I Strike Out A Lot, But I Used to Hit Well, WHY?

QUESTION FROM A PLAYER:

My name is Justin and I need your advice. I play baseball and have a big problem. My big problem is I strike out a lot, but before, I would always be getting doubles or even homers. Right now I can’ hit anything. Can you help me out? -Justin

ANSWER FROM COACH:

Well Justin, without knowing your age, it makes it a little tough to say for sure. It sounds to me like you are in the midst of a little slump. That’s when you were hitting and for some reason you aren’t hitting anymore.

A lot of times what causes this is you hit the ball hard a few times but it is right at someone. You get no hit, just unlucky. So all of a sudden, you start thinking you have to do something different at the plate, and instead of the problem getting better, it gets worse. That’s when you go into a “slump”! You see, instead of feeling good about yourself because you hit the ball hard, you make it a problem by not having confidence in yourself. The problem keeps getting worse, and then you really start doing things you shouldn’t be doing.

Go back and think about all the good things you were doing when you were hitting well. Start practicing them again. And have patience that sooner or later it will get better. You obviously had the skills before, so it’s just a matter of finding them again! Hang in there, everyone goes through slumps, the key is to make them last for short periods of time. Go Get Them!

Best of Luck,

Sam Perlozzo
Minnesota Twins