26: Corey Hart | He Coached Vlad Jr. and Yelich. Here's What Parents Get Wrong About Hitting

Show Notes

Your son looks great hitting in the cage. Then he gets into a game and can't buy a hit. So what's the answer? More hitting lessons? Change his swing? Find a different instructor?

Corey Hart spent 18 years coaching professional hitters in the Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations. He's worked with hitters like Christian Yelich and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and he's now an assistant softball coach at Syracuse University.

In this episode of the Chasing Baseball Dreams Podcast, Corey and I talk about what parents need to understand before spending more money on hitting instruction. We get into the mental side of hitting, what separates good hitters from great ones, and why some of the advice parents give from the stands might be making things harder for their sons.

In this episode we cover:

• Why a good-looking swing in the cage doesn't always translate into success during games
• How to tell whether your son's hitting instructor is actually helping him, beyond his batting average
• What Corey saw in Christian Yelich and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. that made them such special hitters
• Why getting hitting advice from multiple coaches can leave a young player confused
• The mechanical advice Corey wishes parents would stop yelling during at-bats
• How one simple hitting drill helped Martín Maldonado make an adjustment in the minor leagues
• When hitting lessons make sense for younger players and why Corey believes mindset is just as important as mechanics
• Why Corey would rather send his sons to the right college camp than spend money on showcases hoping they'll get discovered

Corey also shares what he believes separates players who eventually reach the big leagues from those with similar talent who never get there.

If you're a baseball parent spending money on hitting lessons, this conversation will give you a better idea of what to look for in an instructor and what actual progress should look like.

And the next time your son steps into the batter's box, you might want to think twice before yelling another swing tip.

🎙️ Host: Bobby Minor

⚾ Guest: Corey Hart, Former Professional Hitting Coach | Syracuse University Softball

🎧 Chasing Baseball Dreams Podcast

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Chasing Baseball Dreams is the only baseball parent podcast hosted by someone with no financial stake in where your money goes. I don't run a travel team. I don't sell lessons. I don't coach for an org. I have no reason to steer you in the wrong direction. I'm Bobby Minor... former Division 1 player, 35+ years coaching select baseball and high school, former travel organization director, over 1,000 college recruiting assessments, and a college baseball dad who almost lost 2 sons to this game for 2 very different reasons, with one currently playing college baseball.

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Corey Hart: it bugs me when they talk to them at all when they're at the plate. You

Bobby Minor: yeah.

Corey Hart: know what I mean? Like just let hit. You know? the last thing they need to be thinking about is their swing and their mechanics when they get in the box.

Bobby Minor: And welcome back to Chasing Baseball Dreams. Today I'm joined by Corey Hart, not that Corey Hart, the other Corey Hart. We'll talk about that in a minute. Former professional player spent 18 years coaching professional hitters in the Brewers, Marlins, and Blue Jays organizations, working with players all the way from the minors all the way to the big leagues. And he's now an assistant coach with Syracuse University with their softball program, working with hitters on that side. So he's taking his hitting experience and bringing it to the D1 college athletic level. So, Corey, welcome to Welcome to the Chasing Baseball Dreams podcast.

Corey Hart: Thanks, Bobby. Good to be here.

Bobby Minor: So let's talk a little bit. So there's another Corey Hart out there that people people might be aware of. And we were talking before we started recording that you actually played with him in the minors and something I would say very unique happened. What were you telling me about what happened?

Corey Hart: so my first at bat in the Brewers organization was in Triple A and we were on the same team and I ended up pinch hitting for him like the seventh inning or something like that and I walked up to the plate and and told the umpire, you know, Corey Hart pinch in for Corey Hart and him and the catcher started giggling and then, you know, that was it. I walk I ended up walking, I think.

Bobby Minor: I was about to ask, I was about to ask, did you get a hit? So yeah.

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, I don't know how many times that's ever happened before or if it'll ever happen again. I think like you said, maybe somebody named Joe Smith pensioning for Joe Smith, that could happen, but anyway, all right, so let's just kind of jump into it. So

Corey Hart: Okay.

Bobby Minor: you you've coached hitters all the way from low A all the way to the big leagues. What's something you see parents and youth coaches spending way too much time trying to fix with young hitters?

