How To Pick Up the Ball Better

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[@SCSchmidt]

One of the best videos on hitting mentality that I have seen. All good points. Especially, the mindset that you need to expect a good pitch and get ready to swing. Not, expect a bad pitch and only swing if it is a strike.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

SCSchmidt Thanks!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks! Absolutely I totally agree with you. My timing, your timing, and someone else's timing are all going to be different. So many kids ask me, "when should I load, when should I stride, when should I swing?"

[@simply_felix]

No apologies for the length of the video. Great Video.. Thank you so much. My son plays 13U tournament baseball and you'll be surprised how many coaches, supposedly elite level, are teaching the kids to load up early & wait.. You can see the kid just standing there stiff while the pitcher it's still going through his motion. By the time the ball is released the kid has to reload and is usually late.. Thanks again for some the video.

[@willcarroll9762]

I agree

[@thigson189]

Outstanding instruction and if not the best on KZbin, certainly in the top two! One must always use the POSITIVE [approach] when coaching young athletes - "Yes, Yes, No!" is significantly different from, "No, No, Yes!" Great information. Thank you for sharing.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks so much!! Thanks for watching and commenting!!!

[@Juanbigp]

This makes a lot of sense to me. I tend to have that no no no mentality. Im going to use the yes yes yes mentality from now on. Appreciate the knowledge.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Awesome!!! Thanks for watching!!

[@gwjj1599]

Probably one of the best hitting videos I've seen in awhile, great job of teaching the overall mindset and mentality you should have as a hitter

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks! Thanks for watching!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

No problem. Thanks for watching!

[@bbarker5766]

Excellent advice!! I try to keep finding different ways to work with the kids and sometimes you get someone that just picks things up easily then you have others that you need to describe/teach something another way and some coaches have trouble changing their tactics however videos like this help us as coaches reach someone that just don't get something we've explained a bunch of times. I love it that you mentioned about staring at the pitcher before you need to and how it relates to not seei g the ball well. Thanks!! I will be sharing this with my teams!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

+Mad Painter Thanks so much and thanks for watching! Good luck!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

If you enjoyed our hitting talk and want to learn more, click the link below to check out our new course explaining our step-by-step system to building an elite swing and over 25 drills! antonellibaseball.mykajabi.com/buildingtheeliteswing-lp

[@mikeh.9954]

This clip just showed up in my feed. 2010? Whoa! Alot has changed. I'm diggin' that intro music!

[@rickkawtoski8371]

Another great video Matt, thank you! The way I was taught was,like you said, don't be concentrating on a spot the whole time,but when the pitcher went into his wind up,then shift your eyes to the letter on his cap to pick up the ball coming from behind his head,or the belt buckle if he's a side winder. It seemed to help me after some practice, so I passed it on to kids I coached. Hope I wasn't screwing them up? Anyway I couldn't agree with you more about rhythm at the plate. Rhythm is key to anything you do , I think.

[@Ladran_Sancho]

Great tips. I never thought about it, but I always did the no, no, no, yes thing, and the results were not stellar. Everything this guy says makes a lot of sense. Thank you for all these videos.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Awesome! Thank you! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks! Thanks for watching!

[@MrRharo888]

Hey Matt good stuff. There's not too many coaches that teach what your teaching... Keep doing what you're doing. There's a hitting coach by the name of Mike Stubbins out of Southern California that teach what you talk about with staying back, and ur back shoulder being lower than ur front shoulder

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Hey thanks a lot! Yeah I hear you. I've heard my fair share of bad info throughout my career lol. Good luck with your career and thanks for writing!

[@RaisingAHitter]

These are all extremely important concepts. Great video and thanks for sharing

[@imascrapman7716]

Great video! hoping it helps me out of this ground-ball slump I'm in.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks good luck!!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Yeah soft focus is just not staring at anything in particular. So you look out at the pitcher, but you aren't staring at the release point. As the pitcher begins his windup then you move from a soft or general focus to a more specific hard focus on the release point.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks coach! Good luck!

[@jakedasnake7703]

Wow you looked so good back in your playing days Matt!!!

[@lucidkinect]

Great job. Love all points you hit on. Thx, Coach Bergs

[@JorJor812]

I agree with everything but your pov on getting the front foot down. My idea behind it is doing it so that you can adjust to pitches, as a four hole hitter for an independent professional team I find it absolutely necessary especially when pitchers are bringing it and then throwing junk. When I switched from ok pitchers (college) to amazing pitchers I had to do this. Check out Bautista he is the prime example for this.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yeah I've seen a lot of exactly what you're describing. Frustrating for sure!

[@julianmckinley2200]

Thank you this is the best video I found!

