The Tremendous Achievements of Albert Pujols

Albert Pujols Sweet Spot Training Bat

Article Title:
The Tremendous Achievements of Albert Pujols
By Scott Maloney

Sports are always a topic of debate, and baseball is no exception. If you are a fan, you will undoubtedly have been asked at sometime if you think that the best hitter you've ever seen is Albert Pujols.

To keep the debate modern and up to date, we shall only compare Pujols with players we are familiar with from the past thirty years. This puts a modern spin on things since it's so hard to compare modern day players to ones who we were never alive to see.

Today's baseball bears little resemblance to the game that was played in past eras, so a comparison between Albert Pujols and Willie Mays for example just doesn't stand up. The game has simply changed too much in order to make a reasonable determination in that regard. Only players from the modern game could be compared.

Would Albert Pujols have been so formidable in a different era? How would Ted Williams have played in today's game? These questions are unanswerable, so let's just look at what Pujols has going for him in the modern game.

His standard of play now is awesome, and the prospect that Pujols could improve even more is mouth watering. Just shy of his 30th birthday, there are seasons ahead for Pujols to keep up his consistent form and establish himself as one of the modern day greats. This should very well happen if history is any sort of an indicator. No one, simply no one, has been as consistently great as Pujols has during the course of his entire career - spanning all the way back to his rookie season in 2002.

Albert Pujols has a career average that is capable of winning a league. His overall average is an amazing.334. His second season brought about the lowest average of.312 and his worst since has been .327. Pujols is an MLB player and has now played 9 seasons in this league. During 5 of those he has hit 40 home runs. The lowest amount he has ever hit in a season is 32; this is an outstanding stat by anyone's standards.

There are many for's in the debate about Pujols being a terrific hitter, and, so far, no against's. Each year his consistency is awesome and it's hard to believe now that anyone can take his place as the best batsman we will have ever seen.

Scott additionally writes about truck tires for sale at http://trucktiresforsale.org.

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The Five Elements of the Major League Little League Baseball Swing

By Nick Dixon

There is nothing more beautiful in sports than when a "major league" swing whether it be at the tee ball, little league, high school, college or Major League Baseball level of play. A "major league" swing is what I consider to be a perfectly executed swing. There is nothing more beautiful in sports than when you see a baseball batter, at any level, executes the perfect swing, and drive a line drive into one of the outfield gaps.
What makes a little league baseball swing become a "major league" swing? What are the 5 elements of the perfect baseball swing? The answer to that question is simple. The batter must have batting skill, good bat speed, a good eye for the baseball, perfect timing and a proper approach to hitting.

Here I discuss all five of these basic elements and how each is improved:

The five basic elements of the "Major League" Little League Swing are:
1. Batting Skill - There is only one way to improve batting skill. That is making sure that the batter takes a high number of practice swings daily or at least 3 times a week year round. The younger the batter begins this practice routine, the batter. It is crucial to batting skill development that the batter receives proper instruction as to proper hitting mechanics.
2. Bat Speed - The grip must be perfect with the fingers aligned and the bat handle gripped in the fingers and not deep in the palm. The batter must have adequate strength to get the bat speed generated. The absolute best way to improve hand and arm strength is do finger pushups, weight roll ups with the arms extended and wrist curls with the arms on a bench.
3. Good Eye for the Ball - There are two things involved in having a good batting eye at the plate. First the batter must learn the strike zone and be able to determine quickly whether a pitch is a in the strike zone or out of it. The other thing that makes the eyes of the batter an asset at the plate, is when the batter has the ability to pitch the ball up very quickly as it is released from the hand of the pitcher. The batter must learn to identify pitches, the spin on the ball, the pitchers arm slot, and the pitchers release point. There are many drills that can help a better have a better eye. One such drill is a "tracking" drill in which the batter stands in while a pitcher throws his bull pen. The batter verbally calls out the type of pitch and its location. The batter will call the pitch in this order...strike, fastball, in or ball, curve ball, off the plate away.
4. Proper Timing - Good timing is something that all great hitters possess. They know when to load and when to launch. They are never late on the fastball. They are never early on the off speed pitch. They know exactly when to attack the pitch based on where the pitch is located. The always attack the inside fastball early. They always attack the fastball down the middle when it gets over the plate. And most important of all, they attack the off-speed pitch late when it gets just inside the back foot. One of the best drills to develop timing is the do a front long toss drill. The pitcher should vary locations, speed and pitch types.
5. Proper Approach - Having a good approach at the plate is a process that involves two aspects of mental concentration.