Corey Hart: I I think they just I think a lot of parents are they're delusional that, you know, that you that all their kids have a chance to play. I mean like they first of all I think right now in today's game they almost have to be a big individual, like a huge human being, you know, and I think that If they don't, they gotta have some kind of talent that's above everybody else's. And I think that they all feel like, you know, they could give their kid a chance, which is is great and you know, let them chase their dreams. But at the same time I think they gotta be a little realistic with the kid, you know, and like don't I think th the sm the percentage is so small and it just keep keeps getting smaller that for professional baseball players. And I think just making them aware and it's just so that they can bring that to their kids and so that, you know, when that dream is shattered it's not gonna be you know, they're gonna ha kinda have an idea.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. So How do how do those parents keep a healthy perspective with their kids when, in my opinion, I call the industry the machine? The machine makes tons of money off of parents that don't know what they don't know. And I feel like the machine is the one that keeps feeding this to the parents. I talk a lot about parents. You need somebody that will speak truth into your life that has no financial connection to whatever decisions you make. Because, you know, I feel like and again, there are a lot of great coaches, a lot of good organizations, I'm not this doesn't apply to everybody, but unfortunately there are way too many out there that that they capitalize on the parents hopes, dreams, aspirations, and fears, and they're not telling them the truth. So like how does a parent know what they don't know?

Corey Hart: I I mean I think just, you know, listening to podcasts like this maybe. No, I think I think that's a tough tough spot just because I think parents they want the best for their kids, but they I think the the one of the biggest problems is probably these some of these recruiting camps or not camps but like these like tournaments that they get into, they pay all this money to get into. And you know, these showcases, that's what I'm looking for, the word showcase. And I I think a lot of them are money grabs. And I real I d my kids I had three boys, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, and I they they went to very few of those because I kinda know what what they're looking for, you know, and like I don't think my kids would have stood out For the coaches at that at any point where I was like, okay, I need to pay some money for somebody to look at my kid. You know? and then now if I felt that way, if they had a talent and everybody was telling me, hey, this kid, you know, you need to get your kid in front of people, that would be a different story. But I think just having them get out in front of it. I mean, a little bit of experience doing it is good in case they do develop into that player, but I wouldn't spend a ton of money on that stuff, you know, just when you become a number to some of these guys.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good. And so I I know you mentioned camps, even though you're wanted to talk about showcases, but I'm gonna ask you a camp question, because I mean obviously you're an

Corey Hart: Right.

Bobby Minor: assistant at Syracuse on the softball side, but I would imagine i it's very similar whether you're talking about softball camps or baseball camps. So for a for a player out there, when is it when is it a a good investment to invest in going to a college camp?

Corey Hart: So I if they if they have talents and aspirations for playing at a certain college, I would I would pick the college camp over the showcases. If like if you were interested in going there. I mean, we've only had one camp since I've been here, but we were like we're truly looking to these girls, you know, and like if they these people stand out, then you know, we we've even had correspondence with one a couple of from since then, you know, so like I think there's some something to that. And I I wouldn't you know, I think I I I think it's more less of a money grab, you know, than than the showcases. And you know, if they had the talent, I would do it.

Bobby Minor: Okay. I know I agree with that's what I I tell people that all the time, parents, that you're must much better off spending your money going to a college camp that's a good fit than going to a showcase hoping that, you know, your son gets discovered there.

Corey Hart: Right.

Bobby Minor: That's good, that's good. So now how did you get I mean how what how and like what led to you transitioning from you know almost two decades as a professional hitting coach to now coach you know being a hitting coach at a Division One softball program?

Corey Hart: Well I'll tell you, I was I kind of been turned off by baseball for a little while, just the way the game's going and like I don't feel like it's about the players, you know, and they're not,

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: you know, that's a different whole different c conversation probably. But I think I I just kinda fell out of love with it. And then my father in law came into town for a couple of weeks during my graduation my son's graduation And we were he was watching the the World Series and the regional leading up to that softball. And I started watching it with him, and I I was my re my love is renewed for the game. Like I'm watching these girls play and they're having so much fun and they're good, and everything's so close and so fast that it was just intriguing to me. And I'm watching these swings and then break down these swings, and I'm like, man, that's a really good swing. Like it's the same, it's the same thing. So I kind of put my name out for some softball. Softball jobs and I I put my name out for some college coach baseball jobs as well, but I d I didn't have any recruiting experience after you know, just professional experience and didn't give a lot of talk with baseball teams, but then softball teams started hitting me up and I said, Well, you know, this this could be a reality and I I stood back and said, Is this something I could really do? And I tell you what, man, I'm really glad I made the choice because I'm enjoying it a lot.

