The Science of Hitting

Ted Williams has written the best book on hitting. He stresses the importance of hitting according to your style. The key is getting a good pitch to hit and not making it easier for the pitcher to get you out.

This book is tremendously complete of the fundamentals and thoroughness in baseball hitting. Getting this knowledge and expertise from the very best cannot be over emphasized. Although not having the greatest personality, no one can deny his knowledge and personal abilities and extraordinary accomplishments.

This book would be helpful and encouraging to any young person who dreams of becoming a pro baseball player. Ted Williams was always my favorite player. Lots of good information and interesting stories in this book.

Interesting book, looking forward to putting his ideas into practice. On top of the hitting advice, the book is also a sort of "Golden Age of Baseball" history book as told by the legend himself. Cool stuff!

Best parts are the discussion of thinking like a hitter based on the count, and the strike zone chart showing the matrix of baseballs and Ted's batting average of each ball. This thinking can help a player with good skills be a better hitter.

The late great TW writes, or most likely, dictates, this book with John Underwood. The book reads as if it's Ted talking, and it feels as if he and I went on a fishing trip, and he was just talking hitting in between him casting for trout or bass or whatever he likes. The only thing missing is a fire crackling and the smell of grilled fish.

There are a few theories that were new to me, such as Ted saying that you should swing "up" instead of the standard "down". There is a very nice walk down memorabilia lane at the end of the book with photos and blurbs about all-time great hitters. This is updated, of course, only to about the late 80's, so we're missing Big Mack, Bonds, Sosa, and other recent sluggers, but that's going to happen in any sports book with a certain date on it.

If you want help with hitting, I am sure there are more to the point books out there, and they would probably be more worth your money. It will take you a long time to actually weed out the good points that Williams makes (they are hidden in there in between his down-home style of writing). But if you want to chew some tobacco, and sit by the fireside (nevermind the fishing trip) with the last .400 hitter in MajorLeagueBaseball, together with some tips, get the book.

I have coached many years of little league and this book was the best reference I have used. The explanations in conjunction with the diagrams really help those of us who are visual learners. I recommend this book unreservedly.

Best parts are the discussion of thinking like a hitter based on the count, and the strike zone chart showing the matrix of baseballs and Ted's batting average of each ball. This thinking can help a player with good skills be a better hitter.

The late great TW writes, or most likely, dictates, this book with John Underwood. The book reads as if it's Ted talking, and it feels as if he and I went on a fishing trip, and he was just talking hitting in between him casting for trout or bass or whatever he likes. The only thing missing is a fire crackling and the smell of grilled fish.

There are a few theories that were new to me, such as Ted saying that you should swing "up" instead of the standard "down". There is a very nice walk down memorabilia lane at the end of the book with photos and blurbs about all-time great hitters. This is updated, of course, only to about the late 80's, so we're missing Big Mack, Bonds, Sosa, and other recent sluggers, but that's going to happen in any sports book with a certain date on it.

If you want help with hitting, I am sure there are more to the point books out there, and they would probably be more worth your money. It will take you a long time to actually weed out the good points that Williams makes (they are hidden in there in between his down-home style of writing). But if you want to chew some tobacco, and sit by the fireside (nevermind the fishing trip) with the last .400 hitter in MajorLeagueBaseball, together with some tips, get the book.

I have coached many years of little league and this book was the best reference I have used. The explanations in conjunction with the diagrams really help those of us who are visual learners. I recommend this book unreservedly.

"The Science of Hitting" is an old baseball instruction book written by Ted Williams. The information contained in the book is classic. Never goes out of date. Easy to understand.
Recommend it highly.

Both my son and grandson are hitting instructors who teach rotational hitting, a method that Ted Williams described in this book. While the science of rotational hitting has been studied, improved, and described by a number of proponents, it is always a good idea to begin at the source. A great book.

If this really reading and trying to understand the concepts in this book doesn't help your hitting (and pitching) then something is wrong. Ted Williams knows hitting, so obey him.

My son was in a mini slump. I made him read the book before his Saturday tournament. His first at bat... A homerum!

A Great book on the physical and mental aspects of hitting (and pitching).

I purchased this book for my extremely talented 13-year old, who pitched for his Little League (They won every game in his final-Age 12-year), and who now plays for a community Babe Ruth team as well as his Middle-School Team. Sawyer told me that he is fascinated with the book and it has helped him improve his hitting success.

Probably the most definitive, time honored, easy to read explanation of what to do and more importantly what not to do in the batters box. As only Ted Williams could relate, the book is easy to understand and gets right to the point about becoming a better hitter by becoming a better student of the game and the science behind the swing. I bought this for my daughter who like most kids her age, puts in many long hours practicing and refining her(fastpich) swing. Why commit the effort without first knowing correct mechanics on the way to building your dream swing? It's a must have for students of all ages to get the science of the swing clearly explained by the last guy to hit .400 in the Major Leagues. Written in an easy to understand way that makes it a fun read with charts and diagrams to get hitters thinking, "The Science of Hitting" spells out the three rules to hit by for the single most difficult thing to do in sport. This is as good as it gets.

Great book for baseball players young and old. It stresses the importance of knowing the strike zone and the benifits of getting a good pitch to hit. Helps you develop the approach of being "select" but still "aggressive" at the plate, especially early in the count when you can look for your pitch, rather than "guess" at what's coming.