Hitting Strategy – You Must Have A Plan

“Standing in the batters box 60 feet 6 inches away from the pitcher whom throws a white 3 inch baseball across a 17 inch plate at speeds up to 90+ mph with only a 33 inch bat possessing a sweet spot of 3. 7 inches can cause anxiety for many players.”

“When you factor in the potential for pitches of different speeds, locations, and movements, as well as the 8 other position players behind the pitcher who’s primary job is to defend against those hitters skilled enough to put a ball in play, it is a wonder that hitters are ever successful.”

Source: Michael Monsour’s For The Love of The Game Blog

It is widely acknowledged that hitting a baseball is one of the most difficult tasks in all of sports.

What I see all the time at the high school level, is that hitters don’t have a consistent hitting game plan.  The majority of high school hitters  end up getting themselves out. Regardless of the pitchers ability, many hitters are unsuccessful offensively by swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, failing to recognize hitters counts versus pitchers counts, and giving up on parts of the plate.  These failures prevent the team from scoring runs and directly impacts wins and losses.

Coach Monsour does a fantastic job here of highlighting some of the key strategies for hitters that will help ready them when it’s time to compete.  Click on his link above for more – but here are they key take-aways:

Aggressive swing thought

Successful hitting requires aggressiveness. The player does not have time evaluate the pitch and then make two decisions (swing or not to swing). Instead, he must commit each at bat to swing unless his assessment of the pitch tells him to not swing. So when you enter the batters box, commit to swinging at the pitch and stop yourself if you decide the pitch is no good.  This requires only one decision instead of two!

Attack fastballs in the Strike Zone on hitters counts

A hitter may face up to 12 counts at any given at-bat (see below). Some of the counts favor the hitter, some will favor the pitcher, while others are neutral. The hitters goal is to operate within the hitters counts by: only swinging at strikes and only swinging at hitters pitches in a hitters count.

Hitter’s Count: 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1, 3-2 (Expect Fastball)
Pitcher’s Counts: 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 2-2 (Expect Pitcher’s pitch)
Even Counts: 0-0, 1-1

By their own admission, hitters hit the fastball better than they hit the curve ball. Data shows that pitchers have a tendency to throw fastballs when the count is in the hitters favor (hence the name hitters count). So when you find yourself in a hitters count, expect a fastball.

However, one method to get hitters to get themselves out is for a pitcher to throw a curve ball in a hitters count fooling the hitter. As a hitter, if you have a hitters count (let’s say 2-0) and the pitcher throws a curve (or other off speed pitch) do not offer at it. At worst the count is 2-1 and remains a hitters count. The following pitch will likely be a fastball for two reasons: pitchers tend to throw fastballs in hitter counts and pitchers rarely throw the same off speed pitch in sequence i.e. curve ball, curve ball.

Narrow your plate coverage to play the percentages

Few hitters can control both sides of the plate consistently – thus hitters must make a choice of which to give up. Over 70% of pitches in the strike zone are from just inside the midway point of the plate to the outside corner. Many more outs are made on the outside part of the plate. In fact, with runners in scoring position, pitchers will work the ball away (outside part of the plate) to avoid giving up a double in the gap or HR. I instruct my players to expect the ball “middle-away” and react to it “inside”.

Predict pitch type and location based on data and tendencies

Baseball players hit fast balls better than they hit curve balls. Pitchers throw fastballs in hitters counts – and, pitchers also like to throw a majority of their pitches on the outer half of the plate. If we use these facts in conjunction with the known tendencies of the players/coaches, we should be able to predict the pitch and location based on the count on the batter and runners on base.

For example, a batter has a 1-0 count. He should expect to swing at the next pitch which he predicts will be a fastball away. If he receives an off speed pitch or a pitch outside the strike zone, he does not swing. If he receives the pitch he expects in the location he expects it, he is very likely to hit it hard possibly resulting in a hit.

In summary, this is no easy task, but with the right approach, a hitter can dramatically improve his probability of hitting the ball hard somewhere.  With that said  – have a plan and put this information to work for you!