Bobby Minor: That's awesome. So as a softball hitting coach, how much do you rely on like data and analytics versus just your eyes and your experience?

Corey Hart: well, so f I th I f for me I feel like the analytics is ways for people to see things that their ain't eyes aren't trained to see. But I I feel like that's more more beneficial for pitchers because they actually are controlling what happens when the ball leaves their fingertips. Hitting is more of like telling you the story of what happened. You know what I mean? Because it's a reaction. You're but you're reacting to a ball, so there's not really you don't really have time to think about all that stuff in one sense, but I think with pitchers they can kinda you know try to figure out what they're trying to do, try to spin the ball off their hand. So they can I think the analytics are a little bit more beneficial for them. But I think it's tougher for hitters, hitting coaches, just because you know it's a way to prove to to them what you're saying, especially if they're analytic driven. So it it's I I I use it more for like a backup. Like, hey, remember what we were talking about? Here's the numbers to show you that.

Bobby Minor: Mm. Yeah, it's like I had a guy we were going back and forth in the comments on somebody else's post, but we were talking about exit vilo and and he was saying actually it might have been a post on one of my I think on one of my clips from my interview with Dustin Pedroya, but about metrics. And he was saying, you know, if if you hit you know if you have an exit vilo one fifteen it does mean something. And I'm like, So but what does it mean? Because here's my point. Like, yeah, obviously if you hit the ball one fifteen, you smoked it. A, I don't need I don't need a computer to tell me that he smoked the ball. I can see it and I can hear it. You know what I mean? Like, you know,

Corey Hart: Yeah. Yeah.

Bobby Minor: but two, you know, I want to know other things like, okay, what's his swing and miss, you know, swing and miss rate, his chase rate,

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: other things like that. So it's funny. I think I'm with you. I don't think it's I don't think it's an either or I think it's a both end and I think they support each other. But I I think it's crazy to me when people rely almost solely on metrics, you know, and they think because a guy you know hit a ball 115 then he deserves more of a chance Than somebody that, you know, maybe they don't they only hit the ball 102, you know. So,

Corey Hart: Sure. Sure.

Bobby Minor: all right, so let me let me ask you this. So let's say a dad has an 11-year-old son who's struggling at the plate, and he's thinking about, I gotta spend more money on hitting lessons. I gotta get him in to see his, you know, his his swing coach more often. What would you want that dad to understand before he starts spending more money and before he starts changing his son's swing?

Corey Hart: Well, think you know, a lot of a lot of hitting is mental, you know, and you can work on the mechanics, they can have the mechanics, but are they able to do that when they get into the box against the pitcher? You know, and are they able to have a plan and and try to s you know, stick to that plan one but also execute that plan. And I think that's where you need to look at when you're t when you're starting to talk to coaches and hitting coaches. It it's A lot of my job is like like I'm a you gotta be a psychiatrist almost. You know what I mean? Like when they're struggling you gotta you gotta know what to say to you gotta bring back off the ledge. You can't get let you can't let get too high. You gotta keep and try to even kill. I think that I think just making sure that, you know, your coach isn't there just to work on the physical part of it, because so much of it is mental that I I feel like that's just as important, or if not more important, than the actual physical part.

Bobby Minor: So you bring up a great point. You know, my my youngest son Julian, he's playing plays playing D two baseball out in West Texas. When he was fourteen, playing on a fourteen year majors team, he batted two hundred his entire summer. He had ten hits, ten singles. It was it was a tough summer down in this

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: Texas heat watching that. And I got connected to a guy, Herman Duran, played played I think eighty games in the majors with the Rangers, but you know, he watched he watched Julian hit couple of times and he said man he goes there's nothing wrong with this swing and he told me because I'm gonna teach him how to think like a major league hitter and so he spent way more time working on mindset and approach and that fall Julian had a tournament where I think he went like five for eleven with four doubles and I'm like okay

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: something something's going on here in his 15 year summer playing against some of the top competition here in Texas I mean he hit almost 450 and so I know I'm a huge believer I think mindset and approach is where it's at so So how much of the s how much of hitting would you say, what percentage is the physical part of the swing versus the mental part?

