Developing an effective two-strike approach turns good hitters into great hitters

This blast from the past article from Kevin Graber includes great information regarding a hitters two-strike approach. In my mind, effective hitting with two-strikes is one way to separate the men from the boys when evaluating good hitters versus great hitters. Good hitters hit early in the count and hit pitchers mistakes. Great hitters extend counts, and do damage with pitchers pitches, sometime in counts that are leveraged in favor of the pitcher.

We saw that with the amazing statistics compiles by Tony Gwynn during his illustrious career and most pitchers can tell you quickly who the guys are that are tough to put away even with two strikes.

Tip of the Week: An Effective Two-Strike Approach Can Make You a Deadly Hitter

from amherst.edu

http://www3.amherst.edu/sports/current/mantle/0617_tipoftheweek.html

By Amherst Mickey Mantle Coach Kevin Graber 

June 17, 2005 

AMHERST, MA - I see it time and time again at every level of baseball, from our Mickey Mantle league all the way through the major leagues: Guys with absolutely no clue of how to hit with two strikes. Trust me on this one. With practice and a concrete gameplan, learning a two-strike approach can immediately transform you into a better and more dangerous hitter, no matter what type of hitter you are. Your batting average will increase, your strikeouts will decrease and you’ll drive in more runs and reach base more often than you ever thought possible. 

Why change your approach with two strikes? Let’s first examine the reason why so many hitters fail in two-strike situations. It’s the only time a hitter must guard against every pitch, every speed and every location in the pitcher’s arsenal, and there are no second chances. As opposed to fastball counts, like 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, 2-0, 2-1, where you can really zone up a pitch and let the bat fly, in two-strike situations, concessions must be made. No matter what type of hitter you consider yourself to be (a power hitter, a gap hitter or a singles/slap hitter), you must do certain things mechanically to increase your chances of putting the ball in play with two strikes. Contact, not power, becomes your No. 1 priority. 

The first key to becoming a good two-strike hitter is to become as quick with the bat as possible, allowing the maximum amount of time to identify the type of pitch and where it’s headed. You become quicker by choking up on the bat, which increases bat control; moving slightly closer to the plate to take away the outside strike; spreading your feet in your stance to improve balance; and crouching slightly, to help identify and lay off the high pitch. 

Next, you employ an inside-out swing. This may be a new term for some of you. It’s commonly known as “staying inside the ball”, and it’s integral to hitting success. Simply put, the inside-out stroke enables the hitter to wait longer. In an inside-out swing, coupled with proper lower-body rotation, the barrel trails the hands through the hitting zone, enabling the batter to make contact deeper in his hitting zones, preferably smacking the ball back through the box or to the opposite field. In Ted Williams’ book, The Science of Hitting, Ted says he went from being a good hitter to a great hitter when he learned how to inside-out the fastball on the inside corner with two strikes. Is that a good enough endorsement? 

Next, you must learn to WAIT, WAIT and WAIT! When you employ a proper inside-out two-strike swing, you pick up more time. And with two strikes, you don’t have to be as conscious of the inside fastball. You can wait longer, which makes hitting the off-speed and breaking pitches much easier. Don’t lunge forward at the ball. Stay back, be rock solid in your stance, and let the ball come to you! Don’t go out and get it. Tony Gwynn always says, “Weight and wait,” which means keep your weight back and wait for the pitch to travel deeper in the hitting zone. 

 

Barry Bonds uses the proper technique to "inside-out" a two-strike pitch.

Again it’s worth noting that all styles should become contact/singles hitters with two strikes. The hitter has to “give in” to the pitcher by shortening his stroke and gaining valuable time. With two strikes, you can’t anticipate pitches or guess with the pitcher. You can’t afford to make a mistake. You have to concede to the pitcher and just put the ball in play. 

