In my last article about hitting with two strikes I discussed how your mental approach is key. Just because you are behind in the count doesn’t mean you can’t do damage. You should tell yourself that you are still in control. Always start with an aggressive mentality. That being said, there are some concessions you have to make. With two strikes you can’t be picky anymore: you can’t be waiting for that heater down the middle as you could if you were ahead 3-1. You have to be willing to attack any pitch that is in the zone. You have to give yourself the best chance to handle as many different pitches without giving in to the pitcher.
Many times a player will get too defensive, trying to protect, and miss a fastball in a good part of the zone. Other times players get defensive which makes them feel for it, thus they are more likely to swing at something out of the zone. That is why you have to stay aggressive and confident. The fact is most of the times a player strikes out (at any level) the pitch is out of the zone and they chase. Just as common is a strike out where a player is out front, swinging too early. The million dollar question is this: how do I stay ready for a fastball and yet at the same time stay back on off-speed pitches?
There are a couple of approaches which I have either used or know many other players take in order to be a dangerous hitter with two-strikes. Both have a common theme: let the ball get deep. By deep I mean further back in the strike zone. You probably have heard the term “take it out of the catcher’s mitt”. The deeper you let the ball get, the farther the ball is traveling, thus you see it longer. This gives you more time to recognize what the pitch is and if it is going to stay in the strike zone. This allows you to “spit” on a lot of off-speed in the dirt or high fastballs.
Now I need to stress while you are concentrating on letting the ball get deeper in the zone, you are maintaining your aggressiveness so you can still handle the fastball. One mental picture is that with two strikes you are going to let the ball get to your back leg and then crush it. Basically it comes down to trusting that you can wait a little longer and still hit with authority. It also should be noted that with two strikes you have to first be ready for the fastball then adjust to off-speed. Albert Pujols is a great example of a guy who doesn’t strike out much because he lets the ball get deep while at the same time doing a lot of damage (RBIs HRs and extra base hits).
A slight variation to the let-it-get-deep approach, is the hit it the other way mentality. Derek Jeter is a good example. He will frequently get jammed on an inside fastball because he is going to error on the side of seeing the ball longer and going the other way with it. He still stays aggressive, but he gives up a little bit on the inside fastball. Even with this approach you can still pull the ball even fastballs because you are still aggressive. However the real benefit here is that you can still hit the ball hard up the middle or the other way on a good fastball, and are able to stay back on a breaking ball because you are waiting longer.
I encourage you to try both mentalities; depending on the game situation and what the pitcher is throwing you will have to make the adjustment. Ultimately by becoming a better two strike hitter you will gain confidence in all counts.
Danny is an outfielder in the Oakland A’s organization & is currently playing for the AAA affiliate in Sacremento, CA.