Corey Hart: I'd probably say about it's probably close to fifty fifty for me, just because you know, if your mechanics are poor, that's gonna alter your mindset, you know, and you're you're gonna have to start a lot sooner. So you're not gonna have as much trust with your swing, you know, and trust and getting a good pitch to hit. And everything gets kind of sped up. And so I would say probably if if not Forty if not fifty fifty, I would say forty percent physical and sixty percent mental.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, that's good. I I'm right there with you. And it's I think the reason why I s you know, you see so many young players, they have beautiful swings in the cages and then in

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: games, you know, I'll I'll use an old cliche. They couldn't hit water if they fell out of a boat. They know how to swing and they don't know how to hit. and

Corey Hart: Yeah. Sure.

Bobby Minor: and so one thing like I constantly see it's players getting getting different hitting advice from like their their team coach, their private instructor, somebody on social media. How can a parent recognize good hitting instruction and know when it's appl actually helping versus just noise.

Corey Hart: That's a good question. You know, I I I I went through that when I was in senior in high school. My brother in law w was graduated from Oklahoma with University of Oklahoma and came to help my high school team as a graduate assistant. he played in the college world series right before that. And my dad was a big part of my upbringing, you know, like taught me how to hit and taught me everything about baseball. And then my head coach and I got all all hi a also a hitting guy and I got all three of these guys telling me something different

Bobby Minor: Mm.

Corey Hart: at the plate. And that it was very tough for me just mentally 'cause I was like, you know, I don't know what to do and I don't want to piss anybody off. You know, and so I'm like I it was very hard Hard. I I think I think you gotta have like a core belief as a parent. Like, okay, I believe what he's saying and whenever he says this, like this is when Bobby does really well. You know what I mean? And I didn't say Bobby

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Corey Hart: just 'cause it's your name, I always say Bobby, but you know what I mean? Like I let if Bobby's doing

Bobby Minor: That's right. Yeah.

Corey Hart: something well and then if if I have him go somewhere else and the guy's totally different, saying something different, you know, that's that should be throwing up a red flag. Because it Everything I say to the hitters are the same thing, but I've just learned to say it a hundred different ways. You know what I mean? So as

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: long as the what the the info that they're giving them seems to be like help them physically, you know, but I think it's gotta also feed that mental part just as much. So I think, you know, if if they feel like they're becoming more of a mature hitter with a certain hitting coach, I would I would lean with that guy.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. That that's good advice

Corey Hart: Girl.

Bobby Minor: there. So hopefully parents are listening out there. who's the who's the best hitter you ever coached?

Corey Hart: Okay, that's I've gone back and forth a little bit. Christian Yelich was always like the most pure hitter that I've ever been around. just had the swing probably f since he was born, like just God given, and it was awesome and he could hit. And he had you know, Navy SEAL mentality. So there's that that to me was like as good as it gets. And then I Coach Vladimir Guerrero Junior and the amount of stuff that that kid could do and the way he was able

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Corey Hart: to think and remember pitchers and know exactly how they pitched him and like it was unbelievable how advanced he was at like such a young age. So I I I don't know. One of those two guys, I mean it's it's tough.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. Th those are the Yeah. couple of pretty good hitters, so I would say you you can take take either one. okay here's here's I you know obviously you'll you'll know why I'm asking this question. Who's the best hitting pitcher you've ever coached or been around?

Corey Hart: That's hitting pitcher.

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: That's a good question. I know who it's not, but

Bobby Minor: Sal Mag I thought you were gonna say Giovanni, that's why. 'Cause he was a pr yeah, he's a pretty good hitter when he

Corey Hart: yeah. Well so he didn't so he didn't hit when I was coaching. So

Bobby Minor: okay.

Corey Hart: yeah, but I would have defin like probably definitely him. Absolutely.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. I know he he had his he had his fair share of bombs in the majors back when, you know, when pitchers were hitting, so

Corey Hart: Yeah. Sure. But no, you know what? Now, something that nobody knows is like Jose Fernandez, the one the one for the Marlins that passed away. That kid

Bobby Minor: Mm. Yeah. Yeah.

Corey Hart: was pretty unbelievable. And I believe he probably could have been a hitter in the major leagues as well. Yeah. I saw him hit he he

Bobby Minor: wow. So

Corey Hart: bet a player on the team. We got time. He bet a player on the team

Bobby Minor: Yeah, yeah.

