Avoid Strike Outs by Developing a Two-Strike Swing
Jon Hoelter
www.goodswing.com
Some players accept striking out as part of the game. Others find
it humiliating. Some take weak swings trying to just make contact
or swing at something they can't drive early in the count so they
aren't faced with the possibility of striking out.
Developing patience at the plate and reducing the fear of
striking out can be facilitated by having confidence that one can
still have a successful at bat with two strikes in the count. If
this confidence is lacking (or if a player simply needs to reduce
his number of strike outs), a player should consider developing a
two-strike swing.
While a lot of players shorten their stride and their swing with
two strikes (which is good), sometimes a more radical approach is
needed. One thing I would suggest, especially for younger
players, is to avoid the stride altogether with two strikes. When
faced with two strikes, take your stance in the batter's box.
Before the pitcher delivers the pitch, take your stride and hold
it with the weight back a bit and your hands over the rear foot.
Then simply take your swing from this position.
I've seen hitters do this over a course of a year and actually
end up hitting better with two strikes on them than early in the
count. Makes you wonder if you even need a stride (actually you
do to reach your potential as a hitter). Once a player has
confidence in his two-strike swing, he should show more patience
and take better swings early in the count.
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