Hitters mistake - "swing if it's a strike"

Many young hitters get in the batters box with the mentality that they are going to swing if the ball is a strike. This is a defensive mentality and needs to be adjusted if the hitter is going to have success. The proper mentality is "I'm going to swing unless it's a ball."

There is definitely a fine line between the two approaches but make no mistake about it- you can not be a successful hitter if you are waiting to see if the pitch is a strike. You must assume it will be a strike and take the ball.

I believe that you can tell whether a hitter has the proper approach even if he never takes a swing in a game. How? By simply watching how he takes pitches. Successful hitters take pitches with their legs as their initiate the swing with their legs. When you see a hitter stand and watch a pitch crosss the plate without some leg action in their take, he often is using the "no,no,no, YES" approach.

Employing a "yes,yes,yes, NO" approach as a hitter is critical and is noticeable during the taking of a pitch.

What are some symptoms of a hitter with this approach?

1) A lot of takes
2) A lot of opposite field contact
3) A lot of foul balls back and out of play.

This approach simply delays the barrel where the batter chooses not to swing at all or if he does swing it is slow and delayed.