LSE Baseball Hitting Philosophy
We want to be aggressive hitters at Southeast; therefore, we go to plate ready to swing the bat. So we are looking to hit the first pitch, we know that opposing pitchers want to get ahead in the count and we want to use that to our advantage. In most at bats, you may only get one or two good pitches to hit and we don’t want to be taking a pitch to get ready, we want to hit the first pitch if it is a good one.
To develop into a good hitter, you want to have a familiar routine when you go to the plate, do the same routine every time we bat. Whatever you like to do when you go to the batter’s box and are comfortable with (tap the corners of the plate, adjust batting gloves, etc), do that each time you hit. We will work with each player to develop the basic swing mechanics, but when we are at the plate, we don’t want to be thinking, we want to be confident, aggressive, and react. We are looking for the fastball first and then react to the off speed pitches.
The 2 Strike Approach – Hitting Philosophy
Why do we have a two strike approach? Why can’t we just hit the same as other counts?
Well, first you have to understand the difficulty of hitting in a two strike situation. The batting average for hitters in a two strike situation (0-2, 1-2, 2-2) ranges from .150 to .200. So, as you can see, in two strike counts, hitters tend to get less hits than they do in all other counts.
It is also important to know how to hit in a 2 strike situation to give you the best chances to succeed. There are many different ideas about the 2 strike approach as part of a hitting philosophy, but no matter the philosophy, a lot of the fundamentals stay the same. Here is my two strike approach hitting philosophy:
1) Know Your Pitcher – Pitchers are creatures of habit. Most pitchers will throw with a similar philosophy to every batter. Therefore, if a pitcher likes to throw inside on an 0-2 to set up a 1-2 low and away curveball, chances are he will do that most of the time. So, if you know each pitcher’s tendencies, you will be better off with your 2 strike approach and hitting philosophy.
2) Choke Up – Some coaches don’t like to teach the hitter to choke up in a 2 strike approach because it changes the hitter’s coverage and overall feel. By choking up you are able to have a shorter, quicker swing that can get you to the inside fastball that you’re not sitting on. It also, keeps the hitter honest on breaking pitches to the outside. With less length to hit those pitches, the batter will usually lay off anything that is thrown low and away. By choking up for your 2 strike approach, you will be able to at least foul off more balls than you would if you were taking full cuts.
3) Widen your stance/shorten your stride – In a two strike approach you want to start with a little wider of a stance than normal. This will shorten up your stride. The reason we want to shorten up our stride is to make sure that our front foot is down and ready to hit when the pitch is delivered. If we are taking our normal stride, we may be beat if our timing is off, but if you make sure you are ready in your two strike approach, you will not get beat this way.
4) Look outside and react inside – By looking to hit the outside pitch you are doing a few things. You’re seeing the pitch longer, you’re taking a shorter swing, and you’re protecting the plate. All of these things are great when it comes to the 2 strike approach and hitting philosophy. It is a lot easier to focus on the outside pitch and react to the inside pitch than it is to focus on the inside pitch and react to the outside pitch.
You have to do everything you can to battle in a two strike situation. Use this 2 strike approach and add it to your hitting philosophy to become a much more consistent hitter.