Anatomy of a great at bat. The final pieces!

Part 3 of a Great at bat series. What part and  pieces within the Parts are the most important?

Since you are becoming your own best hitting coach and your biggest fan, you will decide what pieces need to be added and then make them a regular part of your practice and pre-game routines! Here we go.

Hit the pitch you want to see.  

       Sounds like the universal basic advice of

        see it, hit it". Quite the opposite.   

In offensive counts ,Good hitters stay with a visual plan and "funnel" the ball into a lane or ladder within the hitting area.  With two strikes, great hitters love the challenge and make seeing the ball longer ( " track the pitch to your back knee or front elbow") as their primary task.  The better the pitching the more visually disciplined hitters have to become.  On deck preparation using visualization and self talk

( best flixs and rap chats in our world) to strategize what pitch location you are going to "see" is crucial as u move up the hitting food chain. 

Get to the Library and be quiet and read. 

The library is the special place and mindset all good hitters pass through on their way toward deciding what, where and when the pitch is arriving. The library is the "take part of the swing" in the physical world and it's the quiet,read/see part of the visual world of a hitter. The quality and consistency of visiting the library is the holy grail for hitters. 

Soft eyes are calm eyes. 

Soft tracking is effective seeing. When hitters look at nothing, they see everything. The second holy grail,  open focus  was detailed in an earlier post). Your pre-ball release look at the pitcher should feel like the gaze and focus level you have when looking at the sunset over the ocean. 

Reflect and adjust.

Your success in subsequent at bats is directly related to how effective and quickly you autopsy the results of your previous bad at bat.

Be pissed for a few moments, then get back into your menu of hitting greatness and order up a fresh dish before your next at bat. 

Trust your menu selection and commit to it and practice the crap out of it so it becomes a part of your "regular hitting"  routine.