The Keys to Developing a Well-Rounded Offense

"They give you a round bat and they throw a round ball. And they tell you to hit you to hit it square." -Willie Stargell

Hitting is seen as one of the most difficult things to do in all of athletics. There is a lot of merit behind that statement. For instance, hitters will need to be prepared for many things in the batter's box. They need to be prepared for high velocities, a different spin of pitches, and different situations that can change from pitch to pitch. Not to mention success in this skill is a failure in any other profession. Hitting is hard, and it is important to remember that as coaches. Improvement takes time, but how we train is just as important as giving hitters time. 

Teaching hitting can be looked at as an overwhelming task. Luckily for coaches, information is easier to access than ever. Earlier this year, the program that I coach for had the opportunity to listen to and learn from the Kansas City Royals Director of Hitting Drew Saylor teach us about the process of the Royals and what their hitters experience going up and down the levels of professional baseball. The skills that Coach Saylor gave us were a great indication of what we needed to practice on a daily and weekly basis to prepare our hitters for success in the game. 

The skills that Coach Saylor expressed were important for hitters as follows: seeing game speed velocity daily, seeing spin daily, competing regularly, practicing offensive situations, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each hitter. 

Seeing Game Speed Velocity

Every single day hitters need to see game speed velocity of fastballs. This helps their eyes get adjusted to game velocity while gaining experience that can translate into the game. This can be accomplished in several ways. Hitters can have a coach up closer than normal to translate an 80-90 mph fastball, a pitching machine set up on the mound, or live pitching (instead of a regular bullpen). 

Seeing Spin 

There is an adage in baseball that to be a good curveball hitter, the hitter needs to hit the fastball. While this can be true for some hitters, it certainly doesn't work or is realistic for most. At the high school level, many hitters get themselves out against breaking pitches because they don't get experience against it in practice. There are several ways to practice this skill. Hitters can face breaking pitches off of a pitching machine, face mixed batting practice off of a coach where the coach throws fastballs and breaking pitches, face live pitching, or stand in on bullpens and call out what pitch is coming. 

Competing Regularly

Athletes generally love to compete. One of the best ways to see how practice skills translate to pressure is during competitions. There are many fun competitions that you can find from other coaches, but the key to all of this is to have them consistently (I suggest weekly). Additionally, some players will not be willing to change until they fail with a competition on the line. Another thing that I believe is important with competitions is keeping track of progress. This can come from having a leaderboard displayed in the locker room to sending results in a group chat. If it matters, then it needs to be measured. 

Practicing Situations and Hitters Knowing Their Strengths

This last section goes hand-in-hand with one another. There are many ways to score and manufacture runs. Each hitter is similar, but different due to the skills they possess and the way that their body moves. How a hitter handles a runner on second base with 0 outs is different from hitter to hitter. Some can lay down a sacrifice bunt well, and some can drive the runner in. With that said, there needs to be a mainstream approach so that all hitters have a baseline to come back to. 

For our offense, we focus on driving and hitting baseballs hard up the middle of the field (left-center, center field, and right-center). Some hitters are line drive to ground ball hitters, and some have the power to hit the ball out of the park. The main thing is the hitter knowing themselves, what their strengths and weaknesses are, understanding what they need to do for success, and trusting their plan. In essence, you want your players to have been in these situations before in practice, and be their own coach when competing. In closing, each of these aspects needs to be practiced regularly if not daily. There will be moments when several hitters may become frustrated, but it is within that frustration that they find out how to adjust. Learning isn't easy, and failure is never final. Stay with them, encourage them, and they will improve towards their potential.