Corey Hart: that he could hit a home run off the T. you know, on the backfields and the backfield the wind always blew in from left. And

Bobby Minor: Wow.

Corey Hart: he asked me, he goes, Y hey, I'm I go, what are you doing? He came grab a T and like five balls. And he goes, I'm gonna go hit hit a ball o practice hitting a ball over the fence. I bet Fisher fifty bucks that I could do it. And He goes, You wanna come out there with me? I said, Absolutely not. And I said, if anybody asks you, I'd said no, it's not a good idea. And then I sat around, watched him hit balls off the T around the corner, and he hit two of he hit two out of the first four out. And I was like I stopped watching, I was like, That's pretty impressive to hit a ball off the Tens

Bobby Minor: Wow. It it's it's funny that you mentioned that because when you were mentioning Vlad Jr., that's what it that's what I thought of.

Corey Hart: Yeah, yeah.

Bobby Minor: you know, it made this that was the thought that came to my mind. so it's kinda Yeah, it's kinda funny. So

Corey Hart: The Placata video, yeah.

Bobby Minor: all right, so you worked you worked with a bunch of hitters trying to reach the big leagues.

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: When you when you had two players that had, let's say, fit similar physical talent, what separated the guys who kept moving up, you know, moving up the the org chart versus the guys who never got there?

Corey Hart: I I would say it was just it would be mindset, you know. That mindset where they they can deal with failure a little bit better, you know. and I think just elite hitters have a different mindset. You know what I mean? Like they have a confidence, no matter how bad things are going, that they're the best person in there at the time. And I think that's hard to do and hard to replicate and hard to fake. You know, but like sometimes you gotta fake it 'til you make it. But I think

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: I would say mindset first and foremost, yeah.

Bobby Minor: I yeah, I'm I'm with you. I can definitely see that. Okay. I just question out of nowhere. I was in the out of left field and that would have been

Corey Hart: Okay.

Bobby Minor: pun intended, but I'll just I didn't know. do you know Steve Springer? Okay.

Corey Hart: Yeah. You know what's funny is I got we coached together with the Blue Jays and

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: I have a folder in my phone that every time we were together everybody said we looked alike. So I

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Corey Hart: took a selfie of us. I have a selfie folder. I'll I'll s I'll text you later that man, it's great. I love Steve's friends, man. My golf buddy, like we

Bobby Minor: That's funny. no I I you won

Corey Hart: were good we were b we were good friends.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. No, I I love I love the stuff that he teaches as well, so

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: really good there. so now that now that you've moved on to D one softball and you're coaching hitters there at Syracuse, what have you what have you noticed about the way college hitters prepare and compete that youth baseball players could learn from?

Corey Hart: that baseball players could learn from. That's

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: I don't know if I figured that one out yet. I well I I I would I would say probably the willingness to learn. You know what I mean? Like you're talking about people that have came out of high school and they're hungry for knowledge and like, you know, most of are, Hey, what do you got? Like w you know. I think the openness to changing things and just, you know, willing to learn. You know, I think professional players they get well I did it this way in college, you know, and you're like, Well, that doesn't work here. That's not gonna work. They're not throwing eighty eight anymore, you know. It's n we're we're talking about ninety five, so little things that might have worked before don't work and th then they're they still they'll always go back to that and rely on it. I think probably just that openness. Yeah.

Bobby Minor: That's good. so now that you're coaching coaching softball, if you took, let's say, the best hitter from your softball team and she faced any pitcher from the from the baseball team, what do you think would happen? And then let's flip it. You take one of the one of the guys from the baseball team and he's facing the top pitcher from the softball team, what do you think would happen?

Corey Hart: well so our we don't have a we don't have any rise ball pitchers. So I think for a hitter a baseball hitter it wouldn't be as hard of an adjustment

Bobby Minor: Okay.

Corey Hart: for that. but I but I think like they they they call the pitches some stuff to stuff totally different. But you know, I like I see the shape of them and I'm like, that's a little slider right there. You know what I mean? Like

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: Their curveball's more like a slider, but some of their cur some of the curveballs go up and some of them kinda have like a little slider action. I think a a softball player would have more trouble with the baseball pitcher. I say that, but I played against a guy for with the Braves when I was in the minor leagues and he came over from like New Zealand men's fast pitch softball and just tore up the A league A ball league or whatever it was

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Corey Hart: we're in and I got to talk to him, he was like, Well, this is easy, mate. That was like this is not

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: easy. So I mean, it might be a little easier for them and you know they got more they would have more time. I think timing

Bobby Minor: Yeah. Yeah.

