Feeling for the ball
July 9, 2012 by Coach McCreary
Filed under Hitting
There are times when you are at bat and it seems like there are 15 defenders behind the pitcher. Everything you hit gets caught.
On some days it really feels like all these people have gloves on.
Other times, it feels like it’s just you and the pitcher and no matter what he throws, you know the ball will fall in for a hit. The latter example is a thing of beauty. The first can lead to many batters altering their swing in a destructive way.
“Feeling for the ball” is a phrase that describes when hitters try to “place” a ball out onto the field where there are no fielders instead of taking an aggressive hack. In many cases, the batter is not even aware that he is doing it. It just gradually takes over. When it does, the batter becomes more tentative and seems to be content with just making contact. Of course, the more the batter does this the worse things usually get.
The remedy for this type of thing is to be vigilant about your aggressiveness at the plate. When in doubt, swing hard. Attack the baseball. As described in this recent post, the ball will not jump off your bat by itself. You have to make it jump.
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