Work smarter

A while back I wrote a post called Batting cage ribbons where I explained a good drill for hitters when working in a cage.  Another similar option is this drill HERE.  It appears as if some major leaguers are using these drills as well!  Here is an excerpt from an article about the recent success of Orioles hitter Chris Davis …

Near the end of last season, (Jim) Presley – Orioles hitting coach – came to Davis with a suggestion. Davis was maniacal in his batting cage work, often taking 200 or more huge hacks in a session against pitching machines. What if, Presley suggested, Davis started hitting off a tee instead? And what if he took, say, 60 swings per session instead of 200? The drill would go as follows: Presley sets up six hoops as targets, one low and on the lefty-swinging Davis’s pull side, one high and on Davis’s pull side, one low and up the middle, one high and up the middle, one low and the other way, one high and the other way. Presley believed that athletes are visual learners, that hitting off a tee would encourage a more consistent, line-drive swing, and that aiming for each of the targets would drill home the message of using the whole field, going wherever a pitch takes you. Before coming to the Orioles, Presley had served four and a half years with the Marlins. One Marlin in particular loved the hoop drill, practiced it all the time, and excelled at it: Miguel Cabrera.

There are a lot of players who work hard on their hitting.  When hitters struggle, more work isn’t always the answer.  Cutting back and working smarter often is.

To read the entire article about Chris Davis, click HERE.