any – absolutes.

A cue will work for one hitter at one point at time, then work for another hitter at a different point in time. An approach will have you feeling absolutely locked in on Monday, then completely lost on Thursday.

Understanding this, you will do well to detach from the notion of a “right” way to swing, to think about the swing – or hitting in general.

Noise Reduction

Nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything in the swing affects everything in the swing. The kinetic chain has a few links and every time one breaks down the next ones have to compensate

Naturally there’s a lot of noise if your goal is to diagnose the cause behind every miss, especially if we’re focusing closer to the “end” of the chain.

More importantly if you are solving problems at the “end” of the chain, ignoring them closer to the start, progress will likely be unsustainable. This will probably look like a constant stream of new feels and fixes. 

There’s two issues with operating this way : 

1. It’s draining, mentally and physically
2. It robs you – the hitter – of the benefits of consistent practice.

Not only do you get better at anything you do consistently, the more you do something the less mental energy it takes to do it again.

you will do well to detach from the notion of a “right” way to swing, to think about the swing – or hitting in general.

Zoom out, observe greater patterns and diagnose their causes in order to design effective solutions. Also, understand that in hitting you will not solve for every miss, every undesirable outcome. This understanding is how you avoid wasting time and energy fixing the same “problem” every two weeks, or every two swings. 

This applies to every aspect of hitting, not just the mechanics. When developing or evaluating an approach there are certain outcomes that you will simply have to charge to the game simply for the sake of continuing to improve using that approach. It is a good idea to anticipate what some of those outcomes are beforehand to avoid emotional knee-jerk adjustments when things go sideways. 

A couple more thoughts regarding approach : 

1. The approach doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It fits (or doesnt fit) the game situation where it is applied, it also fits (or doesn’t fit) the hitter who is applying it. 
2. The approach does not necessarily have to match the desired outcome. Missing is an inherent part of hitting. Elite hitters – consciously or subconsciously – have an understanding of the patterns of their misses and factor this understanding into their approach. 

K.Y.P

One of the few absolutes when it comes to the process of developing as a hitter is this : the process has to work for you – the hitter. This doesn’t mean your program has to be custom tailored to your movement capabilities or that every drill or exercise has to make you feel like Barry Bonds. What it means is you – the hitter – must have some conviction about your process, a sense that you are doing everything you need to do to be the best hitter you can be.

Developing this conviction in your process starts with developing greater awareness of yourself as a hitter.

Developing greater awareness of yourself as a hitter starts with taking a more proactive approach in your information gathering process. This might look like adding some personal research time, it can also look and sound like you intentionally asking more questions both to coaches and fellow players.

Don’t wait for someone to tell you the right answer. Go gather a bunch of data and figure it out for yourself.