[@TKcrazytrain1]

Great video once again. With regards to the getting the front foot down cliches, I think this is something that get's lost in translation a lot. I also think that a lot of coaches and hitting instructors have a hard time explaining this because it is a timing mechanism and it can be very difficult, or near impossible to teach timing to hitters. As coaches we can give a general idea about this, but at the end of the day, there are a lot of variables that go into timing.

[@KauseXBL]

Thank you so much for the tips, whenever I would get up to bat I never knew where to look and I would always think no no no yes instead of yes yes yes no, which caused me to strike out a lot.

[@xxToXicSkueksxx]

could u make a video on keeping the hand on long enough to get power. also on staying balanced on your follow through

[@guitarwok]

Thank you for the video! Great advice.

[@raiderman28]

great vid, great explaination. keep up the great work..

[@jimferrell9503]

That is an great video. I am looking for a great video on hitting the outside pitch or the changeup.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

+Jim Ferrell Thanks!

[@ThePapayaKing]

It was Newton - his first law of motion. ;-) Great video!

[@antoniomaruge8218]

As always great tip

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!!

[@makaveli601]

Thanks a lot this video really helped me out

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Great!!! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@zebman9228]

What the coaches are sometimes trying to say is get your front foot fully planted before you begin the hip/swing rotation so you do not open up hips too early. This has nothing to do with the timing. IF, a player feels they are late on a fastball, then yes start the step/plant earlier as a timing adjustment.

[@jimsimms8199]

Great job.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

+Jim Simms Thanks!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Watch our videos on the stride to learn about balance. And your hand should stay on the bat long enough. Are you sure it is coming off too soon?

[@techBRO1024]

Great advice, thanks

[@AntonelliBaseball]

iiProspect Thanks!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Haha thanks!

[@bigunit9454]

Thank you

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!!!

[@STLFPSC]

Great video!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks! I knew I heard it somewhere lol

[@simoncurry2379]

probably the best hitting video Ive seen. the yes yes no mentality does wonders for little leaguers. you sir have earned a like, view, and a subscription. cant wait for more!

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks! Thanks for watching!

[@freelandfitness]

thanks man..helpful video

[@AntonelliBaseball]

I don't have any actual vision drills. Sometimes the mechanics of your swing can hurt the way you pick up the ball. It is tough to say though.

[@TheRockiesfanatic]

So I have heard of going from the soft focus to hard focus and all the other things you can do to pick the ball up, but do you have any drill that I can do that helps me track the ball all the way to my bat? That is my only problem and it kills my consistency.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Well I agree your front foot has to get down, but I see a lot of coaches teach young hitters to get their front foot down way to early which really hurts their rhythm and timing. They have kids get their foot down before the ball is even released from the pitchers hand, but most successful Major League hitters are not getting their foot down anywhere close to that early.

[@danielrodrigues2041]

Thanks for the video. What about a kid that second guesses himself a lot at the plate?

[@fl1ghtskool]

Can you explain exactly what a soft focus is

[@TheRockiesfanatic]

I know it's not my mechanics because in like bp and off the tee I hit the ball well it's just like the last two feet or so I stop tracking the ball so if there is late breaking stuff I get screwed over. It's kind of hard to explain without being able to show you.

[@jimferrell9503]

I liked this video. Do you have any training tips for hitting curves

[@AntonelliBaseball]

+Jim Ferrell Need to think about using the middle of the field or even an opposite field approach. This will allow you to let the curveball travel. Most struggle because they can't wait long enough. Also has a bit to do with your swing mechanics overall, but tough to say without seeing you swing. Good luck!

[@dylandalka8700]

Thanx this is perfect

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!

[@scottgh8285]

Hi Matt, what did you think of The Science of Hitting, by TW?

[@100mphFastball]

step at release or after release or step before release?

[@AntonelliBaseball]

+Ian Baxley Depends on how big the stride is...the smaller the stride the later everything happens

[@100mphFastball]

+Antonelli Baseball good tip thanks

[@Zmatt08]

+Ian Baxley one thing that I do that might help, try to time up the pitcher with your swing right outside the dugout and especially on deck, don't spend your time on deck putting your gloves on or taking meaningless hacks. Time him up and be confident when you get up there.

[@kingclutchshot4251]

that is issac newton who said that

[@nickt423]

Get your front foot down earlier is what the coach should be saying. Not, get your front foot down early. Earlier vs. early, theres a big difference

[@johnnycash2468]

Tell you what. That was a very good teaching instruction on hitting a baseball. Hey, he's Italian what do you expect. Ha ! Ha !

[@starwarsyankeefan7123]

6,301st subscriber! :)

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!

[@hokeshuler1297]

Here’s two things that are complete bullshit ... getting your front foot down early and swing at a 45 degree angle. Good video, but you still don’t have the timing thing down. Nice info.

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Thanks!!! Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@moonbeamskies3346]

Great video!