What We're All About

The absolute biggest thrill of my baseball career was standing on the field when the Star Spangled Banner was played before 60,000 spectators at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 1964. Tears and goose bumps ruled the moment. I never felt prouder to be an American, having the opportunity to represent our great country on a world stage. It even beat winning the World Series in 1972. My greatest wish would be for every player to have the opportunity to share that same magical moment. It unequivocally defines you as a person and athlete and what you have accomplished.

After mentoring under Ted Williams for 10 years, he unexpectedly designated me his “legatee” at the U.S. Grant hotel in San Diego in 1999. Preserving his incomparable hitting philosophy and helping hitters take advantage of it has been a priority ever since. My first step was to make my proprietary hitting drills available to everyone for the first time. To this day I remain steadfast in my commitment to championing today’s youth and developing aspiring baseball and softball hitters. My proprietary drills form the foundation of The Epstein Teaching System™.

Since that memorable dinner in his suite at the U.S. Grant hotel, I have been fortunate to watch the unparalleled successes of rotational hitters all over the country. Utilizing this technique has translated into a giant step forward for those hitters who share aspirations to compete on baseball's most competitive stage. What these hitters have accomplished with these drills has been truly sensational.

With my unique, unrivaled teaching system, any hitter can learn the time-tested hitting mechanics of Ted Williams and the game’s most productive hitters. Mike Epstein Hitting teaches these mechanics in an unequalled seven days! Our program is progressively taught, easy-to-learn, fun, and GUARANTEED."

Reading this article first will provide the proper overview for what we teach and why we teach it. You will need Adobe Acrobat or the FREE version of Adobe Reader to read the article. Click here to download.
Have You Been Taught To... ?
 
• Keep your front elbow down
• Keep the barrel above your hands
• Don't dip your back shoulder
• Hit the "top-half" of the ball
• Keep your head down
• Swing down for back spin
• Throw your hands at the ball
• Squish the bug
 
If so, then why do the "big leaguers" do something completely different? 
 
You (should) have a choice!
Let's set the facts straight:
 
FACT: High school hitting production has been off over 30% since the introduction of the minus 3 aluminum bats. The culprit lies in your son's hitting technique.
FACT: Fastpitch hitting production has always been non-existent. The culprit lies in your daughter's hitting technique.
FACT:

There are only TWO proven hitting techniques: rotational and linear. You either move forward and continue THROUGH the vertical axis (linear, a.k.a. "lunging), or move forward to your balance point, at which time you stay ON or BEHIND the vertical axis, depending on pitch location (rotational). So, by definition, linear is coming forward and hitting ON TOP a flexed front leg; rotational is hitting AGAINST a rigid front leg.

Rotational hitting combines a linear phase (stride), then blocking the front side and rotating around a stationary axis (rotational) when the hitter reaches his "balance point."

Rotational hitting has been — and continues to be — the technique used by baseball's most PRODUCTIVE hitters and 95% of baseball's Hall-of-Fame hitters. Are YOU being taught rotational mechanics?
FACT: More and more high school and college coaches are switching over to rotational mechanics and are seeing a huge difference. This will be the technique of the future for fastpitch hitters as well. Everyone (except the pitchers) is tired of seeing pitching dominate the fastpitch game.
FACT: Mike Epstein Hitting, Inc. is the acknowledged world leader in the instruction and dissemination of hitting information of rotational mechanics. We literally wrote "The Book" on rotational hitting ("The Epstein Teaching System: How To Hit Your Potential In Just 7 Days!").
FACT: The Epstein Teaching System™ has been responsible for well over $30 million in player signing bonuses and over $100 million in professional contracts over the past eight years. In addition, we have been responsible for hundreds of college scholarships.
FACT: Former 9-year major league slugger, Mike Epstein, has the only written Letter of Certification for hitting instruction from the legendary Ted Williams.
Which swing would YOU like to have?
 
High School Hitter
Alfonso Soriano (Chicago Cubs)

High School FP Hitter    

College FP Hitter
 

 

Pictured (right) is a Dominican youngster (left photo) scanned from a recent Parade Magazine article). Notice the perfect arm relationship (back elbow down and front elbow up) and the correct slotting of the rear elbow (tight against the hitter's body). Where did he learn this? I sincerely doubt he learned this through instruction. He most likely learned it from watching the major league hitters from his country. Why don't we do this?

When looking at Albert Pujols (right photo, we see the same arm/elbow relationships. Our Dominican youngster isn't "perfect" - but is presented here to illustrate that he's well on his way to becoming a good hitter. When we look at youngsters from the USA, we normally won't see this: we see them squishing the bug, hands to the ball, and lead elbow down. Too often we analyze one swing of a hitter. Hitters are continually making adjusts to the pitch, and therefore location, pitch velocity, and count (2-0? or 0-2?) come into play. Because of these variables, swing planes, weight transfer, et al, come into play and the swings may not look exactly alike on each swing. It is why I say that "the perfect swing is the adjustment you make to the pitch you get."

Make no mistake here: emulation has always been hitting's greatest teacher. However, not every hitter can effectively emulate technique. Often it's a hitter's "style" that is emulated instead. For the many that are challenged by emulating the hitter's "technique" - not the "style" - good instruction is the only remedy; they must be put into the proper positions. If we taught hitters what we continually see good hitters doing, we would have significantly more hitters in this country having success - and fewer quitting early and taking up other sports.

Hitting is the toughest thing to do in ALL sports. Learning correct hitting movements early-on lays the framework for future success! We offer modern strategies for success in a totally-changed hitting environment!
What will the hitter learn?
  • Time-proven mechanics that increase bat speed, hand quickness, and POWER
  • Torque ("hips lead hands") and its unparalleled application in the swing
  • How to correctly match the plane of his swing to the plane of the pitch
  • How to properly stay “inside the ball”
  • Mike Epstein’s proprietary drills that help insulate the hitter from prolonged slumps
  • The vital difference between “style” and “technique” and its profound effect on productive hitting
  • When to stride and when to swing
  • How to self-correct—“on-the-fly"

Plus these mental dynamics:

  • The mental hitting concepts used by baseball’s top hitters
  • What is a good pitch to hit—and why and when its definition changes
  • Why to never swing at a pitch the hitter has no "reference on"—unless …
  • Why the hardest pitches to hit are the hardest pitches to throw!
  • Why you shouldn't let the pitcher "catch up" in the count with a pitch you've already seen
  • How to “study” the pitcher to predict his tendencies
  • Why hitting is predictive—not reactive
  • Much, much more! 
© 2010, Mike Epstein Hitting