Corey Hart: would be a big issue for both both parties 'cause forty three feet opposed to sixty feet may be a little tougher. Yeah.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, no doubt. So so the guy from New Zealand that thought that hitting a baseball is easy, did he ever make the major leagues?

Corey Hart: I he might have danced he might have got a cup of coffee. I think he w I don't think he

Bobby Minor: Okay.

Corey Hart: made it. You wouldn't know I don't think you would know his name. But yeah.

Bobby Minor: Okay. Well, my whole point is couldn't have been that easy. Yeah.

Corey Hart: I that's what I was thinking. I was like, man, this guy just he's just on one right now. He's he's feeling it.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. Yeah. all right, so if you had a twelve year old son who loved baseball and wanted wanted to play at the highest level someday, what would you spend the next two or three years making sure that he learned about hitting?

Corey Hart: Well, I I think at twelve that's kinda when you really kinda need to dive into the mechanics and fix the the habits that have that have been created the first five or six years, you know. I think the first part would be to make sure they're mechanically sound, you know, with a good direction. I think a lot of you know, a lot of younger kids they they get pull happy, you know, and that swing starts working to the left like a almost like a gate. You know, and and

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Corey Hart: getting that barrel releasing over the plate to where, you know, that ball's going its fastest when I make contact. I'm not dragging it through and you know and so try to create as much speed. But I also like just at a young age trying to see how hard they can hit the ball. You know what I mean? Like if you have a way to track exavilo, I would start with like a you know, a baseline exavilo and and try to beat that every day. And to hit the ball with a good exavilo, it's gotta be on you know, it's gonna be on a a line so I think the angle will take care of itself. You know, you're hitting balls up and down, that they're not gonna be coming off as hard. So you could probably promote promote that just by a good angle just by trying to get to hit it hard and let figure it out.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. That's good stuff. so I asked you best hitters that you've ever coached, and I mean obviously you worked with hundreds of professional hitters, can you think of a player who surprised you with how much he developed and like what changed for that player and what can parents learn from it?

Corey Hart: it's a good question. I probably forgot about more hitters than a lot of people have met. That's it, man, I don't know. I like that's you stumped me on that one. I I I have like five hitters going through my head and I'm trying to run through like

Bobby Minor: Yeah. So lo I'll so I'll I'll reframe the question 'cause that I mean I obviously like like the I mean, what like did any hitters come to mind where like you saw them like really struggling, like, you know, and just something just clicked and then next thing you know, kinda like the story of my son where he went

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: from batting two hundred to batting almost four fifty. Like, does anybody come to mind where you saw somebody like man like you know, he's really really struggling mm and then now all of a sudden something changed

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: and something clicked and he's totally different hitter.

Corey Hart: Sure.

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: Okay, yeah, I got one. so Martin Maldonado, old catcher,

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: I had him in A ball, low A and high A. And when I when I first got him, he had this this huge load where he'd take his hands way up over his head and he couldn't really calm it down. And I learned a I learned a drill from Don Matting's book that hitting is simple, right? And you just kinda just leave the bat on your shoulder. And it's a really a rhythm and pace drill.

Bobby Minor: Mm-hmm.

Corey Hart: which is cool because I got to work with Don Mangley and talk to him about it years later. but I I

Bobby Minor: yeah.

Corey Hart: used it with two guys and one of I couldn't get him started and one of w Jose I mean Malonato was like overloading. And so I had

Bobby Minor: Martin. Yeah.

Corey Hart: both try this drill and they both stepped away from the drill and go to ask me, Can I do you think I could do this in the game? And I was like it was so good, I like, Why not try it? It can't be worse than it is, you know, out there and they both just went off. You know, it made the other guy get started on time and it made Jose just pick his hands up and slot and go. And you know, he had a great career after that. I don't know that he wouldn't have had that if I wouldn't have made that adjustment, but that was just one time that that that it really took off and like they both raised their batting average like forty points in like a month.

Bobby Minor: Yep.

Corey Hart: or no a hundred points, I'm sorry, in about thirty or forty days. So it was really cool to see.

