Approach in Offensive Counts

My goal is to teach the mental side of the game as we continue to grow physically and fundamentally. In our previous blog, we introduced the concept of an approach—my definition of what approach means in baseball. In the coming weeks, we’ll cover various approaches, such as two-strike approaches, executing hit-and-runs, when to isolate specific zones, and more.

In our last blog, we discussed controlling the counts and taking advantage of offensive counts. I will continue to emphasize this point because of its importance. Now, we’re going to build on that idea and explore how to apply it to achieve success.

Now that we understand what offensive counts are, let’s focus on our approach in these situations. Many hitters are unsure of what to do in these counts. I’m not here as an “all-knowing coach” but rather to share my perspective on hitting and what has led to my own success, as well as the success of players I’ve coached and played with.

Often, hitters are taught to overswing, pull the ball, or try to do too much in these counts. While I’ll never discourage a player from wanting to hit the baseball hard, let's take a closer look at how to approach these situations with control and purpose.

In an offensive count like 3-1 or 2-0, the pitcher is often trying to get back into the count. You’re less likely to see a middle-in pitch and more likely to get a fastball on the outer third of the plate. In my opinion, the best approach in these counts is to aim for a line-drive base hit to the middle of the field—gap to gap. Don’t try to do too much; take a simple base-hit approach. This is an offensive count, so stay aggressive, but be in control. Overswinging or trying to pull for a home run can often lead to getting yourself out. Extra-base hits and home runs happen because of the pitch location and the contact point, not because we’re trying to do too much. 

The goal in offensive counts is to take a good swing on a good pitch and aim for the middle of the field. You can hit an outside, inside, or middle pitch to this area and still be in a solid position. This approach can even produce a home run without trying; with a solid base-hit approach, if we catch the ball just a bit out in front or slightly underneath, we may end up back spinning it out of the park! Or, we might be right on time to square it up for a solid line drive. Both are excellent results that stem from one simple approach that puts the odds in our favor.

I’ll leave you with this thought: 75%-80% of the pitches we see will be on the outer third of the plate. If we look to hit in that area, we can handle both fastballs and off-speed pitches. However, if we only look to pull the ball, we’ll be limited to hitting a very specific pitch, while others are likely to get us out. Aim for the big part of the field—from left-center to right-center. The inside pitch is a reaction pitch. Go with the odds!