“Seeing: the action of seeing someone or something.” – Dictionary. You don’t always have to hit to get better, seeing/tracking the baseball/softball unlocks the power of your subconscious mind, getting in the “hitting zone.”

Tracking the ball:

• Taking a snapshot of pitches, storing in the subconscious mind, recognizing for the next at-bat.
• Reduce the perception of velocity.
• Automatic load and timing.
• Reduce strikeouts, increase walks, working the count, taking tough pitches, setting you up for a good pitch to hit; better hitting counts, increasing home-run production.
• Unlocking the reflexes, increasing bat speed, critical for the inside pitch.

Failing to track the ball:

• Rushing, jumping, lunging.
• Flying open, pulling-out/off.
• Swing and miss at strikes.
• Swing and miss at balls.
• Jammed, hitting off the end of the bat.
• Adding 5 miles to pitch speed.
• Weak ground balls, and pop-ups.

UNLOCKING THE POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

The hitting zone’s akin to a car accident victim, happening in a split second, however, seeing the event in slow motion. “Expert” studies determine the player can’t see the baseball/softball, near to the point of contact. Again, the “experts” are wrong, experimenting with the conscious mind, overlooking the power of the subconscious mind. “When our subconscious sends a message to our muscles, it travels 10 times faster than a message coming from our conscious mind.” – Al Smith, The Winning Zone.  Learning to hit, the conscious mind dominates the swing. Stepping into the batters’ box for the first time, the conscious mind overrides the subconscious observing the dynamics of the at-bat, struggling to hit. Learning from the visual experience, the subconscious takes over; the swing is automatic. Learning to drive for the first time the conscious mind dominates thought patterns, clutch, brakes, steering, focusing on the road. Gaining experience, the subconscious mind automatically controls the mechanisms, driving becomes fluent, simple, better. In fact, you drive home without recollection about the way you drive; “in the zone.” Coaches and players asking you, what pitch did you just hit? “In the zone,” answering, “I don’t know;” the subconscious mind takes over.

Hitting occurs in the split-second, the mind processes:

• Tracking the baseball/softball out of the pitcher’s hand.
• Pitch location, deciphering a ball and strike.
• What is the pitch type? Recognizing late movement, for example, hard slider/sinker.
• Do you swing, or take the pitch?
• Controlling critical mechanics, loading, striding and contact.

The conscious mind struggles to process the information, comparing to the subconscious mind, your brain’s “supercomputer.” Therefore, rid the mind of conscious thinking, using your eyes to trigger the baseball/softball swing. Paraphrasing, “open the eyes, close the mind;” thinking about mechanics disrupts the reflexes.