Winning Baseball: "What Is a Two Strike Approach?"

Chinese Arithmetic...That's what kids hear now whenever a Coach tries to teach (and explain) a Two Strike Approach to young hitters.  But this "Dinosaur of the Diamond" is a very important part of what winning teams do at the plate.

Winning Teams keep an inning going by poking a ball the other way.  Winning Teams lay off balls and work a walk in order to keep an inning going.  Winning Teams find a way to put pressure on their opponent by forcing them to make plays.  Simply put, Winning Teams find a way to win, and having a Two Strike Approach is one of those ways.

At the plate, a Two Strike Approach is nothing more than moving two inches closer to the plate (to take away the outside pitch), moving two inches up in the box (to take away the curve ball), and choking up two inches on the bat (to have better bat control).  In other words, "2-2-2-2 (two strikes means two inches in on the plate, two inches up in the box, and two inches up on the bat)."

Physically speaking, it's also spreading out in the box (in order to keep your weight back), flattening out the bat (in order to hit line drives more consistently), looking the other way (to let the ball get deeper), and being quick with your hands (in order to be short to the ball). 

Mentally speaking, it's finding a way to get on base, it's competing at the plate, and it's putting pressure on your opponent.

And it's playing Winning Baseball.

Winning Baseball: "The Disappearing Two Strike Approach."

 
In the summer of 2010, there have already been two Perfect Games registered (well...actually, three, if you count the Armando Galarraga effort where Jim Joyce's bad call with two outs in the ninth cost him a Perfect Game as well), and two more No-Hitters.  And what makes this even more remarkable is the fact that prior to this season, there were only 18 Perfect Games recorded in the history of the game!  So what in the world could cause this remarkable change of events; a new pitching philosophy, a new pitch no one has seen, more velocity, more control?  No, the truth is these Perfect Games have become possible due to the extinction of a (former) staple of the game:  the Two Strike Approach.

When I speak to players today about having a Two Strike Approach, I often get a look of absolute befuddlement.  Players today do not understand how to move up in the box, how to move in on the plate, how to flatten out their bat, how to punch the ball the other way, and God forbid, choke up, in order to become a tough out at the plate.  They would prefer to swing for the fences at balls in the dirt while their batting averages suffer (and their teams suffer the consequences.)

In studying and teaching the Two Strike Approach, no one personified the ability to drive the ball early in the count, while "shortening up" and "putting the ball in play" better than Joe Dimaggio.  In 1941, the year Joe D. hit in 56 straight, few people know that he also hit 30 Home Runs that year, while striking out only 13 times!  He also had similar numbers in 1939 as well when he hit 30 more Home Runs, while striking out only 20 times that season.  And by the way, he was also named the American League M.V.P. at the conclusion of both seasons (and the Yankees also won the World Series both of those years!)

So how do we, as Coaches and Players, become better two-strike hitters?  Find out next week, when we discuss the "2-2-2-2" Principle at the Plate!