Bobby Minor: So what do you think what do you think made such a difference just from that drill?

Corey Hart: Well it simplified it. You know what I mean? It kept it simple. I think the difference was instead of his hands coming up and then having to get back down and slot, they were just getting to slot and taking less time. So it's overall strike zone discipline got better. He had more time to, you know, see it, recognize decide and get it there.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. And you I to me, I mean I don't and I can't think of anybody specific, but I mean I feel like I see guys even to this day now bat like you know what I mean? They're starting off with their bat right there

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: and and it's it's different how I feel like you see so many I bat left handed, so that's why but like so many guys

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: that there's they start like their hands are already set from the very beginning of their swing, you know, like there's like like Corey Seeger. You know, guys like that were like there's literally not much movement. So I think maybe

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: it yeah, going all back to like simplifying and it makes sense, you know. The fewer moving parts that you have to coordinate in time, I think the easier it makes it.

Corey Hart: Sure. I think too, like young hitters especially, they they feel like the more I load with my hands, the more the harder I'm gonna be able to hit it. And a lot of times it's the opposite. You know what I mean?

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: So you you're you don't you're not really loading your hands to hit. As long as you got separation between your front foot and your hands, you're gonna be able to create power that if you overload, you're you know, that you're gonna take away some of your power and have to change your body to swing.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. Alright, so I'm I'm gonna ask you I'm gonna I want your thoughts on some I would just say kind of overused baseball hitting they're not cliches, they're things that parents love to yell from the stands to their kids if this is good advice or bad advice. let's start with squish the bug.

Corey Hart: so I'm not I don't think I'm as opposed to that as everybody else because the back hip turns it it as long as it's not you're not spinning out of it. You

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: know what I mean? Like it's a f so for me, squish the bug's kinda weird because I've you gotta get a a young player to turn their hi turn their hips. You know, that I

Bobby Minor: Right.

Corey Hart: think that's one thing that young hitters have trouble with. You know, if they get in T ball and they just swing the bat all arms.

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: So as they're starting to get older, they gotta start using the their lower half and the lower half, the sequencing of it, in order for my barrel to release and go its fastest, my chest has to stop. And if I'm pulling with my chest, I don't stop

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: it in time. So I I have to learn how to use my core to do that. as long as, you know, squishing the bug doesn't become a spin. But also I think, you know, the brakes are huge too, so squishing the bug doesn't allow you to get to the front side, then that's not gonna work. You know,

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: you're driving ever you're kinda driving the back to the front and the front stops ya. Does that make sense? Yeah.

Bobby Minor: Alright. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Perfect. No, that's good. only think one more. Get your back elbow up.

Corey Hart: Okay, so no I'm not on that one. I believe that's a band-aid, not a you know, when they need stitches, you put a band-aid on it. I've actually walked out on the field to my my son's lily coach and I said, Hey man, you know you can tell every kid out here to get their back elbow up, but please don't tell my son that. You know? I'm like it's a lower half problem and I explained it to him afterwards. You know, in in respectful way I said it as respectful as possible. I just I was like, I spend most of my day trying to get back elbows down, so please don't tell my kid to get it up. You know, and he he called me like a week later, I started he's I started giving lessons to his son. So

Bobby Minor: Ha ha.

Corey Hart: so I guess it went over all right. Yeah.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. So parents, yeah, don't don't be yelling at your son to get his back elbow up.

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: is there anything else? Is there anything else that you think parents try to tell their kids that you're like, No, this is actually not not good advice? yeah.

Corey Hart: Well it bugs me when they talk to them at all when they're at the plate. You know what I mean? Like just let hit. You know? the last thing they need to be thinking about is their swing and their mechanics when they get in the box. You know, and I and I you always you often hear relay something that their hitting coach that they did a private lesson with said, you know, and they And sometimes it's it's not good for You know what I mean? Like I don't want a kid thinking min like mechanics up there. I tell you can work you can think mechanics anywhere you are, except for two places, on your defensive position and when you actually walk into the batter's box. I was like, you gotta just lock in and react. It's a reactionary skill.

Bobby Minor: Yeah, it's a good stuff. I had an a old buddy of mine who passed away several years ago. He was a a caddy on the PGA tour for several years. And it and it this is a golf reference, but it applies to baseball. he

Corey Hart: Right.

