F. Assess where the fielders are
defensively while you’re at the plate.
Simple example would be let’s say
you’re a right handed batter yet the
outfield is shaded toward right field or
the infield is shifted more toward first
base. Odds are the pitcher is going to
throw pitches on the outside of the
plate. Therefore you have a pretty
good idea you’re going to get a steady
diet of outside pitches.
G. Short memory. You can’t change the
past so get over it. Learn from it but
move on. This is tough. We are all
usually tougher on ourselves than
anyone else. That little voice in your
head is with you 24hrs a day and it will
start making you doubt yourself and
your confidence will decline. Once you
start losing confidence, your
performance declines. If you strike out
3 or 4 times in a row it would be easy
t
to get down on yourself. I suggest you look
at it differently. The odds are greatly in your
favor that you will succeed the next time
(remember the 75-82%?) so get psyched to
get back up there and hit.
SUMMARY:
Once you have a firm grasp on these first
principles you can tackle the more “Advanced”
strategies. Things like knowing if the pitch
count is in your favor or not (tips off the type of
pitch you’ll probably see), having a plan at the
plate, knowing the situation and a few more –
but that’s for another article.
No matter what situation you find yourself in,
above all, your primary goal is just to put the
ball in play – the one thing you can control.
Plus NEVER forget, you have at least a 70%+
success rate at the plate so go up there with
confidence every time.