How do we improve baseball pitch selection, stop freezing on fastballs and chasing balls in the dirt? By training our prediction skills.
There is nothing more frustrating at the plate than taking a Fastball down the heart of the plate….
Or chasing a pitch down in the dirt for strike three and having to run to first base like a dressed-up out.
Nothing.
And I can promise you, it probably has nothing to do with your swing mechanics or natural abilities.
The issue is your approach, timing, and vision skills.
Welcome to Applied Vision Baseball
Here is where you will learn how to increase your pitch selection and learn to recognize pitches that you can make hard consistent contact on while lowering your chase rate on pitches out of the zone, while decreasing freezing on pitches that are over the heart of the plate.
First off, the Applied Vision Baseball app can be used on pretty much any device.
IOS, iPad, Desktop, Laptop, Apple screen share, TV HDMI, as well as VR with our VR headset and IOS native app.
When you log in to the web-based app, you’ll see that you have access to other bonuses that come with your vision training membership.
We are constantly adding new courses with top college athletes professional coaches and players.
Members will also get exclusive discounts on products in the AVB store that are only available to AVB members.
Here are the main concepts that the Appleid Vision Baseball vision training program is based on.
- Pitch selection.
- Pitch preparedness.
- Pitch recognition
- Predictive skills
- Timing.
These are skill sets that can be learned in the following main vision drills.
- The Post-up drill.
- The Swing Trigger drill.
- The pitch-path-prediction drill.
So let’s break each down.
The Post-Up Drill.
We’re seeing more strikeouts in MLB than at any point in the history of the game.
Why?
In many ways, pitchers are adjusting by elevating the fastball.
So we’re seeing record-high pops up and hitters getting cheated by High Velo Fastballs.
One possible solution to this problem is being aggressive on Strikes up in the zone.
Here’s why it’s effective.
Ever since a pitcher is 9 years old, what are they taught to do? Keep the ball down.
Why?
Because a pitch up in the zone is an easier pitch to hit.
That’s why they call mistake pitches up in the zone, a mistake pitch.
These are hanging breaking balls, and chest-high flat fastballs.
This is why some of the furthest balls you will ever hit are the chest-high fastball and hanging breaking ball.
A breaking ball that starts down in the zone (below the hitter's waist) will end up below the strike zone or in the dirt at the point of contact.
A breaking ball that starts up in the zone, (at or above the hitter's waist) will be in the strike zone at the point of contact.
This is why to increase plate discipline and to avoid chasing pitches in the dirt, we Post Up. We look for pitches up in the zone to attack.
From here, we can sit, Dead-Read on anything up, and adjust to breaking balls that are strikes without chasing breaking balls that end up as balls in the dirt.
You can train the Post Up Method Drill in the Applied Vision Baseball vision training app here.
The Swing Trigger Drill
It happens to every hitter. We take the Fastball right down the middle of the plate.
We can’t seem to pull the trigger.
We’re like a deer in headlights, frozen and unable to take the bat off the shoulder.
Why?
Because we don’t have our finger on the Swing Trigger.
The hitter’s mentality needs to be “It’s a strike until it’s not”.
In other words, the hitter must assume that the next pitch is going to be a strike.
Not only a strike, but the best pitch they’re going to see all day.
The thinking needs to be “yes, yes, no” on a ball and “yes, yes, GO” on a strike.
As my friend Steve Springer says, “Take the IF out of your swing.”
Stop thinking you’re going to swing “if” it’s a strike.
Assume the next pitch is going to be a strike and assume you’re going to swing unless it’s a ball.
This is how you keep your finger on the Swing Trigger.
You can train the Swing Trigger Method Drill in the Applied Vision Baseball vision training app here.
The Pitch Path Prediction Drill
When a hitter is seeing the ball well, when their tracking abilities make the ball look like a balloon, and when they’re focused present, and on time on every pitch, recognizing the spin speed and location, they are demonstrating Saccadic Vision Skills.
The ability to predict where a moving object is going to be.
A great hitter doesn't swing at where the ball is, rather they are swinging at where the ball will be at the point of contact.
With our pitch-path-prediction vision training drills, hitters can begin training their ability to predict where the ball will be at the point of contact.
This is how we build superior pitch selection, and lower our chase rate of balls out of the zone while being geared for strikes that we need to do damage on.
Improve Baseball Pitch Selection, Stop Freezing On Fastballs and Chasing Balls In The Dirt In Practice.
Many coaches and players have added our app as part of a station warm-up or cool-down. They pick drills such as the post-up drill, and then work on hitting curveballs or off-speed pitches with a live arm as one example.
Others will use the VR portion as a way to work on their timing before taking live cuts in the cage.
In the leaderboard section. coaches can segment their players by team abbreviation name in the search box, to see the:
- performance of each player
- accuracy with pitch types
- reaction time
- time trained
- consecutive days trained
These vision drills aren’t about replacing taking real swings with real balls with a real bat, and a live arm nothing can replace that.
Rather, these drills are here to help hitters understand the crucial approach at the plate that will help them develop confidence and hitter’s I.Q.
Because in a game loaded with failure, a hitter’s ability to be confident and stay confident will dictate their performance at the plate.
It starts with being and staying a student of the game.
Join Us For $1
When your eyes improve, you improve. Understanding pitch selection and predictive vision skills will help to translate what you work in practice into the game.
Start training your pitch recognition. Join us today for $1.
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