STEM Mom

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[Jermaine Curtis @JermaineCurtis]

When I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, we had a team meeting about hitting with two strikes.

Albert Pujols was leading it.

At the time, he was hitting something ridiculous with two strikes.

I want to say it was around .265.

Naturally, everyone wanted to know how.

So somebody asked:

"What's your two-strike approach?"

Albert's answer surprised me.

He said:

"I think fastball inside and hit it back through the middle."

That was it.

No complicated mechanics.

No secret formula.

Just:

Fastball inside.

Back through the middle.

I remember sitting there thinking:

"Why would you think fastball inside with two strikes?"

So somebody asked him.

And Albert said something I'll never forget.

He said:

"If I can hit a fastball inside back through the middle..."

"I can hit the fastball away."

"I can stay on the changeup."

"I can stay on the slider."

"I can stay on the curveball."

Then he paused.

And said:

"The ball gets deeper."

That's when it clicked for me.

He wasn't trying to pull the inside fastball.

He was using one thought to cover everything.

The more I thought about it...

The more it made sense.

So I started trying it.

And it changed the way I thought about hitting with two strikes.

Instead of worrying about every pitch...

I focused on one.

Fastball inside.

Back through the middle.

See it DEEP.

If you're struggling with two strikes, here's what I'd do tonight:

Round 1: Short Box

(Set the distance somewhere between front toss and batting practice.)

Have a coach throw only fastballs inside.

Your only thought:

"Fastball inside."

Drive the ball back through the middle.

10 swings.

Round 2: Mix Speeds

Now the coach mixes:

- Fastballs
- Changeups
- Breaking balls
- Sliders

But your thought never changes.

You're still looking:

"Fastball inside."

10 swings.

Round 3: Two-Strike BP

Every pitch starts 0-2.

Compete.

Battle.

Use the same approach.

"Fastball inside."

Back through the middle.

10 swings.

That's it.

30 focused swings.

One thought.

One approach.

One goal.

Drive the baseball back through the middle.

One thing I've learned:

Most hitters get worse with two strikes because they add thoughts.

Albert got better because he removed them.

With two strikes, simplicity is a weapon.

Thank you for reading,
Jermaine Curtis

P.S. - If you enjoyed this and thought it was helpful, please share it.

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[Jen @SweetTexanRose]

I can’t stop laughing! 😂 This guy goes into fast food joints and yells their company slogans after buying their food. 😂 The reactions he gets are hilarious! 🤣

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@MissSassbox “He wasn’t even fine, fine” 👌🏻👌🏻. Moms are the best!

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@rachelRACH10 @susancrabtree @daveweigel This is what it looked like to me as well. Why is the pregnant lady going first?

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@Acyn Arguing apples and oranges- “chronic” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. He’s willfully ignoring/misleading on the impact of vaccines on viral or bacterial illnesses (measles,rubella, diphtheria…).

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@nunebomber @coachzblair10 I’ve often thought about putting a pillow down beside the base path for them to lay their bats down gently. 😂

I get this particular team may not buy the bats, but these videos encourage other kids whose parents do, to bat flip celebrate.

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@PintSizedFarmer Majestic.

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@HawkEmDownChris Willie Stargell!!!

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@Amelia558rs Blanche

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@rachcorrine I believe the kids are wearing knockoff Maison Margielas now. And NGL, they look fire.

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@NBCOlympics @dog_rates this good boi deserves a treat!

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@Rothmus Puppy?

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@oliveegger Gorgeous!!!!!!

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@fasc1nate Don’t forget his hippos- the gift that keeps on giving (unfortunately).

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@barstoolsports These are my people.

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@adamscochran Would this require a DA to press charges, right? They could decline and nothing happens. And I assume there would be appeals if there were a trial. Not a lawyer, so just honest questions.

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@Beanie0597 One child can physically and verbally assault multiple children over multiple years with zero consequences. Another will get detention for forgetting to remove nail polish after holiday break.

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@Beanie0597 Not just public school. We’ve absolutely had this experience in Catholic school. Admin and teachers punish who they think they “can” vs those who’s parents will 1) complain 2) stop donating or 3) call the archdiocese.

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@FLPMHNP @jaybsauceda Had to read this a couple times before I figured out that in fact, no, your dad was not stalking the pasteles man to figure out where he lived 😂

[STEM Mom @STEMOMMY]

@Camp4 This is exactly what college admissions SHOULD be looking for, not a faux nonprofit that cost the parents $5k and raised $50 bucks. Initiative, committment, wit- I want to be her friend!