Yesterday I posted two videos. One was 5 minutes, one was 3. Way longer and more in depth than I usually put out. That kind of detail is normally just for the hitters and coaches I train. But I wanted to try something different. Go deeper and longer than what other hitting coaches are posting. A 3 and 5 minute video isn't built to go viral. It won't entertain the masses or fit the 20 second attention span everyone's running on now. (That's fine. It wasn't made for them.) It was made for real...
9 days ago • 1 min read
Matt Holliday said something I always come back to. He tells hitters: if you love to practice, you have a chance. He loved the behind the scenes work. The day to day grind of figuring out how to hit. That was the passion. That's what gave him a career. Most hitters have it backwards. They love the game. The Instagram pictures that come with it. The lights, the crowd, the highlights, the group chat blowing up after they go 3 for 4. That's the fun part. Everybody loves that part. But the game...
15 days ago • 1 min read
I trained 11 conference players of the year this season. (2 more texted me yesterday, I posted 9!) 6 remote, 5 in person. Different states, different levels, different swings, different needs. But they did it. And the number one thing they all had in common had nothing to do with their swing. It was a switch. Most hitters live on one side of it. They're either too hard on themselves to ever trust what they've built, or too comfortable to keep earning it. One side beats himself up before the...
24 days ago • 3 min read
One of my guys went 0-1 with a K his first AB Wednesday. Walked back to the dugout, sat down, threw his helmet softer than usual (which means he was actually mad). Messaged me after the game. (remote hitter) Same thing every hitter says. "I don't know what happened. I felt good in BP." He went 2-3 the rest of the game. Hit one off the wall. Drove in two. Here's what we changed between AB1 and AB2. Less Hands. More Body. Bad ABs under pressure tend to have the same issues.. The body stops. The...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Quick reminder this week. Every hitter I talk to tells me the same thing.. they want to be more consistent. Cool. Then I ask them — what are you doing consistently? *Blank stare* You can't expect consistent results if nothing in your week is actually consistent. The hitters who figure this out usually start with three things: A daily movement + hitting routine (get sharp, lock in) A notebook or journal routine (write down what you worked on, what felt off, what you're tracking) Consistent...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
"That kid looks really good in BP. But we're still waiting for it to show up in the game."The BP Hitter Who Can't Hit In Games. You know the hitter. Perfect load, perfect finish, moonshots in BP. Rounds that make people stop and watch. Then the game starts and he goes 0-for-3 with two K's looking. Everyone's been waiting on him to show up for two years now. Which one are you? This is what happens in game: BP Hitter: Heart rate out of control. Taking big, empty hacks at the plate. Feels like...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
I had a hitter tell me last week he feels like he can't buy a hit. 1-for-his-last-12. Popping up pitches he normally crushes. Missing the fastball he used to put in the parking lot. He said it felt like the game was picking on him. I asked him what he's saying to himself between at bats. He didn't really have an answer. Just shrugged and said something like "I don't know, I'm just frustrated I guess. I say "Why me?"" That's the answer. That's the whole thing. Here's what a slump actually...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Hitter looks good in the cage. Loud contact. Good timing. Looks like a stud. Then the game starts and it's like watching a different person. That's typically not a mechanics problem. That's a hproblem. I call it BP Brain vs. Game Brain. BP Brain has no stakes. No count. Nobody watching. That version of your hitter is dangerous. Game Brain is the opposite. Tension creeps in. The swing gets choppy. The body follows. It's a loop. And most hitters never break it because they keep fixing the wrong...
2 months ago • 1 min read
When I was growing up, a coach told me something I believed for years. "Hit the ball on the ground. The infielder has to field it AND throw it. That's two chances for him to mess up instead of one." Sounds smart, right? It's terrible advice. Sure, it works in tee ball. Maybe little league. When the kid at short can barely reach first base on a throw, ground balls are fine. But the second you face real competition? Travel ball. High school. Kids who can field and throw? Ground ball to short =...
2 months ago • 1 min read