Everything the home run obsessed hitter does, beginning with the stride, becomes rushed, until you’re jumping out to meet the ball almost before the pitcher releases it. Inevitably, you chase a lot of bad pitches. Additionally, when you try too hard to hit for distance, you often rely on your upper body rather than your legs to generate the power. Subsequently, the path of the swing becomes longer and so, even as your body moves more rapidly, the bat actually moves more slowly. I knew all this, but it didn’t matter. My desire for more home runs became an obsession. I needed to hit 10 homers in
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