Hey guys,

So I wanted to touch on another hitting topic today.  I've been watching a lot about the recent off-season action and hitting has been on my mind.  What I wanted to talk about in this post is the stance.  In talking to many hitting coaches, you will find many who tell you that the stance doesn't matter.  It's just a matter of where you feel comfortable.  Here's my problem with that: What about the kid who feels comfortable with his back leg crossed over his front leg, his hand opposite of what they are supposed to be, and his arms behind his back. (Try that in your seat:) Sure that's an extreme case, but you get the point.  The stance MUST be athletic.  Then the question becomes feet and hand placement in the stance.  So here we go:

First let's talk about the feet.  Basically there are two types of stances, open and squared.  The people who try to argue closed stances with me crack me up, because it allows me to see the coaches who will teach their players to be lazy.  If you teach a closed stance, you may want to consider that you are just teaching kids to compensate for the bad habit of stepping out.  If  you have a problem stepping out, quit being lazy and engrave the right movements into your muscle memory.

Open Stance: An open stance is used so that you can more effectively put two eyes on the pitcher to better track the flight and spin of the baseball.  When using an open stance, stand how you're comfortable, but make sure you are in an athletic position. (If someone pushes you, you are sturdy enough to stay balanced)  A very important thing when using an open stance is to make sure that your load gets you back to squared.  Otherwise, you are letting all of your power from your legs escape.

*Notice Marc Texiera's open batting stance.  He is very athletic, but also one of the most open stances in the major leagues.

Squared Stance: Nothing wrong with the good old squared stance.  Feet even, nice and powerful in the legs, and let it fly:)
*Albert Pujols, arguably the best hitter in baseball in a squared (maybe VERY slightly open) stance.

The bottom line is that both of these hitters are very successful, but look very different.  The key is that they both in an athletic and comfortable position to hit.

Now that we've touched on the placement of the hands, let's touch on the also important aspect of placement of the hands.  You see many different hand placements all throughout baseball.  Craig Counsil always comes to mind, with the hands up over his head.  My theory on the is simple really.  Stand in an open area and throw a punch as hard as you possibly can.  Where did your hands start?  That's where they should start in your swing.  In a punch, you are using the rest of your body to deliver your hands to the target as quickly, and as powerful as possible.  It should be no different in a swing.  Your hands are simply along for the ride.  So put them in a place where they can easily get to the baseball with as much power as possible.

Tip of the Day: When finding a stance that works for you, use the one where you feel your body being the most free and easy.  "Slow is fast.  Fast is slow."  A nice and relaxed stance, while still remaining athletic will yield your best bat speed results.

The Most Important Part of the Swing

Hey guys!  Okay so here we go with my first baseball related post.  I wanted to kick this thing off with a bang by talking about something that most people don't talk about all that often.  What is the most important part of the swing?  If you ask most hitting coaches I'm sure you would get a large variety of answers from stance to the head to bat path.  If you answered head you would be neary correct, but you would say head because you've never been forced to really think about the game.  Baseball has become a regurgitation sport.  Psychologically, we take the first thing that we hear when learning about whatever it is and we tend to be bias towards that philosophy.  Honestly, that is the way that high school students take their classes.  The teacher does a problem and the students copy the steps.  My challenge to my followers is going to be to start thinking of the game like a college course.  Develop your own ideas.  Now here is the correct answer to the most important part of the swing: the eyes.  Now, how many coaches are spending any time talking about the eyes?  Hardly any.  I've seen thousands of videos, attended seminars, and attended camps and have yet to hear a coach talk about the eyes.  The only person I've heard talk about the eyes is Ted Williams back in his day.  I don't know about you guys but I'd say he was a pretty successful hitter.  He went on record saying that his eyesight was the key to his success about the hitter.  If you disagree with my statement and think that something else is a more important aspect to your swing, go ahead and close your eyes while doing everything else right.  Now swing at 100 batting practice pitches.  Could you even hit one?  My guess is probably not and my point is therefore proven.  This all begs the question of how do we improve our baseball eyesight.  There are a few key drills that many hitters do frequently.  They take no time at all.  Do them once a day and I guarentee you will be seeing the baseball better.  These drills are taken from some of the leading optomotrists in the world.  They are designed to help you recognize speed, trajectory, and spin of the baseball so without any further nonsense, here you go. (I apologize, I don't have any unique names for the drills:)

The pencil focus drill: Take two pencils or any other type of writing utensil.  Hold one out at arms length and the other in near your nose.  Hold the one at arms length a little higher simulating a mound.  For twenty-five reps shift the focus of your eyes from near to far and then try to speed it up for the next twenty-five.  DON'T CHEAT!  The point of the drill is to get focused on the tips of the pencils.  If you are merely switching your eyes you will do nothing for your sight of the baseball.

The Hypnosis Drill: Take a necklace or anything else hanging from a chain and dangle it in front of your face.  Start swinging it side to side, in circles both ways, and back to front.  As if you are hypnotizing yourself follow it with your eyes.  You will be astounded with what this will do to your ability to pick up the trajectory of the baseball.

The Fan Drill: Good luck here beginners.  Pick a blade on a ceiling fan and try to follow it as it travels around.  This should be incredibly difficult.  As you get better, adjust the speed of the fan.  This is also great for picking up the trajectory and also the speed of the baseball.

Guys seriously, these drills will take you five minutes.  Do them before you go to bed.  You will be amazed at what they do for your hitting.  I'm not saying don't do your tee work or take BP, but these drills will do more than any amount of hacks in the cage will ever do.  Let me know how you like these.  If you like them, I have plenty more that you can do. 

P.S. If you've heard of these drills that's awesome!  I would reccomend that you stay with whatever coach taught them to you or your kid, because he understands the evolution of the game of baseball.  Also, see sports eye site on google.  You'll love it!

Tip of the day: When hitting front toss, BP, or in a game focus on something out in center field before the pitcher begins his motion, then move your eyes into a fine focus on the release point.  Relax your eyes before the pitch.  Just like any other muscle in the body the eyes will work quicker when relaxed.

My Mission

Okay, so here's the deal.  This blog is dedicated to all you fans of baseball out there who want to get better at the game of baseball, help your kids/players succeed at a higher rate, or simply just learn about the game.  I will talk about different aspects of the game like hitting, fielding, throwing, base running, etc... You may also see posts about major league and college baseball.  Who knows?!  The bottom line is that there is a lot of different bias out there when it comes to teaching the game of baseball.  My mission is to give all of you fans of the game an unbiased look at the game from some of the best and most credible sources from all levels of the game.  Simply the facts of what is happening at the highest levels of college and the pros.  Enjoy!