How knowing your odds is much better than false confidence.

So often we hear "Its just a confidence problem" with regard to hitting slumps. But rarely is that the case. Lou Holtz once said, "Confidence comes from hard work". I agree, but would rather change that statement to "Confidence comes from the repetition of mechanics that increase your odds of success".

Begin seeing mastering the baseball swing (and hitting in general) as continually seeking to decrease the odds against you. This is a different mentality than being positive. Too often being positive requires you to ignore your faults and force a false confidence...bad habit.

The new mentality that we propose here at The Swing Mechanic is being oddsitive. Being oddsitive means being realistic about the odds you set yourself up against. As the famous quote goes, "The truth will set you free".

For example, if a player has not practiced all winter long and is stepping up to the plate to face the best pitcher in the league, that player would be better off seeing the situation for what it is. Being positive would put undue pressure on him to succeed and set him up for failure and frustration, additionally blinding him from his own downfalls. He is better off saying to himself, I am going to give it my best, I have not prepared at all this year, but I still have a chance of hitting the ball hard with an aggressive approach. Ill give it my best. We call this an oddsitive approach to sports excellence.

The great golfer Tiger Woods often talks about doing things the best that he can within the golf tournament to give himself the best chance to be in the hunt on the last day of the tournament. He doesnt talk about winning every tournament from the beginning but rather he talks of playing the odds and giving himself a chance. His oddsitive mentality does not put undue pressure on himself that would cause him to try to force results and it allows him to see clearly his strengths and weaknesses of that week. This is an oddsitive mentality from the best athlete of our time.

The oddsitive mentality when performing is simply a matter of understanding the odds you are up against that day, taking into account your preparation, ability and opponent. Stack the odds in your favor as much as possible and then let it go. For example, a hitter with an aggressive approach at the plate has been shown to be more selective and strike out less. Therefore, having an aggressive approach in the batter’s box puts the odds a little more in your favor.

How about these odds: A power pitcher tends to have more strike outs than a finesse pitcher, probably because of batters being intimidated. However, because of the force of the pitch, the longest home runs are hit off of power pitchers. I bet you’ll be more aggressive at the plate against a power pitcher now!

Now, let’s transfer “being oddsitive” to our baseball swing practice time. With an oddsitive mentality, the main goal of your swing training is to decrease the odds working against you as you attempt to hit the baseball with the most force possible. More specifically, you should continually strive to achieve swing mechanics that: increase your impact area, increase the force you apply to the ball, and increase your timing control. Only a few minutes of your practice time needs to be spent practicing live pitching, the rest should be off of a tee.

The Impact Position

Six of the top ten home run hitters of all time weighed 190 pounds or less in their prime. That stat is a testament to the importance of mechanics.

Begin thinking of the ball as adding up all of the weight applied to it at the moment of contact. Using bad mechanics, a three hundred pound body builder couldn’t apply as much force to the baseball as a mechanically sound hitter half his size.

And the moment of truth, the position that matters most to the baseball, is impact. What is the feeling at impact that will give a player the most power and consistency? Put simply, hips and shoulders should face towards the pitcher, and the back arm should be well bent, while the wrists are releasing the bat.

Bad Impact Position

"Reverse Impact Training"

I have had a lot of success with players by letting them feel a powerful impact position and then adjust the rest of their swing to fit their new impact position, essentially working backwards.

Another example of reverse training is having a player feel a powerful finish position and, again, working backwards by adjusting his swing to fit his new finish.

Begin reverse impact training by simply feeling a powerful and consistent impact by posing in it on a tee. Pose for ten seconds and then take a swing, trying to whip the bat as fast as you can, achieving the impact position through the swing.

Good Impact Position

For Questions about this Monthly Tip, email us at: info@theswingmechanic.com