These new BBCOR bats are all the buzz right now.

A lot of players and parents are complaining that the ball isn’t jumping off the bat like it used to.  I have a simple solution – let’s go wood bats from Little League on up.  How much fun would that be?

The fact is many younger players aren’t swinging the bat like they should be.  Instead of really attacking the ball and getting after it, they are only making light contact and because of these aluminum bats – are getting hits.  Now with the BBCOR and wood bats these “hits” are really just easy out ground balls and fly balls.

I think this is the result of an over emphasis on stats as well as just not being aggressive enough.  I am sure you are aware of who Bryce Harper is.  He was the first overall pick for the Nationals a couple of years ago – check out his video here. The dude GETS AFTER IT.

Even if you think you are swinging it now, you have more.  Don’t get confused with over swinging and muscling up and all that non sense.  You need to get your bat speed up.  The only way you are going to do this is being conscious of it during your workouts.  As you know I always loved hitting off the tee.  I swear by that.  Get on a tee and take 5 normal swings.  Then turn it up a little bit for 5 swings.  Make sure you are still making solid contact, but be conscious of having quicker hands through the zone.

There is really no other way to get your aggressiveness up without just doing it!  Watch Bryce Harpers video.  You may be a senior in high school right now.  Are you hitting the ball with that much authority?  Why not?  Make a change today and step your game up!

Don’t be satisfied with weak hits.  As I spoke about last week – stats don’t mean anything.  College coaches, pro scouts, and agents aren’t going to be interested in a bloop base hits.    Let your girlfriend tell you how great it was and then forget about it.  The only thing you should be happy with is CRUSHING THE BALL no matter where you hit it.

JCone

Worrying about my Stats almost ended my career in college.  I averaged about .275 in my first 3 years at Fordham.

Looking back on that I get sick to my stomach.  THAT IS HORRIFIC.  And the only reason for this – I WAS WORRYING ABOUT THINGS OUT OF MY CONTROL!  I would start out every season hot.  Smoking the ball, didn’t matter who was pitching, where I was hitting, nothing mattered.

As the season wore on and I was hitting in the mid 300′s I started to tighten up.  ”I need to go 2-3 today.”  ”I need 4 hits tomorrow”  THATS ALL BULLSHIT.

If you have played ball for a long time, I guarantee you have had similar thoughts scrolling through your head.  Maybe even start begging for walks, or at least looking at cock shots down the middle and being overly cautious.  It’s a harmful path to start down.

My senior year was my last chance at going pro.  I knew I had to change my mentality of how I was approaching at bats.  I finally learned that I could only control the things that I could control.  Things like my preparation, my approach, my aggressiveness.

I completely took the stats out of the picture.  I took every at bat for exactly that – IT’S OWN AT BAT.  If I didn’t get a hit in my first at bat – I didn’t let it affect my approach in my second at bat or my third at bat and so on.  You MUST approach your game the same way.

Stats don’t mean anything.  If you’re in high school they are probably blown out of proportion anyway.  Errors are turned into singles.  You know I’m right.

If you want to worry then worry about the type of contact you make.  Are you hitting the ball with authority?  Or are you a little nancy just tapping the ball and getting lucky and blooping it over the infielders heads?  Be honest with yourself.  Too many times I see younger players making weak contact and getting hits.  I’ve been there, I get excited that it is an “official” hit.  In the long run, you’re lying to yourself.  If you aren’t hitting the ball with authority you aren’t doing anything.  That is the only way you are going to continue to rise up in the ranks and keep progre

ssing to the higher levels.  You have to consistently hit the ball hard, because those are the balls that get noticed and that will turn into hits.

Get after it in the box.  If you bloop one in for a single, be happy for 5 seconds, but then get pissed off again because your next at bat you are going to CRUSH it!

JCone

Do you take a shower the same way everyday?

Brush your teeth the same way?

Sit on the toilet the same way?

You get my drift – human beings are habitual, we have habits that we repeat day after day after day.  And you know what?  I bet you have a pretty good shower routine, tooth brush routine, and toilet routine.

Why not have a routine in baseball?  I should not pose that as a question – there is no option in having a routine – YOU MUST HAVE A ROUTINE IF YOU WANT TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE GAME OF BASEBALL.  Baseball is a funny game – people that aren’t fans complain that it’s boring, people that play complain that they weren’t ready if they make an error.  If you play baseball or are a fan you know that its a beautiful game.  There are so many tiny intricate aspects of the game that you only learn as you keep improving and playing at higher and higher levels.

I can sit with an everyday “fan” and see things that they have no idea are taking place.  Situations arise constantly and you need to react, you need to be ready.  Have you been to a major league game and watched infielders in between pitches?  It looks like they aren’t even paying attention, blowing bubbles, checking the stands, whatever.  But as soon as that pitcher starts his windup again they are ZOOM FOCUSED.  It’s a game of constantly switching the on/off button.

