I played minor league baseball for 4 years, and I have been giving private lessons for the last seven years. I have recently accepted an offer to be a volunteer assistant at Central Michigan University. I have worked with a world series champion, Little League players, and everyone in between. I cover topics from hitting and fielding instruction down to how parents should use the resources that are available to their kids, and what is going on in the MLB as well. I'll save you money, sanity, and your valuable time, while giving you information that is priceless.
I have heard the conversation about the two strike approach at every level I have played or coached. I think it is a topic that is very much a gray area and not set in stone.
Example: Nobody on with two outs and my three hitter is up. With two strikes, simply putting the ball in play does nothing for me. In this situation I want my hitter to take the exact same approach he always does when it comes to his swing. I do not want him to cut down or widen out and simply try to put the ball in play and wait for the pitcher to make a mistake. I do want him to expand the zone a little and fight off close pitches, I am a firm believer in the more pitches a pitchers throws in an at bat the more frustrated he gets and he becomes more susceptible to making a mistake, and since we are not going to change our approach you are ready to jump on it.
Example 2: Guy on third less than two outs. In this situation I will ask my hitters to cut down on the ferocity of their swing and focus more on putting a bat on the ball knowing a ball in play has a good chance to score a run. What does this mean? It means I want my hitter to relax, slow down, and think about letting a fast ball get really deep. I tell my hitters that getting jammed in this situation is OK because I do not want them swinging at curve balls or change ups in the dirt. The more I think about it I almost want to tell my hitters to look off speed (in order to slow down and stay back) and just fight off a fast ball.
With my power hitters up I want to let them swing the bat the same as they always do unless it is the situation described in example 2. Any other situation I am OK with them letting it fly. Why? because chances are your power guys are not your speed guys so a little routine grounder or a slow roller they probably won’t beat out anyways. Also, I think there is a negative trade off when it comes to strike outs and balls they could have hit in the gap if they didn’t cut down their swing. What does this mean? It means I think you lose more hits by making them cut down their swing then you gain base runners by asking them to just put the ball in play. Remember, even a bad team will field above .900 so why cut down the swing so much, when you are now relying on an error to get you on base. I will let my power hitters take their hacks because they just may hit a ball hard somewhere. That being said I do like my hitters to put the ball in play, but I hope they are good enough to do so without changing everything they do.
The best two strike approach is to not get to two strikes. This means hitters should be aggressive early in counts especially on fast balls. Do not let a fast ball get by you early in the count. If the pitchers doesn’t throw you a fast ball then so be it, but do not help him out by swinging at pitches out of the zone early. Know the zone, control the zone, and don’t miss your pitch when you get it. By not swinging at pitches out of the zone early in an at bat you will find yourself in favorable counts. The key now is to take advantage of these counts.
