Jeter Quote

Derek Jeter became only the 28th player in the history of MLB to bang out 3000 hits.

Whether you are a fan of Jeter or not, you have to respect the accomplishment.

Over his career, Jeter has been referred to some as clutch, but to many as being consistent.  He plays everyday.  The only season he DIDN’T collect more hits than games played was in 1995, where he played in only 15 games (and had 12 hits).  He has the ability to hit home runs, but sticks to his strong suit: inside-outing pitches to right field with obscene regularity.  He puts the ball in play in 0-2 counts rather than strikes out, which has led to more “clutch hits,” or as some Yankee-haters would say “luck.”

The key to his consistency: sticking to a formula that works, and avoiding “chasing numbers,” like so many hitters do.

That is until he got close to the magical number 3000.

For the first time in a long time (or maybe ever), Jeter started thinking about getting hits.

Here’s what he had to say about the thought of trying to get hits:

It’s kind of tough to hit when you have that approach, you know what I mean, like you’re going to swing no matter what. I tried not to have that approach, but it was running through my head.

All of my hitters quickly find out that I don’t like to talk about hits.  I want to talk about At Bats.

I tell all of my hitters: The numbers will be there if your goal at the plate is to have a great At Bat… not to try and get a hit.

Trying to get hits create very bad habits.  You’ll swing at pitches you would normally avoid… especially early in the count.  You’ll try to manipulate your swing in order to guide the ball through holes in the defense.  Your swing will become defensive, which is exactly what the pitcher hopes you’ll bring to the plate.  I’ve actually known hitters that would refuse to properly execute a situational hitting scenario because it would risk hurting their batting average!

All in all, you’ll waste At Bats trying to do something that is much easier to achieve if once you stop focusing on stats like base hits.  (Remember: wasted At Bats means fewer opportunities to get hits!)

When you go up to the plate, you need to have two things:

1. A game plan (approach) where you are looking to swing at a certain pitch and/or location.  (Note: it wouldn’t hurt to have a back up plan if you “miss” your pitch, and have to look for another one.)
2. A swing you trust.  It may not be the greatest swing on the planet, but it’s your swing, and you’ve worked hard to develop it.  That’s more than enough to get the job done!

It’s hard, but it’s very important not to fall into what I call the “Stat-Rat Syndrome.”  If you’re running a fantasy team, fine.  Go crazy with numbers.  But when you have a bat in your hand, the only number you should concern yourself with is the number of times you stuck to your game plan.  The “other numbers” will be there in the end.  I promise.

Now that Jeter grabbed number 3000, don’t be surprised if he goes on a hot streak.  Why?  He’ll stop thinking about getting hits, and get back to the approach that allowed him to rack up more hits than everyone but 27 other players in the history of the game.

Not a bad plan to follow, huh?

Coach Bones