By BK, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Are Built… Not Given. Earned!
I’ve been around this game for 52 years. Playing it, coaching it, scouting it.
Less than 1% of players ever find out, and it’s usually not a talent problem. The ones who reach their ceiling do all six things every day for years: be obsessed with getting better, build your body, get your angles right, train your mental approach, master the hitting processor and the mundane, and build irrational confidence.
Train it: Complete Hitter Masterclass →And here’s what I’ve come to believe: less than 1% of players ever find out how good they really could have been.
Not because they didn’t have talent. Most of them had plenty. They just never did all the things it takes to find the ceiling.
So if you want to know how good you can be, this is my summary. Six things. No shortcuts.
How good can you be? Let’s find out.
52 YEARS IN THE GAME
HOW GOODCAN YOU BE?
- Less than 1% ever find out.
- Not because of talent.
- They never did all of it.
SIX THINGS. NO SHORTCUTS.
1. 1. Be unhinged about it
The number one thing you need is an unhinged, almost obsessive commitment to getting better.
Not “I like baseball.” Not “I’ll get some swings in this weekend.” I mean the kid who thinks about his swing in the shower. Who watches the hitters he wants to be like and studies them. Who shows up early and leaves late because he wants to, not because somebody made him.
The players who max out aren’t always the most talented. They’re the most obsessed.
Talent gets you noticed. Obsession gets you to your ceiling.
2. 2. Build your body
You have to build your body. No way around it.
- Injury prevention: you can’t get better from the training room. Arm care, mobility and strength keep you on the field.
- Performance: strength, speed and explosiveness turn a good swing into a dangerous one.
- Recovery: sleep, food and rest are part of the work. A tired body trains a tired swing.
A lot of hitters aren’t swing-limited. They’re body-limited. Fix the body and the same swing does more damage, and it holds up for a whole season.
NO WAY AROUND IT
BUILD YOURBODY.
- Stay off the training table.
- Strength makes a swing dangerous.
- Recovery is part of the work.
A TIRED BODY TRAINS A TIRED SWING.
3. 3. Get your angles right
Good hitting is built on good angles, all the way through the swing process:
- Direction: moving toward the pitcher, so everything works on line with the ball.
- Center of mass: staying stacked and balanced over a strong base, not drifting or collapsing.
- The bat system: hands, barrel and path working on the plane of the pitch.
Here’s the key: good angles equal good athletic positions. And good athletic positions give you everything. More time. More adjustability. More power. A bigger margin for error. When your angles are right, hitting gets a whole lot more positive.
4. 4. Work on your mental approach
Everybody says hitting is mental. Almost nobody actually works on it.
You have to test it, try it, use it and understand it. What’s your routine? What do you do after a bad at-bat? What’s your plan with two strikes? What do you tell yourself when the game is on the line?
The mental approach is a skill, like a swing. It gets better with reps. So work on it. On purpose. Every day.
5. 5. Master the hitting processor, and the mundane
The hitting processor is how you see it, recognize it, time it, decide, and attack it. It’s where a lot of good swings go to die, because the hitter never trained it.
And this is where you have to master the mundane. The boring, repeatable work nobody posts on social media. Then make it game-like:
- Change velocity and speeds, not just one machine at one speed.
- Mix pitch types and locations so you have to recognize and decide, not guess.
- Hit in counts. Start at 0–2. Play situations.
- Keep score and add consequences. Pressure in practice makes the game feel slower.
Do everything you can to replicate a live at-bat. The closer practice feels to the game, the more of it shows up in the game.
WHERE GOOD SWINGS GO TO DIE
MASTER THEMUNDANE.
- See it. Recognize it.
- Time it. Decide. Attack it.
- Change speeds and pitch types.
- Make it game-like.
THE BORING WORK NOBODY POSTS.
6. 6. Build irrational confidence
Somehow, someway, you have to create an irrational confidence that you are going to get it done. Every time.
And when you fail? The other team got lucky.
Now, understand what that means. In practice, you own every miss and fix it. But when you step in the box, you believe, no matter what the last at-bat said. That kind of confidence isn’t born. It’s built, from the five things above. When you know you’ve done the work, believing is easy.
Own it in the cage. Believe it in the box.
7. The 1%
Put it all together: obsession, a strong body, good angles, a trained mind, a sharp processor and irrational confidence. That’s the list. That’s what the 1% do.
Most players will do two or three of these. Some will do four. Very few do all six, every day, for years.
Those are the ones who find out how good they can be.
Why not you?
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.
Start with SwingChecker™ to find your #1 priority for free. Then see how the AHD Complete Hitter Masterclass trains all four pillars every day, or contact Coach about online remote baseball and softball training built for your hitter.
THE1%.
- Be unhinged about it.
- Build your body.
- Get your angles right.
- Work your mental approach.
- Master the processor.
- Build irrational confidence.
Complete Hitters Are Built…Earned.
Quick answers
How can a baseball player reach their full potential?
Do all six things, every day, for years. Be obsessed with getting better, build your body, get your angles right, work on your mental approach, master the hitting processor and the mundane, and build irrational confidence. Most players do two or three. Very few do all six.
Does strength training help a baseball swing?
Yes. A lot of hitters are not swing-limited. They are body-limited. Strength, speed and explosiveness turn a good swing into a dangerous one, and arm care, mobility and recovery keep you on the field. Fix the body and the same swing does more damage and holds up all season.
How do you make batting practice more game-like?
Change velocity and speeds, not just one machine at one speed. Mix pitch types and locations so you have to recognize and decide. Hit in counts, start at 0-2 and play situations. Keep score and add consequences. The closer practice feels to the game, the more of it shows up in the game.
Is talent or work ethic more important in baseball?
Talent gets you noticed. Obsession gets you to your ceiling. The players who max out aren’t always the most talented; they’re the ones who think about it constantly, study it and show up early because they want to.
From the 2015 archive: The 5 Areas of Hitting Development.
