Baseball — How to Stay Calm at the Plate
Becoming a better hitter and staying calm at the plate, regardless of the situation, starts with having a plan to compete with more calmness, toughness, and focus. The goal is to drop any feelings of tension, pressure, or anxiety.
Great hitters achieve this by:
· Watching the pitcher and getting down timing in the on-deck circle
· Hunting certain pitches
· Having an attainable goal to hit the ball hard
· Being aggressive up in the zone with less than two strikes
- How to watch the pitcher and get down your timing in the circle
I believe that while you are in the on-deck circle, there are only three things that should be on your mind. Number one, if you haven’t already, pick up the pitchers arm slot. Notice where he releases the pitch each throw. Focusing on this release point alone will help you to pick up the types of pitches coming out of the hand of the pitcher more easily.
Second, get your timing down. This means taking full out swings as if you were the one facing the pitch, and swinging exactly when the ball would be in the zone. Get your timing down while you are in the hitters circle and you will be better apt to have precise timing when you step up to the plate.
And lastly, get loose so that you can be prepared and feel good at the plate.
2. How to hunt pitches
Hunting pitches means understanding a pitchers tendency so that you can be selectively aggressive. The pitcher is the test. He will show you everything he has; you just have to study him. During the game, you don’t have 4 at-bats, you have about 20. The other 15 or so are when your teammates are hitting. Watch the pitcher!
3. How to have an attainable goal to hit the ball hard
Everyone wants to get hits, but it is hard when you play with tension, pressure, or anxiety. Starting today, get rid of the batting average mentality. If you hit the ball hard, you win! If you get a hit, that is a bonus and usually, it is an award for hitting the ball hard consistently.
When I was playing in college, our coach had a system we used call the QAB System. Instead of focusing on our batting averages, we measured our at-bats by Quality At Bats. There are five ways to get a QAB. Base on balls, hit by pitch, 7+ pitch at-bat, ball hit hard, or get a hit.
Trust me, the more balls you hit hard, the more hits you will get.
4. How to be aggressive with the ball up in the zone with less than two strikes
I have not seen you hit, but my gut says 90% of your strike-outs end with you swinging at a breaking ball in the dirt.
How do you avoid this? You look for something up in the zone! If it starts up in the zone, it ends in the strike zone. If it starts low and is a breaking ball, it is going to be in the dirt.
You have to learn to sit on something up in the zone. This is how you achieve plate discipline.
Another tip here, with no strikes, do not take a half, uncertain, swings. If you are going to swing and you have no strikes on you, take a freaking hack!
Recap
Great hitters use the whole field. I see too many hitters throwing away at-bats because they are trying to pull pitches they shouldn’t be pulling.
When you are constantly hitting weak ground balls to the pull side of the field, you are chronically in front of pitches. This is either due to your timing being off, or you are pulling pitches you shouldn’t be pulling.
For timing purposes, when you attack the inside part of the ball, you put yourself in the best position to make consistent solid contact.
Use the whole field, use the tips above, and play with confidence by becoming a better hitter each day you show up to the park.
