A Tense Muscle is a slow muscle

A big thing I used say to my hitters throughout the year is, "relax and release" However I now think that the over emphasis off "Release Point" is one of the causes of higher tension level or anxiousness at release point. You just need to relax and trust your eyes. It is over exaggerated but I believe most hitters thought process is similar to: "The pitcher started moving, find the ball, find the ball, here comes the ball finally, I'M GOING TO CRUSH THE BALL! Chili Davis has a great line, "Big thoughts lead to big swings" You are not trying to hit a double/ hit it far, you are trying to take a good swing and be accurate with the barrel. The pictures below are the sequence of Seagar's big game tying home run in the World Series off Justin Verlander. If you watch his facial demeanor until contact it stays relaxed. "A tense muscle is a slow muscle" and the most important muscles to hitting are your eyes. Most amateur hitters tense up their body at release point and widen or bulge their eyes.  This slows down your reaction and makes tracking the ball harder. The calm, confident internal self talk is pivotal to staying relaxed and trusting your eyes to show the body the swing it needs on that pitch.

These are the two most important frames that you need to be relaxed and calm to allow the eyes to focus and do their job. 

Barrel Accuracy is #1

   The number one focus in the development of your swing needs to be improving your barrel accuracy. Your timing, your pitch selection, your swing mechanics will be off but you can still be consistent if you are accurate with your barrel. There are vague words that get thrown around in the hitting world. For example, "BACKSPIN" what actually is backspin and why does it matter? I am trying to hit the ball in the middle of the barrel. "APPROACH" your approach is unique to that count, off that pitcher, in that inning, with that score, with that weather conditions. Most amateur hitters have no approach. They are just trying to "get a good pitch to hit" and do anything to not strike out. "2 STRIKE APPROACH", AKA Don't strike out.  The list goes on..."Stay Inside the Ball" "Get on Plane" "Bat Path" "Short to it, long through it" "Your swing is getting long" "Keep your Head Still" "Stay Compact" " Back Elbow up" "Back Elbow down" "Swing Down" etc
   There are too many variables in each rep in hitting to simplify the swing down to a phrase. Pitch location, velocity, timing, barrel accuracy, etc. When evaluating your swing think about it like Steph Curry shooting baskets compared to say me shooting baskets. I stink at basketball, but I can make baskets. All I am trying to do is get the ball to somehow go through the basket. The greatest shooter on the planet is taking shots at the same height basket with the same size ball but Curry is trying to not hit the rim, not even make the net move, and he is trying to make 20 in a row. "Aim small miss small" Take this philosophy into the cage. Anyone can hit a baseball with a bat, great hitters are trying to hit the middle of the ball with the middle of the bat as many times as possible.
   I put 3 pictures at contact on homers in Game 2 of the World Series. They are obviously accurate with their barrel but they also have intent to stay away from the end of the bat. If you look at the MLB players bats they use in the cage there are no marks at the end of the bat. Put white tape on the barrel of the bat you use in the cage so you can see where the balls hit your bat. Most amateur hitters are uncomfortable letting the ball travel. If you want to be a consistent hitter you have to develop the ability to be late and still quick and accurate. I challenge you to work on this in the cage especially in front flips, see how far you can let the ball travel before you launch your barrel. Tony Gwynn in his first round of bp would try to hit line drives of the third base bag, he had one of the most accurate barrels of all time and he didn't get there by accident. Aim Small, Miss Small.