April 27, 2011
On hitting: Perfect practice makes perfect
by Rod Carew/
For all his hard work and practice, don't dare say Rod Carew is a born hitter. (photo: Getty Images)
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the April 2011 issue of New England Baseball Journal.
Hitting, indeed, is fun. But becoming a good hitter is never easy.
In fact, it’s laughable every time anyone has ever said, “Rod Carew is a born hitter.”
While winning seven batting titles might not happen, anybody can become a good hitter — even a great hitter — if you decide to work at it.
A constant drive to improve is of the utmost importance, but perhaps just as important at the onset is to understand how to improve.
As the late legendary baseball coach John Wooden once said, “Practice doesn’t make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.”
As crucial as any other aspect is realizing that the philosophy of every good hitter is to do whatever is needed to help your team win baseball games.
Getting on base to score runs, coming through in the clutch and driving in runs is clearly the most obvious way to assist a team. But there’s far more than that involved in being a good hitter and a good team hitter. It involves being unselfish, doing the little things like moving a runner over, sacrificing yourself for the greater good of your team — all the aspects of the game that don’t necessarily show up in the box score, but still have a huge impact in the game’s final score.
In addition to the desire to improve and work — and playing in an unselfish manner — having discipline and confidence at the plate are an essential part of the equation in becoming a standout hitter.
Making consistent contact at the plate comes from knowing the fundamentals of hitting and applying them with discipline and confidence.
Know what pitches work best for you as a hitter, know what pitches you like to hit, what pitches you can and cannot hit, and where you want (and can) hit every pitch you see.
In turn, don’t mess with success; don’t change a winning formula.
All the while, know that the art and science of hitting is a long and deliberate process, and becoming a good hitter will not happen overnight, it won’t happen just by reading this. It takes plenty of experimentation and self-analysis to decide what’s right for you and to refine your craft.
From the start, you must decide what hitting philosophy you’re going to follow.
Hall of Famer Rod Carew is one of baseball’s all-time greatest hitters. He won seven batting titles and hit over .300 in 15 consecutive seasons with the Twins and Angels, achieving a .328 lifetime average. An 18-time All-Star, Carew was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1967 and the AL MVP in 1977. Today, Carew heads Rod Carew Baseball, which produces hitting and training tools. For more about Rod Carew Baseball, visit www.rodcarewbaseball.com
