The Art of Hitting .300 [Paperback]

Charley Lau (Author), Alfred Glossbrenner (Author), Tony LaRussa (Author), Charles Salzberg (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 207 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; Rev Updated edition (February 23, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140153357
• ISBN-13: 978-0140153354
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I owe my self-esteem to this book, September 11, 2000

By 

P. Mullaney (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of Hitting .300 (Paperback)

I was a scrawny little kid to whom baseball was everything. To my parent's dismay, I judged myself by how I played baseball. But I was scared of the baseball and lost as to how to go about hitting it. My coaches gave me harmful, misguided instructions like, "make sure it's a stike, then swing at it" and "snap those wrists". I was a wreck. Then one winter my Dad (like me, a George Brett/Wade Boggs fan) bought me this book. My Dad had never been able to hit either, but he and I dissected it over the course of a summer.

It was a lot of work, more work than any 12-year-old could could have undertaken without the guidance of an equally determined adult. But my Dad and I realized that hitting was a process, a method that could be learned. Lau taught that everything I had been told -with horrible results- was in fact wrong. You don't judge whether a pitch is a strike and then swing; you start your swing and let your reflexes hold you back. You don't swing hard with your arms; you swing easy and get your power from your whole body.

All spring we worked on it, practicing in the garage, spending literally hundreds of dollars at batting cages working on mechanics. That very next season, I was hitting the ball better, and I only improved from there. By the end of that season, I was a certified leadoff terror. My team won its league title thanks to a game-winning single by yours truly. I even hit a few home runs (by not trying to, as Lau teaches). I was deliriously happy.

Even since then I've been a good hitter. Not a power hitter (I'm much too small), but a solid doubles guy with surprising pop. What I learned from this book kept me in organized baseball through Babe Ruth and high school (simultaneously), college, and semi-professional leagues. I am a hideously slow runner who soon after puberty had to give up dreams of playing professionally, but to this day I can step in front of a pitcher or pitching machine -cold- and drive the ball. This book taught me how. If you really want to hit a baseball, buy it, read it, internalize it, and put your faith in it. It will serve you well.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best hitting book I have ever read., May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Art of Hitting .300 (Paperback)

Any player confused by batting cage myths and theories ought to definetely consider reading this masterpiece. It breaks down the 10 Absolutes to good hitting in an easy-to-understand text,features hitter analyses, and is full of pictures to refer back to. Not only does it deal with the actual mechanics(the Absolutes)but it deals with the mental side of hitting including dreaded but inevitable slumps.This book changed my entire hitting "career" and raised my batting average from .132 in '97 to .418 in '98. I am now a freshman in high school(1999)and the starting left fielder on varsity at 5'6",145 and it's not for my defense.I couldn't dream of this 2 years ago until Lau showed me how to get the most out of my body. This is the best hitting book I have ever read.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hitter's Best Friend, May 11, 2003

By 

RayL (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Hitting .300 (Paperback)

If you want to learn to hit the right way, this might be the best investment you will ever make. Like another reviewer wrote, though, you must be willing to do the work to learn the lessons the book teaches. Also, if you just want to be a home run hitter, this book is not for you; a home run is only a pleasant mistake in the Charlie Lau/George Brett school, which teaches solid line-drive hitting. After studying this book, I became a Top 10 hitter in a highly-competitive Texas league. The Art of Hitting .300 is a baseball treasure.