Hitting in baseball requires a strong mental game. When you step into the batter’s box, you need to tune out your thoughts and rely more on your instincts. Many players over-think their performance at the plate. Thinking too much in the batter’s box will interfere with fluid mechanics and slow down your reaction time.
Many hitters focus on irrelevant stuff during hitting, such as slumps, poor umpiring, and dominating pitchers. These are just distractions and can hurt your hitting performance. Sometimes batters focus too much on their technique during the at-bat. Batters who are stuck in a practice mindset in games can’t perform as well as they do in the cage.
So what should a hitter be focusing on during an at-bat? Just hitting! That means your execution of the at-bat. Top hitters don’t think themselves into hitting. The best hitters rely on the instincts they have developed through repetition in practice, which frees up their mind to just react.
Second baseman Johnny Giavotella, 26, is battling for a spot on the Kansas City Royals’ big league roster and has a knack for hitting. Giavotella has batted .317 in his three years with Triple-A Omaha. When he’s confident in his mechanics, he free to see the ball well. Giavotella had a tremendous Spring Training for the Royals hitting .341 in 26 games, “I’m feeling good, I feel confident in my mechanics at the plate. I’m seeing the ball well and having good at-bats. Hitting is always something I take pride in, something that I feel is my strength and I enjoy getting in the box anytime.”
3 Benefits of Trusting Your Mechanics and Relying on Instincts:
- Increased confidence – When you have sufficiently worked on your mechanics in practice, you will feel more confident during your plate appearances.
- Seeing the ball better – When you are no longer over-thinking mechanics in the batter box, your attention can be directed towards picking up the ball more clearly.
- Enjoying opportunities to hit – When not grinding on your mechanics in the batting cage, you can enjoy playing instead of dreading your next plate appearance.
It’s hard to trust your mechanics in games when you constantly make changes or are re-building your swing. You should develop solid mechanics through consistent repetition in practice focusing on one method. You also want to develop a consistent at-bat routine to mentally prepare yourself for the current pitch and enter your “concentration zone” where you only focus on the relevant stuff to execute.