Mastering Bat Position: How to Align in the Box for Effective Hitting

In the game of baseball, how you position yourself in the batter's box can significantly impact your hitting success. As Michael Abrashoff, retired naval commander, once noted, "One size programs tend to fit none." This sentiment holds true in hitting as well—there's no universal approach that fits all players. Instead, simplicity and alignment are key. Here’s a straightforward method to help you get the most out of your time at the plate.

Why Align Yourself in the Box?

Simplify Your Approach: The goal is to make hitting as straightforward as possible. By aligning yourself correctly in the box, you can enhance your ability to make consistent contact with the ball. Simple adjustments lead to better results, making the process easier and more effective.

Cover the Outside Pitch: When you’re properly aligned, you position yourself to handle pitches on the outside part of the plate. Imagine being able...

Mastering the Baseball Swing Trigger: Techniques for Consistent Power and Control

In the world of baseball hitting, the trigger is an essential component that determines the effectiveness of your swing. It's the pre-swing movement that helps stage your athleticism and power, setting you up to launch the ball with precision. Understanding and refining your trigger can significantly impact your hitting performance, so let's delve into what makes an effective trigger and how you can optimize it.

What is the Trigger?

The trigger is the movement you make just before your swing to prepare your body for the incoming pitch. It’s a critical aspect of your swing because it allows you to generate force and transition smoothly into your swing. There is no one-size-fits-all trigger; it varies from player to player. Some hitters have pronounced, elaborate triggers, while others use minimal, subtle movements.

Why is a Trigger Important?

A well-executed trigger is vital for several reasons:

...

Adapting to Increased Pitching Velocity: Mastering Your Swing with Efficient Adjustments

As pitchers continue to improve and their velocity surpasses our ability to maintain effective bat speed, hitters need to make crucial adjustments. To stay competitive, it's essential to refine your trigger, setup, and overall swing to be congruent with the ball's flight. This article from Lupos Baseball will guide you through the necessary changes to adapt your hitting technique, ensuring you remain effective against high-velocity pitchers.

Understanding the Challenge

When facing a pitcher whose velocity exceeds your current bat speed capabilities, simply trying harder won’t suffice. Instead, you must adjust your mechanics to stay in sync with the ball’s trajectory. By becoming congruent with the flight of the ball, you can time your swing more effectively and maintain control.

Making the Adjustment: Congruence vs. Incongruence

Congruent Hitting:

1. Timing and Setup: Align your...

Advanced Baseball Hitting Techniques: Perfecting Your Swing with Lead Arm and Back Arm Drills

Hitting a baseball effectively is a skill that requires both precision and power. To develop a powerful and consistent swing, it's crucial to focus on advanced training techniques that isolate and strengthen specific parts of your swing. In this guide, we will dive deep into lead arm and back arm drills, providing you with the knowledge and tools to enhance your performance. Whether you're an aspiring college athlete or a coach looking to improve your players' skills, these tips from Lupos Baseball will elevate your game.

Why Focus on Lead Arm and Back Arm Drills?

Lead arm and back arm drills are essential for honing the mechanics of your swing. By isolating each arm, you can build muscle memory, improve your swing path, and generate more power. These drills are particularly beneficial for players who need to fine-tune their technique or overcome specific weaknesses in their hitting...

Mastering the Basic Fundamental Hitting Approach: Look Away, Adjust In

In baseball, success at the plate often comes down to having a solid approach. A strategic plan for each at-bat can significantly improve your performance and increase your chances of making solid contact. One of the most effective and fundamental hitting approaches is "Look Away, Adjust In." In this blog, we'll delve into what this approach entails, why it works, and how you can implement it to elevate your game.

The Importance of Having a Plan

Why a Plan Matters

Going up to the plate without a plan is like driving without a map. You might get somewhere, but it’s unlikely to be your desired destination. At higher levels of play, pitchers and their coaches always have a plan to get you out. Therefore, having a plan, or an approach, is crucial for hitters to counteract the pitcher's strategy.

As Benjamin Franklin famously said, "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." This quote applies perfectly...

