I can't remember if I shared this, but I'm coaching baseball for the first time ever this spring. One of our players has hit 86.7% grounders going into our game last Saturday, so I proposed a bet with him.
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After giving him some tips on how to hit the ball in the air more, I told him that I would buy him one Chipotle burrito if he hit the ball in the air. I would add an additional burrito if he got a hit from that batted ball.
However, he would owe me a burrito if he hit the ball on the ground. A grounder that resulted in a hit would be a push (no burritos for anyone). Now, I expected he would hit at least 2 grounders in our game, so I told him he was allowed one freebie.
The verdict? He hit a line drive single in his first AB (+2 burritos for him), then hit 3 consecutive ground ball outs (-2 burritos for him), and ended the game at 0 burritos. Funny how it works out like that.
I started by asking what his approach was at the plate, he said he's just trying to hit line drives but he keeps hitting the top half of the ball. I first suggested an exaggerated uppercut swing in the batting cage, because I knew that in the game, he'd level it off to something more appropriate.
He did get that line drive in his first AB! But I think he reverted back to his old swing in PAs 2-5. (I didn't mention earlier that he walked in one of them.)
I mentioned that some hitters do exaggerated swing paths before stepping in the box, not because they want to do that vs. a pitcher, but as a reminder of how to combat the faults of their natural swing. I might stress that a little more in tomorrow's game.
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Also, what were your tips?