by Chad Morgan

Created on: August 22, 2009

Any good hitting coach will tell you that the idea when a hitter goes up to the plate is to get on base and get themselves into scoring posistion. Scoring posisition in baseball is 2nd or 3rd base. All players are taught from a very young age that whenever you hit the ball into the outfield that you must always round 1st and look to advance to 2nd. When you do this you are getting yourself into scoring posisition.

The main objective when you are at bat with one or two men in scoring posisiton is to put the ball in play. You should always go with the pitch and concentrate on getting the runner or runners home. The biggest bad habit that hitters have when they see a runner in scoring posistion is to try and hit the long ball. A well disciplined hitter knows that they sould make solid contact and be a patient hitter when at the plate. Try not to get overexcited with no outs and you have runners in scoring posistion. Some homerun hitters salivate over situations like this and end up striking out because they were intent on hitting a homer. Discipline is the key.

Bunting is a good way to score a run when you have a runner at third base. The thing when it comes to bunting is that you are just trying to put the ball in play. You are simply trying to sort of catch the ball and letting it gently come off it. This is most imperative when it comes to the suicide squeeze. In a regular bunt situation, you are trying to put the ball down the line. On a suicide squeeze you have to put the ball in play regardless of the circumstance. Bunting is a science and you have to practice it in order to be a good bunter.

The best advice that you can give to a hitter when they are at the plate with runners in scoring posistion is they need to be patient and work on making solid contact with the ball. This approach must be taken regardless of how many outs there are. A good hitter will aim for the power alleys so that way they too can get into scoring posisiton. You have to go with the pitches that you are given. A good hitter will know the pitcher and they can react to whatever is thrown. A good hitter takes the same approach to the plate on every plate appearance. If you can do that then you will be a very successful player when it comes to hitting with runners in scoring posisiton.

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