Tinkering

When you were a kid, did you ever take apart your favorite toy—not because it was broken, or because it stopped working—but because you thought you could make it “better?”

Did you eventually find yourself sitting there, surrounded by scattered pieces of something that used to work perfectly, only then realizing you had no idea how to put it back together?

So here’s the real question:

Do you know how to rebuild your swing after you break it down?

Or…

Would you be better off taking care of the one that already works?

You’re out front of a pitch…

You reach for it…

You roll it over weakly to the shortstop…

You run hard down the line…

You take a hard right turn into the dugout…

Then the thought hits…

That was a bad swing. What do I need to change?

Stop!

Before you even think about touching your mechanics, ask two simpler questions:

Were you on time?

If not, be on time for the next one.

Don’t tinker with your swing.

Was it a good pitch to hit?

If not, get a better one next time.

Don’t tinker with your swing.

That’s it.

Because here’s the truth:

We take better swings at good pitches.

It’s hard to get your A-swing off when you’re late on a two-seamer in on your hands, or when you’re out front of a slider down and off the plate.

That doesn’t automatically mean you made a “bad swing.”

Your B-swing shows up when you're on-time, but the pitch is in a tough location; or you're timing is a little off for a pitch in the heart of the zone.

Good hitters live here.  They survive here, especially with two strikes.  Survival swings are part of the job.

Somewhere along the way, we decided every swing must produce perfect exit velocity, perfect launch angle, and a highlight-reel outcome.

When it doesn’t, we panic.

So we start tinkering…

Unless you’re consistently missing good pitches that you’re on-time for, don’t mess with your swing.

If you were early…

If you were late…

If you chased out of the zone...

It wasn’t your swing.

Leave it alone.