Welcome to Hitting 101, where I teach hitters how to hit for "POWER"
"SLUGGING PECENTAGE" and "OPS". I teach the hitter how to properly transfer his weight, match
the plane of his swing to the plane of the pitch..and how properly stay inside the ball, creating a more fluent swing, and
a more powerfull one. There are just a few questions I must ask you.............
Are you being taught to Keep your front elbow down? swing down for back spin? keep the
barrel above the hands? If you are then why are pro hitters doing something completely different? Why are pro
baseball players not keeping their front elbow down? In the illustration below you will clearly see a short video of Longoria
during a home run contest. Longoria is not keeping his front elbow down. He is not swinging down, not keeping barrel
above the hands. This is the difference between hitters and great hitters. The big money makers are not getting
paid to hit the ball hard on the ground. They are paid for being run producers. How many times do we here of guys
hitting 250avg. and 45 HR's with over 100 RBI's being sought after? Quite a bit, but we do not hear about the guys who are
hitting 250 avg 1 or 2 hr and hardly any RBI's. The difference is POWER!!!! Being able to drive the ball into the out
field, not hitting weak ground balls. Come and learn to hit like a pro, weather you are a MiLB player, NCAA player,
HS player or travel ball player, you can learn to hit like the like today top hitters!!! I offer a 3 day lesson that
will make you a more powerful hitter. When I speak with hitters about my lesson program, usually is about
the same conversation with most of them, about how they are hitting lots of ground balls.... weak pop ups, or just simple...........
a lack of power. The reality is that young hitters today are still being taught more of a situational type of hitting.
I believe that as an instructor and my experience playing and coaching baseball, that we should not teach for
the hitter to get the ball on the ground to move runners over. It is about their future in baseball. It is
about teaching them the technique that the great powerful hitters in Major league baseball use. I rarely hear a scout
saying, "wow!! did you see that kid hit that ball on the ground to opposite field. He got out, but he moved the
runner over!" NEVER!!!! What you do see in reports is "warning track power" "Power to opposite side"
"power to all fields." That is what they want to see, and what will set you apart from the rest. Recently
I had a conversation with a minor league player that is in the Phillies organization. He came over to talk to me about
how he is being taught by a "hall of famer" to get on top of the ball and utilize his speed to out run any throw.
So I placed a scenario that just left in in awe!!! I said to him "look you are an outfielder. Lets take a look
at who you have to beat in order for you to break into the bigs with the Phillies, who do you have playing in front of you.
Jason Worth batting 285 25+HR and about over 95RBI's. Victorino playing Center hitting about 300 15+ HR and 70-80RBI's
and playing left field" he said, "OK I get it". So the bottom line is being able to be a more productive
hitter. Getting the ball out of the infield, becoming more productive. Their are 3 kind of hitters, a base hit
hitter.... one who sets the table for the big guys. The line drive doubles hitter, and the guy who might strike
out several time but with one swing of the bat......game over. I think that we all can agree that we don't pay 40-100
dollars to watch Vlad Guerrero hit into double plays, or Manny Ramirez ground out every at bat. We fill the seats because
we are mesmorized by the long ball. When have we ever spoke to our kids, team mates, friends about the ground ball that
Albert Pujols hit the other day, or how Alex Rodriguez hit in a couple of double plays. We don't, but when somebody
goes yard!!! it is the talk of the day. My job is to help young hitters become more productive and try to reach their
potential as hitters. We wont accomplish that by teaching them how to get the ball on the ground.
Are you being taught to swing down and get on top of ball for back spin?
Take a look at the small video below. We see Longoria in a home run derby contest.
Notice his swing plain. He definitely is not swing down. We see him collapsing his back shoulder dropping
his barrel below his hands so that the barrel remains in the pitch zone for a long time. A hitter can not keep the barrel
in the pitch zone if he is taking a downward swing. Take a look at pics of hitters keeping their elbow up. This
allows the hands to actually "stay inside the ball, and theirfore creating a much quicker swing to the point
of contact.
I believe that if we start showing hitters how to swing the bat properly
or just let them come into their own swing, or just simply taking the time to really see and understand what hitters are doing
at the Major league level we will have a much bigger interest in Americas pastime. It is not about hitting ground balls,
it is about being able to hit the ball hard, with power, getting elevation. It is being able to match the plane of his
swing to the plane of the oncoming pitch. The ball does not travel level, it is coming at a downward angle. I
ask this question quite a bit..... and when hitters really think about it... that is when they start to understand.
I am going to ask the same question to you..... If you are a coach, where is where you want your pitcher to locate the
ball? Probably down and away, correct? Why? To get the hitter to keep the ball on the ground. Then why is it that
when your hitters are up to bat you tell them to get on top of the ball..............? Does it make sense? No it does not.
When we teach our players to get on top of the ball you are exactly doing what the pitcher wants you to do..... to get on
top... and hit a ground ball. You don't swing down for back spin. Here is a picture of Big MaC hitting a
homerun. I believe it was his 50th in that memorable year.
He is definitely not swinging down. Sosa and Mark did not bring fans to the stadiums to hit ground balls!! By Mark being
able to match the plane of his swing and taking a slight upswing, not an upper cut, don't confuse the swing..... "slight
upswing"... he is able to drive the ball up into the air, causing a natural backspin of the ball. The positioning
of his body and his hip slightly rotating ahead of his lead shoulder creates what we call "torque". But one
inportant point that a lot of instructors miss, is what creates that strong violent pull of the hands, is the locking of the
front knee. The front knee is what generates the front hips to really bring that hands around, and a slight weight shift.
That is what creates the back knee driving forward. It is not a pivot, or a push of the back hip.
Remember Mr. Lenny Dykstra. Watch his front knee as it locks. The last thing you are going to see is his
hands come into the picture. It is not a pivot of the back leg or "squishing of the bug" it is being
able to generate the hips going slightly forward and dropping the front heel there fore locking the front knee so the front
hips lead the hands. All my students who have continuously kept up with program have seen great results in minimal time.
You to can learn to hit like a pro and reach your potential as a hitter. With the willingness to learn and work hard
in 3 days you will be swinging the bat like some of todays great hitters and Hall of Famers. Take a look
at just a few of the many that have gone through the program. I will be uploading free hitting lessons in the next few
weeks, for those of you who are interested. For one on one instruction or groups of 2 or 3 (MAX) please don't hesitate
to call. For those players who are playing in showcases, time is running out. Come and learn the technique used
by todays top hitters. Come catch the interest of MLB teams and college recruiters!!!!!!!! Learn how to increase your
POWER.....SLUGGING% AND OPS.
