What is Situational Hitting?

Situational Hitting

These words have always confused me.

Isn't every AB situational hitting?

The 1st AB of a game is a situation...

Just like a runner on 2nd with 0 outs. 

 The Big 3. 

These are the 3 questions each hitter needs to ask themselves before their AB:

1. What is the situation? 
2. What is the pitcher trying to do in this situation? 
3. What is my plan?  

Here is an example from Lance Berkman:

"Anytime there was a double play possibility, I knew the pitcher would throw me a sinker away, so I'm diving out there to ensure I'm getting under this ball and hitting it in the air.

I'm not hitting a ground ball.

I probably hit 50 homers in that scenario where they wanted that double play and threw a sinker down and away, and I beat it to the spot."

He answered all 3 questions: 

1. What is the situation 

(A potential double play)

2. What is the pitcher trying to do in this situation? 

(Throw a sinker low and away) 

3. What is my plan? 

(Beat the pitcher to the spot and get under the ball)

If we, as coaches, start emphasizing the big 3 to each hitter, we will spend less time being frustrated and more time watching runners come across home plate. 

They can start running poles if they don't have an answer for the big 3. 

One of the reasons I like 'situational hitting' is because it takes focus away from the hitter.

They aren't thinking about themselves, so they're much more likely to have success. 

Even at the MLB level, we can now see data that hitters change their approach in different counts. 

I saw these visuals from Josh Rodrigues on Twitter: 

In 2 strike counts, hitters’ bat speed goes down, as well as their swing length. 

So, they are making adjustments. 

(Not sure what's going on with the Nationals; it looks like their swings get longer with 2ks) 

It's easy to forget that at the end of the day, the only thing that matters on offense, is scoring runs. 

Always knowing the big 3 will increase the chances our hitters will capitalize when runners are in scoring positions. 

Here are several situations: 

1. Runner on 2nd with 1 out
2. Runner on 2nd with 0 outs 
3. Runner on 3rd with infield back (less than 2 outs)
4. Runner on 3rd with infield in (less than 2 outs)
5. Pitchers dual 

If each hitter can answer the big 3, they will know what they must do in each situation. 

I know that each level of the game is different, and context has to be applied to every situation. 

The four-hole hitter may have a different plan than the leadoff hitter with no power but great bat-to-ball skills. 

I hope you enjoyed learning about the big 3 and how that can be applied to the classic 'situational hitting.'

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