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Average Customer Review
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
I owe my self-esteem to this book, September 12, 2000
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.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Hitter's Best Friend, May 11, 2003
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.
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4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Zen and the art of Charlie Lau, March 26, 2000
I read this book while I was in high school, and I must say that this book became an incredible source of enlightenment. Mr. Lau breaks down the basics (mechanics and drills) which are all fundamentally sound. But it is when Mr. Lau presents the mindset of his methods, is where the heart of this book lies. After following his teachings, not only did I have the best year in my high school career, but I am adapting his teaching to my Little League team (rookie coach this year). Of course, everyone will receive their own lessons from his words, as everyone has his or her own style of hitting. But this book is worth reading, as you will find a lot to learn. I bow to Mr. Lau, has he is truly a 'sensei' of the baseball world.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
great hitter's book, July 26, 2001
I recommend this book for anyone wants to learn (or teach) advanced hitting techniques. Pictures and descriptions clearly explain common hitting problems and show correct swing mechanics. My 15-year old struggled through his first slump before we applied Lau's hitting fundamentals. He added fifty points to his batting average over the next month and hit 0.638 in a national tournament. I believe this book had a lot to do with his improvement.
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
The best book about how to hit a baseball ever written., July 30, 1998
I am the author of this book, but I did not write it. Charlie did that. I was blessed with the ability to draw out Charlie's incredible wisdom and to put it into a structure and into words that everyone can understand. I came up with the concept of "The Ten Absolutes of Good Hitting," but only after I looked at what Charlie had said about all successful hitters doing the same things. (Movement in the stance, literally seeing the ball, etc.)George Brett, one of the sweetest guys you'd ever want to know, posed for many of the pictures. But there are photos and Charlie's analysis of great hitters of the past as well. (We sat in what was Billy Martin's office in the Yankee locker room at the time. I'd pass Charlie a pic of a baseball great, and he would, without a pause, detail the guy's hitting strengths and weaknesses. It was incredible.) Put it this way: I have written over 50 books and in some circles am considered a computer and Internet/online expert. B! ut at my 25th college reunion, the only book my classmates knew of was this one. -- Alfred Glossbrenner [Shameless plug: Amazon carries many of my books, so do an author search. Among other things, you will find a book all about Web search engines from Peachpit Press.]
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
The best hitting book I have ever read., May 3, 1999
By A Customer
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.
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A MUST read for any Coach or player !!!!, March 5, 2008
This is the 'source' information from which all useable functional,and common sense hitting instruction comes from.It's still just as relevant in '08 as it was back when the White Sox had those horrible uniforms.(and haircuts)
This book De-bunks a lot of the 'Red Herrings' of Hitting folklore. I am constantly amazed as a player and coach how much out and out, wrong information is out there.
Lau wrote this book right at the advent of the use of video. He was the first person to analyze a swing in all it's entirety. He not only came up with the '10 absolutes' but he points out what is NOT important...(stance,elbows up,staying back...whatever that means?)
No more 'squashing butterflies and squishing bugs'....
He speaks of the importance of:
Rhythm,weight shift
You Hit off of your FRONT foot.
You go back to get forward!
You do not keep your eye on the ball....Your head goes down when you swing.
and all importantly...tough as nails Charlie LAU talking about what most guys don't want to...fear and tension in hitting.
etc,etc,etc.
I was struggling at the plate when I bought this book. I was a power hitting .200 pull hitter. I retired from adult ball,hitting twice that. More importantly I taught everything I learned in this book to my son who has won a few league batting titles,though he still gets the occasional snide remark about how his swing 'looks' (LOL!)
I have taught many sub .150 hitting kids how to hit .400...it always lights up a kids face to find out I don't give a darn where his elbow is (or how many bugs he squashes)
I recently stepped into a cage after not having touched a bat in over a year. I drilled 10 consecutive line drives into the L-screen. I thought of Charlie's ghost smiling down as I imagined 'hitting the pitcher in the forehead' and driving it 'back through the box'
Charlie lives forever!!
I know this book isn't cheap because it's so hard to find (they need to reprint it!!)
BUT... It'll be worth every penny !!
-solpig
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Total Results! Incredible Book!, December 21, 2006
I read the first edition of this book when I was 14 years old. I followed all the advice to the letter. Subsequently, I led my baseball league in hitting with a .625 batting average. What a ringing endorsement, huh.
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