Monday, July 12, 2010

Winning Baseball: "What Is a Two Strike Approach?"

Chinese Arithmetic...That's what kids hear now whenever a Coach tries to teach (and explain) a Two Strike Approach to young hitters.  But this "Dinosaur of the Diamond" is a very important part of what winning teams do at the plate.

Winning Teams keep an inning going by poking a ball the other way.  Winning Teams lay off balls and work a walk in order to keep an inning going.  Winning Teams find a way to put pressure on their opponent by forcing them to make plays.  Simply put, Winning Teams find a way to win, and having a Two Strike Approach is one of those ways.



At the plate, a Two Strike Approach is nothing more than moving two inches closer to the plate (to take away the outside pitch), moving two inches up in the box (to take away the curve ball), and choking up two inches on the bat (to have better bat control).  In other words, "2-2-2-2 (two strikes means two inches in on the plate, two inches up in the box, and two inches up on the bat)."

Physically speaking, it's also spreading out in the box (in order to keep your weight back), flattening out the bat (in order to hit line drives more consistently), looking the other way (to let the ball get deeper), and being quick with your hands (in order to be short to the ball). 

Mentally speaking, it's finding a way to get on base, it's competing at the plate, and it's putting pressure on your opponent.

And it's playing Winning Baseball.

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