Compete in the Box!

Let's talk hitting! Now, I was never a great hitter, but there are many things I understand now that I never thought about as a player and even as a young coach.

Hitting is hard. Hitting consistently is even harder. In my mind, it’s one of the  hardest things to do in sports. That’s why it takes mechanics PLUS an approach, an attitude, a mentality, a mental toughness, and an undeniable work ethic. Give me the guy who doesn't have the prettiest swing, but has the right mindset, exudes toughness, will prepare, then compete his tail off in the box.

The most successful and consistent hitters have the right attitude, mentality, and a certain level of toughness. You can’t get too high or too low based on one at bat (AB) or a series of ABs. The game will absolutely eat you alive. Every pitch, every AB has a life of its own. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT YOU DID BEFORE whether good or bad. 

The guys that win ABs are the guys who can treat the next pitch like it’s the only one that matters. 

Confidence Matters

To be a good hitter, I’m convinced, you have to believe this— when you are in the box, you are the baddest dude on the planet. If they’re going to get you out, they will have to work for it. Bad dudes don’t give in. Bad dudes don’t care about what happened in the last AB or even last pitch. Bad dudes compete. They fight. They make the opponent dread having to face him. It’s not arrogance or cockiness; it’s called confidence. While I’m at it, bad dudes don’t have to bat flip, dance around the bases, or let everyone know how good they are. Hit the ball hard and get out of the box. Your process + performance will let everyone know how good you are. There’s a fine line between being a confident competitor and a mouthy show boater or frontrunner. Let the stick do the talking. 

Preparation and Building the Confidence to Compete

There is a process to the cages, early work, and individual work that gets lost on a lot of young hitters. It comes down to this-- you’re either getting better, helping someone else get better, or you’re wasting time. Find a way to produce in the cages. It will never transfer to the field if you don’t take it seriously. Never.

These are some things to think about and work on in the cage. What should my process be? What does my routine look like? What am I struggling with the most? Where should my focus be as I prepare to compete on the field?

Here's a saying I give our players to allow them to think about their process or routine in the cage-- to help them understand what it takes when you get that opportunity.

Hitters hit. Sitters sit. Quitters quit. 

1- Hitters hit. Guys that rake in a game are the ones that hit ALL THE TIME and they take it seriously, they hit on their own and they’re constantly working and making improvements. They ask questions, they talk hitting. They have a plan, a routine, a process in the cages.. and it isn't cookie cutter. What works for some doesn't apply to others. In a game, these guys are the ones that HIT.

2- Sitters sit. These are the guys who take cage work or side work as a social hour. They mess around the whole time taking meaningless hacks and swings with no intent. These guys go through the motions, and when they could be doing extra work- they sit around and do nothing. In a game, these guys are the ones that SIT.

3- Quitters quit. These are the guys that lack that mental toughness and the right attitude. Things don't go their way, results are not what they want so they get frustrated and stop doing what they’re supposed to— they give in or make excuses. In the game, when the going gets tough, these are the guys that QUIT.

Who are you?? 

Lastly, the best hitting advice I’ve ever gotten wasn’t about mechanics of the swing or anything like that— The cages, tees, and drills are swing and mechanics drills. On the field is a compete drill. When you’re between the lines, you don’t have time to think mechanics. You have to compete! Build your swing in the cages. On the field, your job is to trust your preparation and go compete!

As always, PREPARE and COMPETE with Discipline. Respect. Intensity. Passion.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

True DRIP

Welcome to DRIP-- a baseball blog focused on the Discipline, Respect, Intensity, and Passion in which the game of baseball should be approached.  Let me introduce myself. My name is Chris Shelton and I have been coaching baseball at various levels from travel to high school to college for the past 15 years. Before I really get into this, let me provide a disclaimer: I’m certainly no expert on baseball, coaching, program building, or life in general. However, through years of experience, many failures, and a few successes, I have learned some valuable lessons in those regards and have developed some philosophies about running a program, developing players, and the game itself that I believe in... really believe in. I did not have a spectacular baseball career, if you call it that, or play at a very high level. However, an ever-growing love for the game has allowed me to hang around long enough to learn a few things and develop some sort of philosophy on how the game should be played...
Read more

Good vs. Willing to be Good

Good vs. Willing to be Good There are two questions I always ask teams at the beginning of the season:  1) Who wants to be good? I ask them to raise their hands if they want to be good- a good player, a good team. Without fail, they all slip their hand up.  2) Who is willing to do EVERYTHING it takes to be good? I don’t ask them to raise their hands for question #2, but ask them to really think about it after I lay out what it takes to be good, to be successful. And we do take some time to define what success looks like for us.  Of course everyone wants to be good. Every individual has goals to be as good as they can be, contribute to the success of the team, maybe even make it to the next level. Every team has big aspirations— wins, playoff runs, championships. But far too many want to be good without the willingness, the sacrifice to do everything it takes to be good. Man… a lesson I wish I would have actively absorbed a little more as a player before it was too late! I...
Read more

The Dos and Don'ts

    I do not know everything about running a successful program, leadership, and certainly not everything about baseball. However, through years of experience, many failures, and a few successes, I have learned some valuable lessons in those regards.     While I am writing through the lens of a coach, these ideals and values are valuable lessons for players and coaches at all levels. So here it goes, my attempt at articulating some of the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” when it comes to baseball... and LIFE! 1. Do the right thing.    Following directions, being coachable, off-field behavior, classroom behavior and academics, how you treat people...      If I had to choose one principle that matters more than all the others combined, it would be this one: Do the right thing. All the time. Every single time. In my humble opinion, it should be the #1 expectation or standard of any program and any player… at any level.      It sounds...
Read more