Ted Williams' Secret to Hitting was Simple...

Ted Williams is in the Hall of Fame thanks to his career.344 batting average and .482 on-base percentage.

We've all stood at the plate on all different counts: 0-2, 3-0, 3-2 and everywhere in between. Arguably the greatest hitter of all time, Ted Williams, stated his secret to hitting very simply when people would ask him what his secret to being such a great hitter was: 

The secret to good hitting is getting a good pitch to hit.

As a hitter, you need to remember that you get three strikes. I see kids up there beating themselves up when they watch strike one go by on the outside corner at the knees. 

Big deal! You get two more strkes! 

More importantly, what is the likelihood that the pitcher can hit that same spot at the knees on the outside corner two more times in the same at bat - or even one more time, for that matter? The chances are slim at best, and probably none.

The bad news is, you're down a strike. The good news is you get two more and you've already seen the pitcher's best pitch. Chances are good you're going to get a better pitch to hit than that one, so look for something you can really crush.

Ted Williams was the greatest hitter in the history of baseball and he's the last guy to hit .400... and that was in 1941 (he actually hit .406) and his approach was shockingly simple:

If strike one was on the outside corner at the knees, he let it go by.
If strike two was on the outside corner at the knees, he let it go by.
If strike three was on the outside corner at the knees, he would go ahead and hit it.

Ted Williams was about a .250 hitter on pitches at the knees on the outside corner, but, he was a career .344 hitter with an on-base percentage of .482. That means he got a base hit 34.4% of the time and he got on base by hit or walk 48.2% of the time.

If Ted Williams was a .250 hitter on pitches on the outside corner at the knees, why didn't every pitcher pitch him there? They tried but pitchers cannot hit that spot every time in every at bat. Ted Williams knew that, eventually, every pitcher was going to miss that spot and give him a good pitch to hit. He just had to be ready for it and he was.

Next time you're at the plate, expect to get a good pitch to hit, especially at the youth baseball level. If Major League pitchers can't hit their spots on every pitch, you can rest assured that youth pitchers can't either. Look for a pitch that you know you can handle and don't chase any pitches that you don't like until you have to protect the plate with 2 strikes. Always remember you get three strikes, so don't freak out when you let one strike - or even two strikes go by.