The fundamentals of batting are learned at an early age and are practiced every day from there on. A player with solid fundamentals will experience more success and make contact more often at the plate. Batting fundamentals do differ from player to player depending on a number of different variables.
Function
Attempting to hit for power, driving the ball to all fields and directional bunting. All of these skills are developed after the basic fundamentals have been put into place. The fundamentals of batting serve as a concrete floor on which to build all other skills at the plate. When going through extended slumps or while rehabilitating from an injury, the fundamentals of hitting are what the best players revert to.
Types
Fundamentals at the plate are separated into multiple aspects. The initial stage is strike-zone recognition. Every pitch begins with the batters ability to tell whether the ball is going to be a strike or a ball, which is followed by whether the pitch will be hittable. Once the decision has been made to swing, the batter will go through a three-step process that involves loading his back foot, torquing his body, then following through with the bat head. Each one of these types of fundamentals is taught broken down individually as well as together in real time.
Misconceptions
One of the biggest misconceptions is that the stronger you are, the better chance you're going to have of hitting home runs. If that were true, Olympic weight-lifters would all be professional baseball players, and every player would weigh 250 lbs. A study done at Kettering University showed that bat speed is what effects the distance of a batted ball more than anything else. Hitting fundamentals which generate maximum bat speed will trump hulking bodies waving wildly at pitches every time.
Considerations
There are many variables that go into batting fundamentals. The first of which is which side the batter hits from. Left-handed hitters bat from the opposite side of the plate as a right-handed hitter. The height of the batter also plays a role in fundamentals because the taller the hitter the larger the strike zone. A truncated batting stance can shrink the strike zone on a hitter, but will also alter the angle at which the hitter sees the ball.
Time Frame
The amount of time it takes a player to grasp the fundamentals of hitting can vary greatly. Some players take weeks, even days to understand the basics. On the other hand, there are others who may never fully grasp them simply due to poor hand-eye coordination. Either way, the amount of time that fundamentals are practiced never ends. Professional hitters making millions of dollars still go over fundamentals on a daily basis.
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