Baseball Swing Parasites and How to Debug Your Game - Part 1

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by Nate Barnett

Baseball swing parasites are those unseen and sometimes unknown things that affect your performance at the plate in a negative fashion. Without taking care of the parasites, your baseball swing will begin to decay, wither, and become quite vulnerable to good pitchers. This is true especially as you get older and the pitching gets progressively better. I will be writing a few articles on three very common parasites that can damage your baseball swing. The reason for splitting the articles up is simply length and retention. So stay tuned for a couple more after this one.

Parasite #1 - Failure To Understand Your Machine

Your machine in this sense is your body. I find that most athletes tend to receive baseball instruction to the extent that it will correct problems identified by the instructor. However, this is where things break down. Few players take that next step and learn how mechanical problems are caused, and then what to change to solve the problem on their own. Without this root understanding, a player is continually frustrated by new and/or continuing problems that affect his swing since he lacks the complete knowledge of how his machine works.

There are multiple reasons for this lack of awareness of how the body works during a fundamentally correct baseball swing. Most have to do with a deficiency in vision for what benefit complete understanding would give the player. Below I've outlined a few good reasons why you invest some time and effort into creating a smooth swing at the plate.

1. Find a way to up the stakes. Think of the need to learn all parts of your swing as if you were getting paid to do it. The more you read, watched, and learned about the swing process, the more money you would get paid. Hey, a Major League Baseball paycheck is nothing to scoff at, it's some good coinage. Start the long-term thinking process now.

2. If you don't learn how your machine works, you are allowing the potential for poor coaching and advice to creep into your game. When you receive live baseball instruction, watch a video, or read a book on the skill you're learning, how do you know it's good advice if you don't understand proper swing mechanics. It's safe to broaden your understanding.

3. Understanding your mechanics will bring confidence to your game which will translate into positive self-esteem on the field. Baseball players who fail to understand these mechanics are typically emotionally inconsistent players who are excited when things are going well, but very frustrated when things aren't. Their game becomes a roller coaster of consistency and emotions.

Look for the follow up article, as I'll discuss the second of three hitting parasites, Letting The Upper Half Of The Body Begin The Swing.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball http://bmibaseball.com and is based out of Washington State. Check out his new ebook Hitting Mechanics 101, on complete hitting mechanics. Features include numerous illustrations, video clips, and a special offer to discuss your hitting questions over live on the phone strategy sessions.

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