Last night, I was doing a 30-minute consultation with a 14-year-old young lady that is part of a package her dad bought for her.
I’ve got to tell ya, I was impressed by the quality of her questions.
Most of her questions were on how to get faster and how to get better results at the plate.
On the hitting side, one thing she said she struggles with is hitting with two strikes as she gets all nervous. So we talked a lot about effective two-strike hitting for a while.
In a nutshell, I say that with 2 strikes against you, the odds are usually not stacked in your favor unless you have three balls.
So, instead of being too defensive, you want to make sure of two things:
– If you go down, go down swinging.
– If you decide to go after a pitch, not matter which one it is, make sure you swing hard in order to make something happen. The only exception would be if you voluntarily want to foul it off. Elite batters are able to do that.
We also discussed other “possible” adjustments to help her out. These are possible adjustments and they can’t be use all the time. It all depends on the circumstances like who’s pitching, what she pitches, what the umpire calls, and you own strength and weaknesses.
1) Protect the outside corner
To avoid being fooled on an outside pitch, move a little closer to the plate. This will allow you to better see the outside part of the plate and have better plate coverage. However, it could also make you vulnerable inside and low.
2) Improve bat control
While I am in favor of being aggressive rather than just defensive, choking up the bat a little might help bat control to hit tough pitches. It will allow for a quicker, more controlled swing. In some cases, you may also want to shorten your swing. It will reduce power but might increase accuracy and the chances of making contact. However, you still want an aggressive swing, not a defensive one unless you mean to foul it off.
3) Move closer to the pitcher
Moving forward in the batter’s box reduces the effectiveness of breaking pitches. This will help of making contact with the ball before or early in the break, while the visual angle is still manageable. However, this is not a good idea with a fast pitcher. In this case, moving back in the box might be a better idea.
4) See the ball better
Seeing the ball with both eyes improves tracking ability. The easiest way to achieve this is by opening up your stance a little. The front foot is slightly farther from the plate than the back foot.
As I said, these are possible adjustments that may help you or not depending on the circumstances. You will have to see for yourself.
However, the main message is never go down without a fight.