Extremely grateful to be named the MVP of the Indoor Football League this season. Excited and hungry for whatβs next!
Hereβs some clips from the year:
https://t.co/zBf3LxjqDD
@TheUFL@UFLNewsHubcom@UFLNewsroom
The Raysβ formula for winning baseball:
β’ MLBβs lowest strikeout rate (18.6%)β¨β’ AL-best batting averageβ¨β’ AL-best stolen base total
Now theyβre AL champions and heading to the World Series.
Theyβre proof you donβt have to out-slug everyone to win. Put the ball in play, run the bases and make the other team defend.
Here's how I hit 500 in high school while facing pitchers throwing up to 95 MPH who went on to play D1 baseball.
But here's the interesting part...
I wasn't focused on getting hits. I was focused on having quality at-bats.
And I had a specific approach, training routine, and mindset that helped me do it.
Here's what I did.
1. I trained myself to drive the baseball through the middle of the field.
Every single day, I hit off a tee.
I'd work on driving line drives to right-center, straightaway center, and left-center.
50 swings to right-center.
50 swings to straightaway center.
50 swings to left-center.
My goal was to hit line drives over the center fielder's head.
But I wasn't just taking swings to take swings.
Before each swing, I'd visualize the pitch coming in and see myself driving the baseball through the middle of the field.
I was practicing exactly what I wanted to do when I stepped into the batter's box.
2. I had a plan for what pitches I wanted to hit.
One thing I noticed in high school was that most pitchers didn't consistently throw inside.
So I'd get on the plate and look for fastballs away.
And when I got an off-speed pitch, I was looking for one that stayed up in the zone.
I wasn't trying to hit everything.
I wanted to get a pitch I could drive and make hard contact.
And because I'd spent so much time practicing hitting the ball through the middle of the field, I was confident in my ability to execute that approach.
3. I trained my body and mind to compete.
I lifted hard three days a week.
And whenever we conditioned, my goal was to finish first.
Not second. NUMBER 1.
I wanted to know that when things got tough, I could push myself harder than the guy competing against me.
Because I believed that if I could develop that mentality in the weight room and during conditioning, it would carry over into games.
Especially when things weren't going my way.
And trust me, there were plenty of times when things didn't go my way.
Which brings me to the most important part of my approach.
4. I focused on quality at-bats instead of hits.
Here's how I looked at hitting.
My goal was to have four quality at-bats every game.
If I stepped into the batter's box four times and consistently hit line drives, hard ground balls, and hard fly balls, I believed the hits would take care of themselves.
I figured if I could consistently hit the baseball hard, I'd give myself a great chance of getting at least two hits.
But a quality at-bat wasn't always about hitting the ball hard.
It was about having a plan, getting a good pitch to hit, making good decisions, and competing until the at-bat was over.
And if I was 0-for-3?
I wasn't giving away that fourth at-bat.
I'd battle, compete, and do everything I could to find a way on base.
Because 0-for-3 with a walk was better than 0-for-4.
That was the mentality I wanted to carry into every game.
And once I had a couple of hits, that's when I'd start looking for opportunities to drive a baseball out of the park.
My approach was still to drive the baseball through the middle of the field.
But now I'd become more aggressive about trying to drive one out.
I'd visualize hitting the baseball over the batter's eye in center field.
I wasn't chasing home runs before I'd done my job.
I was trying to be a consistent hitter first.
Because there's one thing I learned playing this game...
You can hit a baseball right on the screws and still make an out.
And you can take a terrible swing, barely get the barrel on the ball, and watch it fall in for a hit.
That's baseball.
You can't control every result.
But you can control how you prepare, the pitches you swing at, and how you compete when things aren't going your way.
So if you're a young hitter trying to become more consistent, stop measuring every at-bat by whether you got a hit.
Start asking yourself:
-Did I have a plan?
-Did I get a good pitch to hit?
-Did I make hard contact?
-Did I compete?
Because I didn't hit .500 by chasing hits.
I focused on having quality at-bats, and the hits followed.
Hope this helps,
Jermaine Curtis
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2028 LHP @lukebenefiel28 helping his team get the dub today on the bump! Lefty has been a solid arm for us for going on 3 years now. Also sets up βBenefielβs Ice Cream Shopβ at 1B with all the scoops he gets!
@NitroGold2028@IndianaNitro@JimReboulet
The Rays believe in Strike one. They hit the FB. They run the bases well. They play good defense. Bottom half of order know who they are and execute. Move runners if they need to. More importantly they don't strike out!! Sometimes people complicate this game. They keep it simple
Jeff Reboulet hit this 3-2, first-inning homer off Randy Johnson in Game 4 of the ALDS on this date in 1997. Manager Davey Johnson gave @JReb36 the start at second over Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar!
Mike Mussina was dominant as the Orioles won 3-1, clinching a trip to the ALCS.
"The last time I was with the Angels, I was told they weren't even teaching bunting and baserunning in the minor leagues. It was considered superb. Just hit homers."
- @MaddHalos