This is why you must have a routine.  Or rather routine(S).  Hitting routine, defense routine, pre game routine, post game routine, you can make up as many routines as you want lol – but if I had to guess I would say you already have some sort of routine in place, whether you realize it or not.

I’m going to give a couple of examples to get your mind rolling.  Start with hitting.  This was my personal routine that I took with me from middle school all the way through the minor leagues.  Before every game I hit off the tee.  I would get to the field as early as necessary so I was the only person in the cage.  I liked being by myself during my tee time.  I have talked about my tee routine thoroughly in this blog – check it out here.  As I got to the cage I would go through the same stretches quickly and then start.  It was even as specific as making sure I took my bat and tapped the center of the plate before every swing just as I did in the game.  20 down the middle, 20 away, 20 in, 20 low, 5 down the middle.  BOOM. DONE. That was my tee routine I did before every game.  I was able to get my feel down in that time.  Was I whipping the bat around?  Turning well? If I didn’t feel good I would take a  few extra swings, if I felt great I would end it early.  The fact is that I would never have an excuse about not being ready for that days game.  That’s the key.

Another example may be your on deck routine.  Mine would start when I was on double deck.  I had my helmet on and was at the top of the steps ready to walk to the on deck circle.  I watched every pitch the pitcher threw and started getting my timing down.  Once I was on deck I would swing the weighted bat a few times and immediately get into my stance and get my timing down as the pitcher was throwing to the hitter in front of me.  I was aware of the game situations, how many outs, score, who was on base, etc.  When it came my time at bat I would walk to the batters box, check the third base coach, take a practice swing, and step into the box.  Like I mentioned earlier I tapped my bat on the middle of home plate, then raised it up in front of me parallel to the pitcher and focused on the logo of the bat.  This helped me to gain focus.  I then got in my stance and was ready to hit.

These are just two examples of routines.  There are defensive routines as well.  If you are a short stop or outfielder you know that you need to be ready as the pitcher is in his motion.  What do you focus on?  Are you aware of the game situation?

Start implementing your pre game and in game routines TODAY.  You will start to become more consistent and realize what helps you play better and what is a waste of time.  This stuff is fundamental and often overlooked.

Get on it today and start DOMINATING.

STAY DROPPIN’ BOMBS

JCone

It’s sad to say but I can admit that there were numerous times throughout my career where I would be up to bat, get a pitch to hit and ground out, pop up, strike out, whatever.  I would get back to the dugout and think to myself – why did I just waste my at bat?

It sounds crazy – who in their right mind would waste an at bat?  You only get 4 a game if your teammates are doing their job.  I bet many of you reading this have been in this position before.  You make an out and get back to the dugout and think – “what the frig did I just do?”

It’s a crappy feeling to have to live with – thinking you just wasted an opportunity.  Here’s the deal – you don’t have to anymore.  Instead of being worried about your stats, your last at bat, an error you made in the field, the smoking chick in the stands, you are going to start playing in the moment – EVERY game.

Having a plan means having an idea of what you are going to be looking for at your next at bat.  You will have to know what the pitcher is throwing as well as what counts he’s throwing certain pitches and the game situation – how many outs, the score, men on base, etc.

I was a fastball hitter – as you should be too.  When I say I was a fastball hitter I mean that I was looking for a fastball to hit.  Sometimes it seems like young players walk up to bat and after they strike out or pop up or whatever you shake your head and think – “what was he thinking?”  Probably not too much.

So an example of a plan would be this – I know that I hit fastballs the best.  The pitcher has been working the outer half of the plate all game.  He only seems to be throwing off speed pitches when he is ahead in the count (0-2, 1-2).  Guess what?? You’re damn right – I am going to be looking for a fastball on the outer half of the plate.  So I have just narrowed my focus from “I think I’ll just look for a strike to hit” to “I am going to nail the first fastball he throws on the outer half of the plate.”  That is a huge difference in focus.  Instead of just hoping for a pitch to hit, I am now focused on both a pitch and a location – again this is based on actually watching the pitcher during the game and recognizing his tendencies.  The sooner you start doing this the better.

Another example of having a plan could be that there is a man on second base with no outs.  My job as a hitter is to do whatever it takes to get that runner on third base.  As you start playing at higher levels this becomes more important – but it is something that all players should be aware of because it’s an integral part of the game.  As a hitter in this situation I know that the best way to get the runner to third base is to hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield.  I understand that I may have to “sacrifice” my at bat.  In reality this is the beauty of baseball and what makes it a team sport.  If I need to hit the ball to the right side I know that an outside pitch as a right handed hitter will be ideal to hit and take the other way and if I was a lefty I would be looking for a pitch middle in that I could pull to the right side.

These are two simple examples of having a plan.  Don’t confuse the simplicity of the plan with the ability to follow out the plan.  It is going to take more focus and concentration then you are probably used too.  But that is why you are here.  You want to get better and this is another chance for you to separate yourself and continue becoming the best player you can be.

Narrow your focus and know what you want to accomplish.  NO MORE WASTED AT BATS.

JCone