Bobby Minor: was caddying for me one time and he told me, he said, Bobby, he goes, Turn off your brain and turn on your game. So yeah, so

Corey Hart: Yes. I like that. I like that a lot.

Bobby Minor: I would say that that applies to baseball as well.

Corey Hart: Absolutely.

Bobby Minor: so all right, l we'll we'll I'll kinda I might we might land the plane here and wrap it up, you know, right around

Corey Hart: Okay.

Bobby Minor: here. So like parents that of eight, nine well you know what? Okay, I'll I'll I have a couple of questions. I thought of a different question. At

Corey Hart: Okay.

Bobby Minor: what age at what age do you think it's a good investment for parents to start spending money on on regular hitting lessons for their son?

Corey Hart: I would say probably I you know what? I've done lessons with all ages and I think it's necessary like when I my boys grew up in Florida, you know, and they had the machine, it was like a a blue catapult machine, right? And

Bobby Minor: Yeah. Yeah.

Corey Hart: there's a rhythm and timing to that. And I actually when my boys they were all kind of playing that together, I did a ton of lessons with kids on the machine and it was mainly just getting started. You know what I mean? Like they wouldn't get started. So I think that some of it is necessary then. But I would say probably right after that, if not, because you know the swing you're creating at a young age, those habits are what you're gonna do five years from now and you pick up a bat and start swinging it. Some of that those old habits are gonna come in whether good or bad, you know. So

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: you know, it's easier to fix mistakes early than late after you've done it two thousand more times. So I I mean I don't I don't think it's that bad of a an idea to to if you you know, if you want your son to have proper mechanics to get in with somebody that knows what they're doing early.

Bobby Minor: Okay. So this will be our last question then. So how can a dad tell when his son's hitting instructor is actually helping him beyond you know like batting average and things like that? How what what can a dad look for to see and say, Okay, this is actually helping my son?

Corey Hart: so one, I mean, yeah, are they hitting the ball hard, you know, or do they have confidence in there? I think that's a biggest part for me is like if you don't have confidence in the box, you got two strikes on you right away. You know, and like I have a lot of kids that they also pitch, you know, and their parents will tell me, man, he he does so well pitching. And then he gets in there and hits and it's like it it's not even the same guy mentally. You know what I mean? Like there's that confidence that they have when they're pitching because you know, when you're pitching, you're supposed to get most everybody out. And when you're hitting, you're you're supposed to get out almost every time. You know what I mean? So

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: I think being able to have that confidence. So I think if if they seem to be getting more confidence by going to the instructor, you know, at a lot of times too young ages the g the kids will be good and you'll start throwing to them and then they get in the game and that they start backing out of there. You know, there's a little fear

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: of the ball. I think lessons you it's you can't teach someone to not be scared of the ball. It just I've tried in a million different ways. The only thing way you can do is throw balls at I think. but I think you can it can get better and there can be more trust by just pure flat reps, you know? So when they 'cause You know, I have guys that trust me throwing and they'll get in there and crush balls. And then their parents will send me videos and that first step will go towards a third base coach. You know, and you're like, I don't

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: see that. It's just like a fear thing, you know. So having confidence.

Bobby Minor: Yeah.

Corey Hart: Long story short.

Bobby Minor: Well it yeah, no I mean i I you know, I get it and that's there's a guy down here in the Dallas area several years ago that I think had charges filed against him because he was hitting batters on purpose to teach them and

Corey Hart: Yeah.

Bobby Minor: one one one of the parents didn't like it. So yeah,

Corey Hart: man.

Bobby Minor: it was a it was a big deal down here. So all right, Corey, man, I really appreciate it. Is there any any any last thought or anything that comes to mind out there for the parents out there?

Corey Hart: no, just you know, love your kids, man. Like love let let play, you know, try to find joy in it. and make sure they find joy in it. You know, I think that's the biggest part is letting them have joy and I it's easier said than done and you know, to get on after the game or ask what they were doing or what they were thinking. But you know, I mean, they like that added pressure is tough on a on a anyone, but especially a a younger person.

Bobby Minor: Yeah. Well good stuff, man. I appreciate it, Corey. Good luck to to the women's softball team this spring. I know you're in fall in the fall right now, but hopefully y'all have a good good season next spring and maybe one day soon we'll see you head coaching somewhere. All

Corey Hart: All right. Thanks, Bobby.

Bobby Minor: right.