The great Ted Williams summed up the mental game of hitting very easily when he said, “Get a good pitch to hit.” Of course, there is much more that can be advised about the mental game of hitting, but ultimately that is the best advice when a hitter is in the batter’s box. All the analysis, preparation and visualization should end when a hitter is in front of the pitcher and getting a good pitch to hit is all that is left to focus on.
I often ask my batting students, “What makes a great hitter: the ones who are good two-strike hitters or the ones who aren’t?” Most answer: “Those with two strikes.” Of course, that’s better than the alternative, but I reply, “Not necessarily.” When a batter has two strikes, especially when this happens often, batters are in defensive mode and at the mercy of the pitch. I try to convince them that the great hitters are the ones who make good decisions before they get two strikes.
With this in mind, the following are things that will help the mental game of hitting for baseball players:
1. Set yourself up and expect the first pitch to be in the middle of the plate. When the pitch is located there, batters must hit it. The chances of a hitter hitting the ball solidly are greatly increased when the balls are in the middle of the plate, regardless of whether it’s high or low. When it’s not in the middle, hitters must field it.
2. When batters are ahead in the count, they should think about the pitch they hit best: in, out, high, low. Whatever it is, that is the pitch they should be looking for with a count of 1 and 0. As stated above, if that pitch comes, they should hit it and leave all other pitches, ball or strike.
3. When the batter falls behind before two strikes, batters should know the two-thirds of the plate they handle best and only swing if the ball is in that zone. It pays to risk counting two strikes when the first two strikes are in an area the batter doesn’t hit well.
4. With two strikes, all batters are equal. When a pitch is a strike or very close to a strike, the batter must swing to avoid being called by strikes. The pitcher definitely has the advantage when the batter has two strikes because the batter must be prepared to handle every inch of the plate, from bottom to top.
To help with this full plate coverage, hitters must learn to look for pitches on the outside of the plate and adjust for pitches that are in the inside half of the plate. This philosophy better protects the hitter from off-speed and outside pitches because it will help them not get open too early on those pitches.
As players reach higher level of balls and pitchers become more consistent, they can change this approach to take advantage of their strengths and the pitcher’s weaknesses. Also, the best hitters stay confident because they have a good fundamental swing, have prepared in practice, and believe in that swing so they can make good contact, no matter the count. Finally, hitting coaches should help young hitters learn about their individual strengths and weaknesses to help them in their “mental hitting game.”