A hitters mistake. Swing if it's a strike.

It sounds logical. Swing the bat if the pitcher throws a strike. Yet, it's one of the most egregious mistakes that young hitters make when they get in the batters box.

If your mindset is "swing if it's a strike" the IF delays the process enough that it makes it impossible to be a good fastball hitter. Many times this mindset manifests itself into foul balls out of play and to the opposite field. The worst case scenarios are swing and misses.

Rather than "swing if it's a strike" the approach should be "swing unless it's a ball."

A mantra that allows hitters to understand the difference with the two approaches is "yes, yes, yes, no" rather than "no, no, no, yes". The first approach assumes the pitch will be a strike while the second approach waits until the ball is released to decide whether or not the pitch is a strike.

Although a hitter must discern whether each pitch is a strike, he must do this under the asumption that it will be a strike and he might be swinging. The alternative simply is too slow of an approach and will limit a players success in getting to a fastball.

It's a common swing flaw that often times goes unaddressed. It's difficult to diagnose if you don't reconize the symptoms. Some of the common symptoms are hitters taking pitches on their heels and the aforementioned foul balls.

Recognizing this common hitters flaw can open up a whole new world for hitters. Pitches that once were impossible to get to are now legitimate options to hit.