The Fine Art of Hitting.  Locked in and ready to Strike!

Hello Hitters,

The best place to start your off-season work, is a t  the start. That means forget everything you did during the season, clear your mind and start over. Begin to work on fundamentals of hitting, just like you did when you were a kid. Work on stance, stride length and balance. Work the basics. Expand on the basics, improve.

Hit everyday and focus on making soild contact with a slow swing. Center the ball on the bat and be sure to stay in balance.

Hire a trainer and get your legs, hips, butt and mid section strong. Hit with your legs!

Hello hitters,

……DON’T MISS THE FASTBALL!!…How do I hit a curve ball? This is the one question that I get from parents and kids all the time. The off speed pitch gives amateur hitters a fit. I always answer with “Don’t miss the fastball”. Kids and parents laugh, but I’m serious.

During every at-bat you should be focused on getting a fastball in your zone in favorable counts. As the at-bat goes along and the count changes, your focus should change, but you should focus on hitting the fastball when you can.

As you move up the ranks in baseball and have access to video and scouting reports, you will begin to see how pitchers throw to hitters and what counts they like to throw off-speed pitches in.  Scouting reports and video can be very helpful to hitting the fastball and not worring about how to hit off-speed pitches.  

Focus on the fastball in your zone!

Mike “The HitMan” Easler

Hello Everyone,

I have been away for a while, but for good reason.  I’m back doing what I was born to do—-Teach Hitting! I’m currently the hitting coach for the Buffalo Bisons, Triple A New York Mets. Check us out here!.

Mike “The Hitman” Easler

 

Hello Hitters,

Well, it’s here and it aint going anywhere….it’s the off-season. This is not a good time of year if you’re a fan of the game, but if you are a player (at any level) it’s the most important time of the season.

Youth players today are playing baseball all year long. At first glance, that seem s to be great. When you look a little closer, it can become a problem.

I beleive that even if you can play all year ’round, you shouldn’t. You need to take a break and create an “off-season” for yourself.

Benefits of the off-season

1. Time to recover from any injury or aches and pains-When you play everyday, take BP everyday, run and throw everyday, you will do some sort of damage to your body.

2. Relax-playing baseball everyday, during the course of a season can become stressfull, especially if you are not having a good year, or are fighting against injury. Take part of the off-season to rest your mind!

3. Be a Kid!-All kids need time to be kids. you can’t play and practice everyday. You need to spend time with friends, go to the movies, play golf, rest and have fun…other than playing baseball.

4. Work out the Kinks- The off season is the time to get back to basics and re-build your swing. Evaluate everything, right down to your stance, and make the necessary adjustments.

5. Prepare Physically- After you have taken some time off to rest, it’s time to get back to work and get bigger, stronger, faster and more flexible so you can play at your absolute top level!!

Use the Off-Season to your advantage and you will become a dangerous hitter!

Stay Focused

Mike “The HitMan” Easler

Hello Hitters,

In the playoffs, good pitching usually beats good hitting (and the Rangers can swing it!).

A good hitter has to look for the one mistake a pitcher might make. The mistake might only happen once during an entire game, or it could happen once per at-bat. Regardless, you must not miss the mistake.

In the World Series, Cliff Lee made one bad pitch and Renteria didn’t miss it! The Giants hitters knew Cliff Lee would be around the plate. They were patient and waited for pitches to hit.

As a hitter, you must be mentally ready during the playoffs because you are only going to get one chance to hit a mistake pitch. Don’t miss it!!

Stay Focused

Mike “The HitMan” Easler

Hello Hitters,

Hope you’re well and hitting ropes!

This is my favorite time of year…PLAYOFFS!

I’ve been asked recently how to stay composed at the plate and how to hit while relaxed. Some of my students say that the get nervous in a big game or in a tight situation.

The player who is the best post season performer I’ve ever seen is Derek Jeter. I want you all to watch Derek in the playoffs. He didn’t have the best offensive year of his career this season, but so what. He is going to be focused during every at bat and 100% mentally ready to do his job.

