A strikeout is just an out and putting a ball in play consistently is hard. Every coach repeats this mantra to relax their players and to avoid psychological slumps. It is true that a long flyball to centerfield and smashed line drive to shortstop that are caught have the same statistical value than a strikeout. But regardless how hard a ball is put in play, a player has a better chance to get on base with a broken-bat dribble than an empty swing. So, the strikeout is not really the same kind of out, no matter what coach says, and players know that.
Now, there are strikeouts and there are strikeouts. When batters are simply overmatched by high quality pitching, they will strike out often, that is unavoidable. But strikeouts that are not the result of great pitching, can be avoided or lessen in quantity. Most players strike out for one or several different reasons. If we, as coaches, can figure out the main reason(s) for a player to strike out frequently, we can create individualized drills to help them minimize their strikeout rate.
Cannot See the Ball Correctly
A player must see the ball coming with both eyes and go from stance through contact without any or minimal head movement. Adjusting the player stance, loading or launch position might correct this issue.
Occasionally, you might have a lefty or righty batter with opposite eye dominancy and that is why they are moving their heads. Having opposite eye dominancy could be an advantage. Many natural switch-hitters have opposite eye dominancy.
If despite good swing mechanics, the player is missing the ball constantly, it might be due to some vision problems that need to be corrected.
Faulty Swing Mechanics
Most young players have some problems with swing mechanics or sequence, which become more obvious as they start facing better pitching. Older more experienced players might get out of sync, pick up a bad habit, or might be overcompensating because of an undisclosed physical issue. Either case fixing swing mechanics is the solution.
Inflexible Strike Zone
Pitchers are trained to throw the ball through an invisible window divided in six or four quadrants to learn control. Batters learn to create swing space and to cover a similar strike zone adjusted to their own height and individual swing path. Unfortunately, during the game, the only strike zone that counts is the umpire’s strike zone, which the pitcher and the batter must learn and accept to be able to be successful during that game. Many players strike out because of their stubbornness to accept an umpire’s strike zone.
They are good hitters and have good strike zone awareness but refuse to adjust their swing to an extra wide, low, or high strike zone blaming the umpires for their strikeouts.
Looking for the Perfect Pitch
There are players that are amazing at the cages. They crush every pitch the coach or the machine throws on the center of the plate no matter the speed. But at game time, they strike out looking while waiting for that perfect pitch to hit. They have this false sense of plate discipline and they are not aggressive on good-enough pitches to barrel.
Getting Too Deep in Counts
Patience on the box is a great quality to have. But there are batters that approach home-plate with the mindset of not swinging at the first pitch even if it is a wrapped gift on the white of the plate. In some cases, not swinging at the first pitch might be a desirable strategy if facing a pitcher with poor control, a new pitcher just enters the game, or the pitcher has a delivery or pitch movement that needs some getting used to. Regardless, often, the best pitches in any at-bat are the first two, because most pitchers’ goal is to get ahead in the count and then making the batter swing defensively. Players must be ready to hit the first or second good pitch on the white of the plate. If you put the ball in play on the first or second good pitch you see, you will never strike out on the third. This is kindergarten math.
Poor Plate Discipline
Players swinging at bad pitches as soon as they get on the box or on a batter’s count is due to poor strike zone awareness, poor hitting approach, frustration, or overconfidence.
Players with poor strike zone awareness might stand too faraway or too close from home plate, or might not be able to read the speed and movement of the pitch.
A player that steps into the batting box lacking a hitting approach because she/he might have not been paying attention to the pitcher, the umpire strike zone, pitch count, and/or the game situation might strike out often.
Players going through hitting slumps are frustrated and angry understandably. They try to get out of it by swinging at anything close, rather than asking for help to analyze their swing mechanics, establishing a new approach, or a new routine.
There are players who get overconfident after facing low-quality pitching. Others get lucky and hit a homerun on a borderline strike and then, start chasing to replicate the lucky swing. Unfortunately, they carry these mindsets and poor approaches to the next games and will strike out until reality sets them straight.
Not Swinging at Pitches Too Close Take
When it doubt and two strikes down, do not let the umpire call it or the catcher frame it. Of course, it is easier said than done. On two strikes, players must expand the zone and be disciplined and aggressive at the same time. On a pitchers' count, most pitchers are more comfortable making the hitter chase an outside pitch than risking a hit-by-pitch or missing inside on the hitter's pull side. Therefore, players must change their approach on two strikes and be prepared for the outside pitch and react to the inside pitch. Swinging at a pitch too close to call has always the potential of putting it in play or foul the pitch and make the pitcher try again. For many players developing a smoother two-strike swing is a good option to put the ball in play when falling behind on the count.
Not Keeping Track of Failure
Failing and striking out is part of this game. Hitting is part a mind game between pitchers and batters and part an athletic act. It is hard to argue that pitchers do not have the advantage in this confrontation. The pitchers are not only in control of which pitch, speed, and location the batter must recognize before he/she decides to swing, but are also assisted by catchers and coaches to help them remember a player's previous at-bats. Players who want to learn from their previous at bats should create a "swing map" of the strike zone by tracking every at bat result. This is a great tool for every player to understand the areas of the strike zone where they are most powerful, weakest, and which kind of pitches they should focus on or lay off when batting.
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