Mastering Hitting Contact Points in Baseball By Building Room for Error

In baseball, hitting is not just about making contact with the ball; it’s about making consistent and powerful contact. One of the keys to achieving this is understanding and mastering hitting contact points. This blog will delve into the nuances of hitting contact points, providing insights and techniques to help you build room for error in your swing and improve your overall hitting performance.

Understanding Hitting Contact Points

The Basics of Contact Points

When it comes to hitting, the contact point is where the bat meets the ball. Depending on the pitch's location, the contact point can vary:

• Outside Pitch: Ideally, you want to make contact with an outside pitch deep in the zone, allowing the ball to travel before swinging.
• Middle Pitch: For pitches down the middle, contact should be made slightly further out in front.
• Inside Pitch: Inside pitches should be hit even further out in front to pull the...

Learn Your Swing by Finding Patterns: Simplifying the Path to Hitting Success

Hitting a baseball is one of the most challenging feats in sports. The combination of a round bat, a round ball, varying pitches, and different velocities creates a unique challenge for hitters. Despite these difficulties, success in baseball is often measured by achieving a 30% success rate, a stark contrast to most other fields where such a percentage would be considered a failure. This blog explores how simplifying your approach and finding patterns in your swing can lead to greater success at the plate.

The Complexity of Hitting

As a former hitter and current hitting coach, I understand how difficult it is to achieve consistent success at the plate. The mechanics of hitting require precise timing, balance, and coordination. However, by simplifying our approach and focusing on key elements, we can improve our chances of success.

Simplifying the Process

To simplify hitting, it's essential to break down...

Dreaming About Being The Best? Here's How You Set Goals To Get There.

Dreaming about being the best is easy–but setting goals to get there? That’s hard. Taking the necessary steps to accomplish those goals is even harder. But it doesn’t have to be.

We’re all guilty of it—especially baseball players—finding ourselves dreaming of the day we drive in the winning run, get the ring, and get awarded the MVP trophy. I bet you have even imagined (or maybe actually practiced) your post-game on-field media interview.  We get this far-off gaze in our eyes and dream of accomplishing these Big Hairy Audacious Goals (or BHAGS) that leadership guru Jim Collins taught, almost as if they are already a reality. 

That far-out gaze you get and that sense of hope for the future aren’t goals. They’re dreams. I know that truth probably stings a little. But if you are confusing dreams with goals, you lie to yourself, and you will no doubt...

Why Motivation Might Be Actually Fooling You

Are you feeling motivated? Ready to take on that goal? Not so fast. That urge or desire to do something might actually be the wrong path toward the goal you set. Motivation can’t be fully trusted. Yet you rely on it. Almost as if it was the sustenance you need for performance survival. Don’t believe me? Google it. 

“How to Motivate Yourself”

"8 Psychology-Based Tricks for Staying Motivated"

"15 Tips on How to Be More Motivated in The Morning"

"30 Tips for How to Get and Stay Motivated"

I could keep going, but for the sake of getting to the point, I won’t. But trust me; there are millions of articles espousing every idea imaginable for how you can stay motivated. The problem is that while motivation sounds nice, we mistakenly believe it will help us achieve our goals. 

It won’t

What’s your favorite sports movie? Take a moment and think about it. Think...

Want To Become A .300 Hitter? Learn Your Swing Feelings

Anyone can swing a bat. But learning how to swing doesn’t make you a .300 hitter. I can still hear those very first instructions from my tee ball coach. Point your shoulder to the mound, feet apart, and put the bat up by your inside ear. Eye on the ball. 

Swing!

Those first few swings were both exhilarating and intimidating. But over time, every young player begins to understand the feeling of swinging the bat. But as you mature, that feeling needs to be replaced with the feeling of hitting. Because swinging the bat and hitting a baseball are not the same thing. 

What would you say if I asked you what your swing felt like? What does a smooth, early building trigger feel like? How about your thoughts on the feeling of a long-full-robust extension after contact? Many of you have never stopped for even a fraction of a second to consider how your swing feels. 

That’s...