One part of having an approach is to know what your team needs from your at bat.This is known before the batter walks up to the plate. For example, if the team needs a deep fly ball, the batter looks for a pitch up. If the team needs a ball hit behind a runner, the batter will look for a pitch to hit the other way.

The other part of having an approach is the batter executing the perfect timed swing for the pitch thrown. The batter turns on the fastball in or the batter stays back and hits the curve ball to the opposite field.
The best way to develop a good approach at the plate is to have situational batting practice sessions. The batter takes batting practice swings under simulated situations specified by the coach. The batter practices hitting with the coach calling different numbers of out, different base runner locations or different offensive plays be run.

I hope that you found this article to be interesting and informative. I really appreciate you taking the time to read it. Have a great day. Nick
The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

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Major League Hitting Drills

By Jack Perconte

Major league hitters have very advanced swing fundamentals, which explain how they made it to the major leagues. However, it is important to note that fundamentals are fundamentals. The drills that are designed for little league players are the same drills that major league players perform. There are numerous baseball hitting drills with the best drills being the ones that address the particular hitter's needs. Every hitter, from the major league player to the little league player, has a weak part of their swing. When this weakness is known, hitting drills can be geared towards addressing those areas. Working on correct fundamentals is a continual process for major league players as it is for youth ballplayers.

When I played major league baseball, the off season was the time where I was more concerned with getting in great shape by gaining quickness and strength. I was not as concerned with timing the ball as much as in season. With this in mind, preseason was spent performing drills on the batting tee and with soft toss drills. The important body parts that major league baseball players want to get in shape are their hands and core muscles, including the stomach and hips. With this in mind here are a few major league hitting drills that ballplayers practice to get their hands and hips in shape.

1. One arm drill - hitters will take swings using only one arm with a lighter bat or by choking up on their regular bat. This drill will force them to use the muscles in their fingers, hands, wrists and forearms so that they develop the strength and quickness necessary to hit major league pitching. It will also help them develop the correct swing fundamentals of each hand separately. It is recommended that players take more swings in this manner with their weaker arm.

2. Another popular major league hitting drill is the self-flip drill. With this drill, players will begin by holding the bat with their lead arm only and flip a ball up in the air with their rear hand. The ball should be flipped no higher than eye level and in the hitting zone, at which time the hitter grabs the bat with both hands and hits the ball. This drill develops quick, strong hands and requires a good fundamental swing to hit line drives.

3. Fast hips can be developed with the quick swing drill. Players will swing five times in a row forward and backward as fast as they can. Players should be sure to finish their swing to the middle of their back before they reverse the bat as fast as they can. This drill can also be done with a partner who flips five balls in a row to the hitter, releasing each ball when hitter returns to hitting position. This drill will also help overall balance, which is another key ingredient to a good baseball swing. (See following drill)

4. Balance beam drill - players stand on a balance beam and take swings at game speed, with the goal of completing the swing while staying on the beam. An example of this drill and of making a usable balance beam can be found in my book, "The Making of a Hitter."

As the season begins, major league baseball players tend to work on timing and vision drills. This is mostly done with correct batting practice habits with flip drills from the coach or regular pitched balls from a batting practice coach. Good hitters will always try to hit the ball where it is pitched in the strike zone and try to watch the ball hit the bat at contact. They will not swing at pitches outside the strike zone. Following are a few more major league hitting drills that also help hitters:

5. Back knee pickup drill - hitters swing and pick up their back knee, allowing it to rotate towards the pitcher with the swing. This drill develops hitters' front side and weight transfer as they will have to keep their front shoulder going towards the ball as their weight transfers. Both of these are necessary for good contact and power.

6. No stride drill - hitters take their regular swing without the initial stride. Many hitters get in trouble when they jump at the ball. This major league hitting drill will allow them to stay back and rotate instead of lunging at the ball. Doing this drill after the previous drill is a good idea.

It is important to note that using a batting tee for taking productive swings is a must for all serious ballplayers. The batting tee is an important device for major league hitting drills as well as for young baseball players. Coaches and hitters should consult instructional manuals or a good hitting coach so they know how to use a batting tee for the best results. All hitting drills can be done on a batting tee and will help groove a perfect baseball swing. Hitting balls solidly and on the line is always the hitter's goal, whether hitting in a game or with hitting drills.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball hitting lessons advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his parenting blog can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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