The Science of Hitting by Ted Williams with John Underwood Simon and Schuster, 1971 What better player is there to talk about the science of hitting than Teddy Ballgame? His egotism shines through every page of The Science of Hitting, but the man had a .344 major league batting average with 521 career homeruns so I guess he has a right to be a bit egotistical. The book is the classic instructional book on hitting, and every baseball fan, whether they play ball themselves or not, needs to give it a read.

The book opens with a classic and oft-quoted line, "Hitting a baseball--I've said it a thousand times--is the single most difficult thing to do in sport....even if you're a .300 hitter...you are going to fail at your job seven out of ten times."

Williams has been a student of hitting his whole life. From the time he first entered the minors in San Diego in 1936, he would ask question after question to every good hitter he could find. He received advice from George Sisler, Rogers Hornsby, Ty Cobb, among hundreds of others, and he relates much of this advice in The Science of Hitting.

The book can be split up into two main subjects--first, the physical mechanics involved in hitting; second, the mental battle that takes place between the pitcher and batter.

In discussing the physical mechanics involved in hitting, Williams makes great use of the pen and ink illustrations of Robert E. Cupp. The Science of Hitting is loaded with these drawings and other explanatory photographs to help illustrate the points Williams is trying to make. Williams is a firm believer in the power of the hips and emphasizes this over and over again. It's a pendulum action. A metronome--move and countermove. You might not have realized it, but you throw a ball that way, you swing a golf club that way, you cast a fishing rod that way.You go back, and then you come forward. You don't start back there. And you don't "start" you swing with your hips cocked.

Probably the most lasting statement in The Science of Hitting had to do with the taking of the first pitch. There are still many hitters today who won't swing at a first pitch because Teddy Ballgame said he never did. But that's not the truth, Williams says something a little different: "Don't hit at anything you haven't seen." Basically Williams is saying to not swing at a pitcher's fastball or curveball until you've had a good look at it. That doesn't mean you have to wait until you are at the plate though.

Past confrontations should be going through your mind...I'd watch the pitchers warm up...Sometimes when I led off an inning later in the game, I'd get so close watching a pitcher warm up that guys like Frank Lary would brush me back a little, letting me know they didn't appreciate that close a scrutiny...You are not just "taking" pitches, you are taking specific pitches. You learn from them.

This philosophy of hitting has been repeated and misquoted so often over the years that many people now insist that Ted Williams never swung at a first pitch. Don't believe them. Williams just made sure he knew exactly what stuff a pitcher had before he swung, a big difference.

Because Williams was always talking to great hitters of the past, much of his advice is given in the form of readable anecdotes. This is yet another thing that makes The Science of Hitting worth reading. Where else are you going to learn about Harry Heillman's philosophy of hitting?

I don't play baseball or softball myself, but I still found The Science of Hitting to be worth reading. While I was writing this review, a Blue Jays-Yankees game was playing on my TV. I found myself analyzing the swings of a number of the batters in that game. Sad to say, many of them were not executing their swings using the Ted Williams method. Their loss.

This is a recommended read. Pick up a copy if you get a chance.

--JingleBob, May 29, 1999

The Science of Hitting may be available for purchase on the net at one of these sites.

© 1999 JC White