Hitting The Situation, A Key Part Of Teamwork And Offensive Production!

Hitting the situation, a tool often overlooked; but one which is an intregal part of teamwork and offensive production.

At the core, it is simply doing what is needed, based on what the batter sees in front of him.

On the surface, it sounds simple enough; but can be one of the more difficult aspects of batting to get players to execute.

The specifics of what is required in each at bat can change, pitch to pitch, as the batters count changes. One example is a runner at 2B, no outs, the batter starts at 0-0, looking to drive in the run and keep the inning going.

Should the count run to 2 strikes, the batter needs to change the approach and attempt to drive the ball on the ground behind the runner, moving him to third base with one out.

There are 25 ways a runner can score from third base, that he is unable to score on from second base. None of those opportunities come to life until you have a base runner standing on third base.

These opportunities call for more than just athletic ability, they require teamwork, and are all a part of playing together as a team and generating offensive production.

It is truly, playing the game to it's fullest!

Tips ~ From the Dugout

• Working on these skills in practice makes the concept come to life for the players.



• The ability to recognize what is called for in any particular at bat, then try to execute that team need, is a valuable teamwork skill.



• Recognition of what will be needed happens in the on deck circle. By the time batters reach the plate, their plan needs to be already formed.
  
  
  
• Part of the challenge is to change the mindset that every at bat needs to result in a hit. While that would be great, scoring runs in the game of baseball generally requires adjustments and sacrifices by the batters, to take advantage of the situation at hand to create and generate runs.



• It is not always about driving in runs, it can be just as much about getting runners on base, to be driven in by batters coming up behind them.



• Much like infielders calling and executing pickoffs on their own, getting them to the point that they adjust in the batter's box and attempt to do what the at bat requires, is truly developing those free flowing and thinking players, which are fun to watch play the game.

There was no single big thing that made our UCLA basketball teams effective, not the press or the fast break, not size, not condition ~ no single big thing. Instead, it was hundreds of small things done the right way, and done consistently.

( John Wooden )

Additional Topics