Now that you’ve choked up on the bat, spread your feet, moved closer to the plate, gotten into a slight crouch, are conscious of defending the outer half of the plate and have learned a proper two-strike inside-out swing, it’s time to tighten up your mental approach. First and foremost, you must be bound and determined that YOU WILL NOT GO DOWN LOOKING! If it’s even remotely close, you must wait on the pitch, let it travel in the zone and put the bat on the ball, preferably back through the box or to the opposite field. With two strikes, you must be more focused than at any other time in your life. Not striking out must become like life and death (well, maybe not like life and death, but you know what I mean). Striking out looking is one of the worst things you can do in baseball. 

Next, you must strategize against a pitcher who is adept at changing speeds. If he throws an 80 MPH fastball and a 70 MPH curveball and a 65 MPH changeup, think in terms of gearing up for the middle or slower velocity pitch. That way, you give yourself a chance to catch up to the fastball, yet you’re still able to stay back and wait on the off-speed stuff. 

To me, a hitter is only a good hitter if he can hit with two strikes. Becoming a good two-strike hitter, and then knowing a pitcher can’t strike you out, is a huge confidence boost. You’ll be more comfortable at the plate, and comfort leads to confidence. When we’re on defense, I call almost every pitch and location, and I know that the fastball sets up every other pitch. Knowing that you don’t have to worry about the fastball, because you can now catch up to it even if you’re not looking for it, means you’ll rarely be fooled by off-speed stuff with two strikes. Just sit back, let the ball travel deep in the zone, and inside-out the ball right back at the pitcher or to the opposite field. 

Lastly, please take this one last bit of advice. As a professional hitter, I eventually became so adept at two-strike hitting that I began to use the technique ALL THE TIME, even in fastball counts such as 3-1 and 2-0. Don’t fall into this trap like I did. There’s a time to rip a 3-1 fastball into the seats (or the weeds, in our case), and there’s a time, with two strikes, to concede to the pitcher. Be sure you know the difference. 

As an aside, let me say that not a season went by that a teammate didn’t ask me why I was so good at hitting with two strikes and why I seldom struck out, and it was always a source of pride. I hope that you’re able to achieve this same level of satisfaction soon. 

To follow is just a short snippet of what the great Ted Williams has to say about two-strike hitting in his incredible book, The Science of Hitting. 

“You have to think in terms of making everything quicker. How do you do that? You choke up a little bit. You quit trying to pull. You think more about that push swing, that 90-degree impact from the direction of the pitch. You think about hitting the ball back through the box. Joe DiMaggio, Joe Cronin, George Kell, Lou Boudreau, Harvey Kuenn - they could do it. Rod Carew, George Brett, Wade Boggs, Don Mattingly and Pete Rose are probably the most flexible hitters around today. When you’ve shortened up and quickened up, you can wait longer, you get fooled less, you become more consistent getting wood on the ball. Psychologically, becoming a good two-strike hitter inspires confidence. A batter knows he can still hit with authority.”

 

Again, Bonds' two-strike inside-out swing, this time from an aerial view

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from SBNation.com:

The Essence of Velocity: The pitching theory that could revolutionize baseball, if only the sport would embrace it

				The Essence of Velocity: The pitching theory that could ... The pitching theory that could revolutionize baseball, if only the sport would embrace it.
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Years later, he proved his point by studying the closest thing to Superman that the sport has ever seen: Barry Bonds at his peak. When Husband dug into Inside Edge's numbers, he was astounded by what he saw.

"In 0-2, 1-2 and 2-2 counts, Bonds hit .125 against pitches on the inner half of the plate," he said, "just like every other human."

Working from his Zero Line — the invisible stripe from the batter's shoe tops to shoulder level in the opposite batter's box — Husband was able to identify precisely how Bonds struggled when pitches were located in areas in which they picked up effective (and unexpected) speed, and instead of timing them he was forced to react.

This does not mean that Bonds' reactionary skills were anything less than sublime. In fact, his ability to handle an 8-mph spread — to make good contact on balls that came in either 8-mph faster or slower than anticipated — may have been the best in baseball.

But he was still no match for the 20-mph swings of even adequate pitchers who had some idea about what it was they were doing out there on the mound. Somehow, the best minds in baseball had never figured this out.

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