The Louisville Slugger® Complete Book of Hitting Faults and Fixes How to Detect and Correct the 50 Most Common Mistakes at the Plate

by Monteleone, John; Gola, Mark

• ISBN13: 9780809298020
• ISBN10: 0809298023
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-02-28
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education

Summary

For a baseball player, there is nothing more frustrating than struggling at the plate. Hitters--no matter how accomplished--experience hitting slumps, for both mechanical and mental reasons. Their challenge--and yours--is to contain them for a short period of time.The Louisville Slugger Complete Book of Hitting Faults and Fixesidentifies the sources of fifty distinct hitting faults that lead to problem swings and includes drills specifically designed to help you correct them.The step-by-step approach starts from the ground up, including: Problems in the stance: hot feet, poor positioning in the box Pre-swing movements: no coil in torso, overstriding, hitching before swinging Hip rotation and weight transfer: little or no weight transfer, over-rotating The swing: uppercutting, casting your hands, pulling your head off the ball Mental approach: fear of failure, poor judgment of the strike zone, failing to recognize pitch patternsThe instruction behind each fault also features unique insight from a major league hitter or professional coach. These tips also allow you to get inside the best minds in the business and apply their wisdom to your own game. By applying the book's systematic approach, including lots of practice, you will be able to dissect your swing, identify mistakes, and put yourself on the correct path to recovery and success, becoming a true student of the swing.

Author Biography

Mark Gola is a sportswriter and an assistant coach for the Rider University baseball team. He is the coauthor of The Louisville Slugger Complete Book of Pitching (also available from Contemporary Books).

John Monteleone, a former college baseball player, is the author and editor of several sports books, including Branch Rickey’s Little Blue Book.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	v
Introduction	1	(3)
Section I The Stance	4	(32)
No Flex in Stance	7	(2)
Hot Feet	9	(4)
Stance Too Broad/Too Narrow	13	(5)
Too Much Preliminary Movement in Your Stance	18	(3)
Poor Positioning in the Batter's Box	21	(3)
Incorrect Length or Weight of Bat	24	(3)
An Improper Grip	27	(4)
Wrapping Your Hands	31	(3)
Seeing the Pitch with One Eye	34	(2)
Section II Pre-Swing Movements	36	(44)
No Coil in Torso	38	(3)
Overstriding	41	(3)
Striding Too Closed/Too Open	44	(4)
Drifting	48	(4)
Failing to Get Your Stride Foot Down in Time	52	(4)
Bent Front Leg	56	(2)
No Separation	58	(3)
Hitching Before Swinging	61	(4)
Barring the Lead Arm	65	(4)
Double-Cock	69	(3)
Tucking Your Hands into Your Body	72	(4)
Failing to Pick Up Release Points	76	(4)
Section III Hip Rotation and Weight Transfer	80	(22)
Little or No Weight Transfer	82	(3)
Little or No Hip Rotation	85	(4)
Premature Hip Rotation	89	(3)
Over-Rotating	92	(4)
Shifting Your Weight Outside Your Front Leg	96	(6)
Section IV The Swing	102	(60)
Pulling the Front Shoulder Out Early	105	(4)
Uppercutting (Dropping the Back Shoulder)	109	(4)
Chopping at the Ball	113	(3)
Casting Your Hands	116	(3)
The Inside-Out Swing	119	(4)
Dropping the Barrel on Low Strikes	123	(4)
Swinging Up at High Strikes	127	(3)
Failing to Snap Wrists	130	(4)
Dragging the Bat Through the Hitting Zone	134	(4)
Cutting Your Swing Short (Limited or No Extension)	138	(3)
Releasing the Top Hand Too Soon	141	(4)
Pulling Your Head Off the Ball	145	(3)
``Feeling'' for Pitches	148	(2)
Overswinging	150	(3)
Rolling the Top Hand Too Soon	153	(9)
Section V The Mental Approach	162	(34)
Fearful of Being Struck by the Ball	164	(3)
Fear of Failure	167	(3)
Lack of Confidence	170	(4)
Poor Judgment of the Strike Zone	174	(3)
Poor Judgment of Your Hitting Zone	177	(4)
Failing to Recognize Pitch Patterns	181	(5)
Failing to Move the Runner with a Sacrifice Bunt	186	(5)
Failing to Score the Runner from Third with Fewer than Two Outs	191	(3)
Failing to Advance the Runner from Second to Third with Nobody Out	194	(2)
Glossary	196	(3)
Index	199