Rhythm Performance Blog

Tag: mlb

  • Weekly Hitting Tips : Slow Down, Breathe

    Everybody knows that timing is important to hitting. What a lot of people fail recognize is as hitters and coaches we tend to fixate on timing as it pertains to moving with the pitcher’s throwing motion, or timing in terms of the mechanical sequence of the swing itself. A critical timing aspect to hitting that hitters usually don’t gain a true awareness of until they get to higher levels of the game is the tempo of the at-bat itself – how fast (or slow) one pitch happens after another.

    There is not a one size fits all tempo for pitchers or hitters. As we saw with the introduction of the pitch clock in the MLB where many well-qualified players on both sides went through some form of an adjustment process learning to navigate at-bats under strict time constraints. This is not to say anything about the pitch clock more so to point out that some hitters do better with more time than others and the same can be said for pitchers.

    While there is variability when it comes to optimal tempo for individual performance in one at-bat for both pitchers and hitters in a broader sense there is a “time of possession” effect that comes into play when we talk about two teams competing in a 7-9 inning game. The more time a team can spend hitting and the less time they can spend playing defense the better. This is to say that up until the point where it hinders the individual athlete’s ability to perform at a high level hitters help their team win by taking their time within their at-bats and pitchers help their team win by working quickly.

    More on the individual performance side of this is a feel versus real conversation. For hitters when we are locked in the game slows down. A better way to put this is when the game slows down we lock in.

    Now the question is how to slow the game down instead of how to lock in. Let’s start with this : what does it mean to say the game is slowed down? To put it simply when the player has fully processed the scenario from a strategic and emotional standpoint they free themselves up to focus fully on the task at hand. This is flow state if you will, being able operate effectively with no mental interference. Important to note we get here by processing relevant information effectively not necessarily by simply blocking out all information.

    So now that we’ve covered what slowing the game down is we get to how to do it. This is where breathing comes in, or more specifically the hitter’s focus and awareness of their breath. Between pitches, having a routine for getting focus back to the breath gives the hitter time and space to process whatever relevant information has come about to that point – the hitter may or may not know exactly what information will be relevant before they step out of the box, still a good idea to create the time to process it – as well as get oxygen into the brain (important) and muscles. Besides the actual physical effects of breathing focusing on it gives you something to think about other than what your front elbow is doing. Most of us haven’t reached a level of zen where we can think about nothing on command, next best option is find something to think about that aides our physical task or at the very least does not interfere.

    Happy hunting, and don’t forget to breathe!

  • 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.