Gedman Baseball: Barrel/ball accuracy= consistent success AIM SMALL MISS SMALL

The swing is evolving and it is an exciting age to be an offensive player. However, with the technology advancements, over analysis of the body has followed. There are too many variables that effect the result of any given pitch to pin point the one mechanical flaw that led to the negative result. The explosion of indoor facilities around the country is awesome for repetition but it has created a culture of amateur/even professional players that search for the perfect "mechanical swing" in the cage either off the tee or when a "hitting coach" is flipping the ball with similar timing consistently where the hitter can have success. Then when it "clicks" with positive results in the cage the individual hitter expects this to automatically translate to the game. There is one simple variable that hitters forget about when analyzing their in game results: the pitcher in the game is trying to upset your timing and his success is based on you failing.

When a successful amateur hitter climbs the ranks from little league to travel ball to high school, to college and finally to professional baseball he is facing pitchers that have made similar jumps because they have consistently been successful at forcing hitters to fail by upsetting their timing and consistently executing pitches that are tough to hit on the barrel. There are also positive advantages to climbing the ranks of baseball; at each step the balls get better, the bats get better, the umpires get better and the fields you play on get way better.

Hitting is confidence, consistency, perspective and dominant body language. Hitting is mental, you have to come to terms mentally that offensive success in any individual game is almost completely out of your control. To be successful you can't simplify a game to the box score. You HAVE TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE AN OUT! You just want to be a tough out for the pitcher. Hitters that get frustrated with individual negative at bats have not come to terms with the fact that even the greatest in the world are outs at least half the time at almost every level from little league to pro ball with a few exceptions. For example Bryce Harper hit 700 in high school because he will be the greatest hitter of all time when his career is over. That means that the greatest hitter of all time still was an out 3 out of 10 times in HIGH SCHOOL! As hitters, mentally get away from trying to perfect your "mechanics" in the cage, work on your craft with the tools of your trade, your bat and the ball. More specifically the middle of your barrel with the middle of the baseball (the baseball is a leather cover with string wrapped around a small ball/cork, as hitters you can develop the ability to feel when you hit the "small ball" inside the "baseball")

Aim small miss small, I got this phrase from "The Patriot" Benjamin Martin played by Mel Gibson. (https://youtu.be/F-BQi0JjY2w) Martin tells his young children to "aim small miss small" to aim at the necks of the Red Coats because they lack protection in the area. and then Martin says a prayer right before they start shooting to himself, "Lord make me fast and accurate." It's just a movie but is an example of great task oriented self talk that a hitter can use. You need to remind your body what you want it to do to be successful in that moment. I love this scene because Martin knows his kids are scared and the threat of death is obvious but you can't focus on things you can't control. You have to stay in the present and give your brain the freedom to focus on the task at hand. With perspective as a hitter it allows your brain/muscles the freedom to relax. "A tense muscle is a slow muscle": your eyes are the most important muscles in hitting. On offense the threat is failing, the threat to your ego is the embarrassment that failure artificially creates. Acknowledge the artificial threat of failure and know statistically there is a good chance you will make an out which allows your brain/eyes/body the freedom to release artificial tension and relax. Focus on the task at hand which is to be accurate with the barrel to the middle of the baseball. If you embrace these realities then hitting in the cage never gets boring because it is impossible to have perfect barrel accuracy and ball strike but each rep is a test to see how accurate you can be. The pictures below are contact from home runs hit the last two nights in the MLB. Below each is a quick caption based on barrel accuracy, ball strike accuracy and the pitchers ability to execute a pitch. I challenge you to do this when you see clips of a "good swing" and when analyzing your own at bats. How accurate was my barrel? How accurate was I hitting the baseball? How accurate was the pitcher in executing his intent on that pitch? Hitting is not black/white and you don't need a "perfect mechanical swing" to hit a home run.