Originally Posted December 29, 2013

I have been writing for a few years about why some of the best hitters in baseball go into slumps and stay in them for such long periods of time.  Their slump can last from one, two or more months to even years.   The reason they stay in them for such a long period of time is they aren't working on the correct hitting mechanics to get out of the slump.

The reason a great hitter goes into a slu...

Originally Posted August 24, 2012

Mike Trout and Bryce Harper are two of the most exciting young players I have seen in years. They both are very young with very special skills. Excellent fielders, have great speed and have strong arms. They both made the all star game. They both are such great athletes.

They are very different when it comes to their hitting statistics.

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The very best hitters in fastpitch softball swing mainly with their body.  Almost every other hitter (99%) swings mainly with their arms.   Why is this, what is the problem?   The problem is fastpitch softball hitters are all being taught the same bad hitting cues (listed below) by their instructors, coaches, former players, at hitting camps and even from other parents:                            
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This is an exciting time for all baseball players, fastpitch softball players and parents.  A new season with hopes of it being even better than last year.  Some moving up to the next level wanting to show they belong there.  With the proper hitting and pitching mechanics players can improve each year.  I have been writing for over five years that good quality instruction for hitting and pitching involves learning how to use the body not the arms.   The problem is 99%...

I have been teaching baseball and fastpitch softball hitting for eight years now and still at least one time per week I am asked by a new parent or student if I teach the rotational swing or linear swing.   From the very beginning I have told them neither one, I teach how the very best Major League baseball and Team USA softball hitters actually use their body when they swing the bat.   For years most of them gave me a puzzled look because their coaches and former hitting instructor...

I enjoyed watching the College Baseball World Series this year.   I kept hearing the announcers saying they needed to get on top of the ball with fast hands.  Almost every hitter was swinging this way, hard as they could mainly with their arms and fast hands.   The problem was this made them swing down and out of the hitting zone way too soon.  The result was many foul balls, weak grounders and pop ups even when the pitch was right down the middle.   This is the same ...

Originally posted Sept. 29,2014

In 2012 ESPN was talking about Major League Baseball batting averages and production being down. They discussed reasons for this, the pitching getting better and ped's are out.  They also talked about the real reason, maybe hitting was getting worse.   Tim Kurkjian had the best statement "they swing as hard as they can just in case they make contact".   His statement sums it up perfectly.   I was curious and looked into th...

Everyday in our batting cages I hear coaches and parents tell hitters they need to time the ball better because they are not consistent. Each of our cages throw the same speed every pitch so most batters are able to get the timing correct during their first couple rounds.   The problem is most batters are inconsistent from pitch to pitch because the timing in their own swing is off.   I have been writing for a few years about hitters in baseball and fastpitch softball needing to le...

Seems like almost everyday ESPN is talking about another pitcher out for the year to get Tommy John surgery or coming back this year from the surgery.  They have many segments talking about why there is such a rise in the number of pitchers with sore arms needing the surgery.  On ESPN Sports Science: Tommy John Epidemic, they say there were 70 Tommy John surgeries performed from 1990 to 1999. In 2014 there were 80 plus surgeries by September.  These arm problems don't start at...

Originally posted August 11, 2015

In August of 2012 I wrote a blog Mike Trout and Bryce Harper the real hitting difference. I talked about them both being great athletes but they were swinging the bat completely different. Harper's batting average was almost 100 points lower and he had half the home runs and RBIs as Trout. Trout was hitting better because he was swinging mainly with his body not his arms. The difference is by using his body Trout's bat stays in the hitti...