Alright folks, grabbed my gear early last weekend, buzzing to get some hitting work in. Felt like my contact against live pitching lately? Total garbage. Swinging at trash, fouling off meatballs, just pure frustration. Needed to fix my Yankees contact success, stat. Figured I’d tackle it head-on.
Step One: Admitting the Mess
First thing? Had to be real with myself. Dug out my old phone, scrolled through a bunch of at-bat videos from the last few games. Man, it was ugly. Spotted a bunch of stuff:
- Swung at garbage. Ball way outside? Yep, chased it like a dog after a squirrel.
- Weight all wrong. Lunging forward like I was falling off a cliff, totally off-balance.
- Head bouncing around like a bobblehead doll. Can’t hit what you can’t see!
- Tried to crush every single pitch like it owed me money. Tightened up, swung super hard, and mostly missed.
Okay. Common mistakes piled up. Time to clean house.
Step Two: Back to Basics (Like Really Basic)
Grabbed the tee. Yeah, the tee. Felt almost silly, but knew I needed it. Set it up middle-in. Focused on one thing: smooth weight transfer. Started slow.
Practiced shifting my weight back onto that back leg as the “pitcher” (me, pretending) went into motion, then driving smoothly forward onto the front foot as I made contact. Like stepping into a gentle punch, not leaping off a cliff. Did this for, felt like forever. Just rocking back and forth, keeping my head steady, focusing on that transfer. Used no stride at first, just shifting weight in place. Kept reminding myself: Easy, smooth, see the ball.
Step Three: Adding Movement & Discipline
Feeling a bit more solid, brought back a small stride. Tiny step. Main focus? Keeping that head still. Looked at myself hitting off the tee in a mirror – worked hard to lock my eyes on the “contact zone”. Moved the tee around: inside, outside, high, low. Forced myself to wait, recognize where the ball was before committing. Started calling out locations loud before I swung: “Inside!” “Away!” “High!” Helped me stop guessing and start seeing.
Step Four: Facing the Firing Squad (Well, the Pitching Machine)
Okay, tee got boring. Time for moving targets. Turned on the pitching machine. Set it to moderate speed, fastballs only. Goal? Contact, not chaos. Focused intensely on the release point.
Didn’t care where the ball went, only cared about making solid contact. Focused purely on:
- Seeing that ball out of the “pitcher’s” hand. Tracking it.
- Smooth weight shift. Rock back, step forward easy.
- Letting the hands go quick and direct to the ball. No big, looping swings.
- Swinging at the ball, not through the stratosphere.
First few rounds? Still whiffed or popped up plenty. Forced myself to slow everything down mentally. Took deep breaths between pitches. Stuck with the plan: See it. Shift. Quick hands. Contact. Started hitting line drives to different parts of the cage. Progress!
Step Five: Live Pitching – The Real Test
Convinced a buddy to throw to me. Nervous energy came back! First couple pitches? That old urge to overswing roared up. Held myself back. Remembered: Contact first. See the ball, smooth shift, short swing.
Took the first few pitches, just tracking. Called ‘Strike!’ or ‘Ball!’ loud. Started putting the bat on the ball. Fouled some off, sure. But hit others hard through the infield. Felt the difference immediately. My body wasn’t fighting itself. When he tried a curve? Didn’t panic. Saw it break early, held off. Discipline!
The Payoff & Lessons Learned
Was it perfect? Nah. Still work to do. But my contact rate felt way up. Way more line drives, fewer ugly strikeouts or weak popups. It boiled down to:
- Calm Down & See: Loose body, quiet head, tracking the ball from the start.
- Weight Matters: Smooth transfer beats lunging any day. Creates power without forcing it.
- Short & Quick: Forget the giant home run hack. Quick hands, direct to the ball.
- Discipline Pays: Practice knowing “your pitch”. Chasing junk gets you nowhere fast.
Simple stuff, easy to forget when you start pressing. Had to relearn it. Feels good to be making real contact again. Onwards!
