Approach at the Plate

When stepping up to the plate for an at bat, many things go through a hitter's mind; for the most part, the hitter will be thinking of what kind of pitch to look for and where to try to place the hit.

Successful hitters will not go up to the plate aiming for a home run every time. When a hitter starts to think home run, things fall apart. He will swing harder and more often, becoming very susceptible to deceptive pitches.

Instead, successful hitters focus on simply making good contact, and not try to force the ball into any particular direction. Strikeouts and bad pop-flies happen when hitters overthink at the plate, and try to swing for the fences. It takes a lot of patience and maturity to hold back that eagerness to go for one glorious swing. It is all about making the right swing at the right time.

I've been looking for a softball bat for next season. Knowing very little about bats, and having little opportunity to try different ones out makes it very difficult to find the right one. I've been researching and reading reviews to try to determine the best choice at my price range. Initially, I searched only with my eyes, focusing on things like the design, the colour scheme and how cool the name was -- shallow things.

There is more to a bat than that though. The reputation of the maker, the feel of the grip, the balance of the weight, the flex of the barrel and the durability of the construction are all important factors -- factors that must be tested through experience. The reviews only tell you as much as the reviewers know to tell, and even then, it is only their opinion. All the discernment and wisdom in the world cannot tell you how the bat will fare until you take the risk, pay the price and live with it.

On Tuesday, I found the one that I had been eying. It's not a very well recognized model, but those that know it recommend it highly. I gave it a good hefting, but decided to put it back on the rack in the end. It felt very nice, and the price was reasonable (20% off), but the timing wasn't right.

The softball season just finished, and every year, a new class of bats are forbidden. How silly would I feel if I ponied up the cash for something I thought was right, only to be told I cannot use it come game time? Not only that, I would have spent this year babying it, playing with it and growing attached to it, only to have it taken away from me in the end.

So I will continue to wait. Summer will come around again; by that time, the signs will be very clear about which bats are allowed. If it is still on the market, that bat might go up in price as more people discover how good it is. I'm not worried; I will likely have more income down the road.