After a career low .270 batting average last season, New York Yankees Hitting Coach, Derek Long, has been working with Derek Jeter to reduce his stride.  One of the key issues:

…that stride grew longer and drifted toward the plate, which caused Jeter to lean over. It altered Jeter’s bat path, and his timing suffered.

Derek Jeter 2006

Read more…

I posted a link to Stack magazine on the links page and I check there periodically to go through the videos they post.  The following is one that not only shows some batting practice swings from New York Mets third baseman, David Wright, but also provides his insights into the purpose and preparation of his pre-game hitting routine:

In other words, it’s not just about getting your hacks in, but having a plan for what you’re doing.  This sounds simple, but it’s something that begins to separate players of similar talent as the competition gets tougher and level of play increases.