How would you define a good hitter? What criteria does a player have to meet to be considered a good hitter? Can you quantify a good hitter by looking at his statistics?
The “Good Hitter” label is an envious title in the game of baseball. If you are a player who can achieve this status than you have a great opportunity to succeed in the game all the way to bigs. However, this is not an easy task, and it is much more difficult than lobbing a few (or a bunch of) homers over the fence to pad your stats. There are plenty of players who have above average stats who aren’t necessarily considered good hitters. From fantasy sports to contract arbitration in the MLB, statistics have become paramount in determining how good a player is and what they are worth. So I ask again, “can you quantify a good hitter”? Answer: yes but no. – Sorry if you were looking for a definitive and life changing answer.
In order to clarify my reasoning let’s determine a simple definition of a good hitter. A good hitter is someone you hope is up in the bottom of the ninth in game 7 of the world series when the closer is in. A good hitter is clutch. He rises to the occasion. You have confidence in his consistency and ability to perform. He is the guy that the manager knows is going to have a quality at bat. You may say, great but how do I develop myself into a good hitter, even a great hitter? There is a reason that players are good in the clutch and why they perform at high levels consistently. It isn’t just because they have some intrinsic and mysterious ability that you are either born with or not. You don’t have to be 6’5″ and hit 70 HR to be a good hitter. I believe there are 3 basic components to being a “good hitter”, all of which I am personally working on in my own career.
1. Working on a consistent and repeatable swing- A swing with less moving parts can be repeated more consistently. And you must maintain that swing with lots of repetitions in practice time and pre-game routines. Then trust that swing to happen naturally in the game.
2. Having quality at bats- Swinging at strikes (no chasing). Having discipline. Knowing how the pitcher likes to get guys out (what is his strikeout pitch). That means taking a walk if you don’t get a good pitch to hit.
3. Stay within yourself- Let it happen. Don’t try to force a result. Don’t try to hit homeruns. Just put a good swing on a good pitch. When you are in one of the clutch-pressure situations try to take a deep breath and take the emotion out of it. Put the focus back on getting a good pitch to hit and putting a good swing on it.
So, is there a stat for being the manager’s choice to be in the game in the bottom of the 9th. No. But are there stats that may reflect how consistent and good a hitter is? Yes. Many people argue that on-base-percentage is the key. Others, slugging percentage, or even OPS (on base plus slugging). An interesting stat to look at is a player’s walk to strikeout ratio. That will give a good idea of the quality of at bats a player gives when going up to the plate. The more you chase and the more inconsistent your swing is, the more you will strike out.
As you can see there are some stats which can be indicate to some extent how good a hitter is, but my answer of “no” is also important. I say no because i do not believe it is healthy to focus on statistics as a player. Leave that to the fantasy gurus. Statistics are results, but don’t tell the whole story. A player might have gone 0-4 with a walk but helped the team win. How? By having good at bats and making the pitcher throw a lot of pitches because he was disciplined. He might have lined out 3 times. Then he might have walked in the ninth setting up the game winner. Another player could have gone 2-4 but not really done anything productive. A couple a flares, but with 2 strikeouts with guys in scoring position. Bottom line. Stats don’t tell the whole story. However, over the course of a career, a good hitter will have some eye-popping statistics on the back of his baseball card.
It is much more important and productive to focus on the process. Focus on the things you can control like the 3 principles I listed. Work on these aspects of your game and you will see the improved results which will ultimately show up in the stat line. Let the stats be a result, not a focus. If you put your mind to these three principles you can start becoming a “good hitter”!
Danny is an outfielder in the San Diego Padres organization & finished the 2009 season playing for the AAA affiliate in Portland, OR.