He might stike out, or ground out or fly out, but he will take pitches (giving his teammates a chance to see all the pitchers stuff). He will also be focused on doing his job at the plate. Hitting the ball the other way, sacrifice bunt, sac fly. He knows that he will not get a hit every time up, but he can help his team every time he’s up!

So what does he do differently during the post season? Well, that’s a trick question. the answer is nothing! Derek Jeter does nothing differently during the post season! He remains focused during the game and mentally prepares the days before a game.

In the playoffs you will see many pitching changes in order to match up against hitters. In his pre game prep, Jeter and all great hitters will go over the different pitchers they may face and run through different situations they may be in during the game.

The key to performing well in the playoffs or in big games is to be prepared for every possible situation you might face. The best way to stay calm and relaxed is to be prepared! The mental side of hitting is the most important side. If you are mentally ready to play, you will perform in any situation.

Enjoy the playoffs and study Derek Jeter. He is always prepared for the big situation.

Hello Hitters,

It’s Brandon here giving  you 5 easy ways to add more power at the plate.

It takes dedication and hours of hard work to develop a great swing. It also takes a little bit of luck at the plate sometimes to get some some hits. What doesn’t take hours of mental and physical preparation is eating well.

Food is the best way to add natural energy to your game. When you don’t eat well, it’s like putting low octane gas in a high performance sports car. Your body is the sports car! You must treat it the right way to produce the power and energy you need to perform in the game and during practice.

The easiest way to gain energy is to eat well and to eat Breakfast!! You may have had a late night game the day before and just want to sleep in the next day. That’s fine, as long as you eat right when you wake up. Eating breakfast replenishes your bodies food supply from a night of fasting (you fast when your body is at sleep). Skipping breakfast is like driving your high performance sports car on empty!

Here is an example list of energy foods that baseball players can easily add to their diets during the busy season.

Energy Foods

1. Fruit (apple’s specifically) easily carried, and found in just about every store, even truck stops on lonely highways.

2. Yogurt (low or non-fat) easy to travel with and full of vitamins. Add nuts or berries to enhance flavor.

3. Tuna- Get it in a sub, or eat it right out of the can. Tons of protein for lean muscle!

4. Sunflower seeds- a baseball player’s favorite! good source of fiber and energy.

5. Bananas- Easy to travel with and quick to eat. Provides potassium which helps maintain muscle function.

The list goes on and on and on, but these 5 foods are all readily available, can be eaten anytime of day and are cheap to buy. Add these foods into your pre-and post game meals and fuel recovery and add some energy!

Stay Focused

Brandon Smith CSCS

Hello Hitters,

If you have read any of my previous posts, you know that I sign off with “Stay Focused”. I have been asked “how do I stay focused at the plate?” by parents and hitters of all levels.

The best answer I can give is the more prepared you are to play, both mentally and physically, will help you stay focused during a game.

Being prepared mentally means knowing who you are going to face as a team and what opposing pitcher you will be facing. Have you seen that pitcher before? Do you know what he likes to throw in certain counts? Does he start every hitter with the same pitch? Does he tip pitches…etc. If you are prepared to play mentally, you will be able to lock in and focus during a game. Also, have you had good practice sessions, or done some tee work or other batting drills to burn into your mind the correct  swing path?

Physical readiness means, is your body in condition to play at your best? Are you in good enough condition to handle any type of climate change, like extreme heat, or cold? Are you injury free or do you have nagging injuries that are in the back of your mind? If you have trained properly and feel good, then you have a great chance to play good! My friend and professional strength coach, Brandon Smith, has the philosophy of “Move Better, Feel Better, Play Better”  This means to me, that if your body is prepared you will feel better and not worry and be free mentally….leading to better performance.  

Just like I say in my Ebook, Conditioned to Hit, prepare yourself everyday mentally and physically. If you can do that, you will have no problem staying focused and staying positive!