When I was with the St. Louis Cardinals, we had a team meeting about hitting with two strikes. Albert Pujols was leading it. At the time, he was hitting something ridiculous with two strikes. I want to say it was around .265. Naturally, everyone wanted to know how. So somebody asked: "What's your two-strike approach?" Albert's answer surprised me. He said: "I think fastball inside and hit it back through the middle." That was it. No complicated mechanics. No secret formula. Just: Fastball inside. Back through the middle. I remember sitting there thinking: "Why would you think fastball inside with two strikes?" So somebody asked him. And Albert said something I'll never forget. He said: "If I can hit a fastball inside back through the middle..." "I can hit the fastball away." "I can stay on the changeup." "I can stay on the slider." "I can stay on the curveball." Then he paused. And said: "The ball gets deeper." That's when it clicked for me. He wasn't trying to pull the inside fastball. He was using one thought to cover everything. The more I thought about it... The more it made sense. So I started trying it. And it changed the way I thought about hitting with two strikes. Instead of worrying about every pitch... I focused on one. Fastball inside. Back through the middle. See it DEEP. If you're struggling with two strikes, here's what I'd do tonight: Round 1: Short Box (Set the distance somewhere between front toss and batting practice.) Have a coach throw only fastballs inside. Your only thought: "Fastball inside." Drive the ball back through the middle. 10 swings. Round 2: Mix Speeds Now the coach mixes: - Fastballs - Changeups - Breaking balls - Sliders But your thought never changes. You're still looking: "Fastball inside." 10 swings. Round 3: Two-Strike BP Every pitch starts 0-2. Compete. Battle. Use the same approach. "Fastball inside." Back through the middle. 10 swings. That's it. 30 focused swings. One thought. One approach. One goal. Drive the baseball back through the middle. One thing I've learned: Most hitters get worse with two strikes because they add thoughts. Albert got better because he removed them. With two strikes, simplicity is a weapon. Thank you for reading, Jermaine Curtis P.S. - If you enjoyed this and thought it was helpful, please share it. (When you share it, it tells me you want more content like this.)

The #1 college baseball team in the country (UCLA) playing on ESPN U is crazy. Could you imagine the #1 ranked team in college basketball or football playing in the tournament on ESPN U?

Good luck to Noah Lewis and the Louisiana Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns as they begin NCAA Regional play today. Tune in at 4:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM ET on ESPN and follow Noah's postseason journey as he competes on one of college baseball's biggest stages. #reliancebaseball #NCAARegional

Congratulations to Reliance Baseball’s, Ben Simon on his promotion to Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets organization. Ben has continued to earn every opportunity through hard work, consistency, and competitiveness on the mound, posting a 2.35 ERA with an opponents BA of .197

We regret to inform you that baseball has left the building 🚀 Noah Lewis with the 422-foot blast to the deepest part of DABOS Park 📺 ragncaj.co/BSBTV51926 📻 ragncaj.co/BSBRadio51926 📊 ragncaj.co/BSBStat51926 #GeauxCajuns | #WaterHoseBoys

It's a ONE-RUN BALLGAME 🗣️ Elijah McNeal with the GRAND SLAM in the bottom of the 7th puts the Aggies right back into the game! #GoAgs

The Freshman drives in the The Freshman with the two-out knock 🤝 📺 ragncaj.co/BSBTV51426 📻 ragncaj.co/BSBRadio51426 📊 ragncaj.co/BSBStat51426 #GeauxCajuns | #WaterHoseBoys

Homie homer

𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙉𝘿𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙋𝙀𝙍𝙁𝙊𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀 🐂 @homerbushjr tied his career-high in hits today at Gwinnett. Bush’s four-hit game was the third of his career and his first at Triple-A. Two of Bush’s hits today were infield singles 🔥

Alexander Mendoza Jr||FR||SS||6'0|| Had a great freshman year at western oklahoma, can’t wait to come back next year and go harder!!! #allglorytoGod @CoachCJ00 @OklahomaCollege @UCBPlayersIG @TopPreps @JucoPipeline @jucoroute @2YearBaseball @wosc_baseball_ @HughesMas @kstatesports @KStateBSB @Juco_Spotlight

We’re adding to our team, apply online at our website: reliancebaseball.com

Alexander Mendoza Jr||FR||SS||6'0|| Western with there first win of playoffs today !, Went 3 for 3 today , #19hr, double, triple, single shy of the cycle! @CoachCJ00 @OklahomaCollege @UCBPlayersIG @TopPreps @JucoPipeline @jucoroute @2YearBaseball @wosc_baseball_ @HughesMas @kstatesports @KStateBSB @Juco_Spotlight

USE THE FORCE, @homerbushjr

Noah Lewis. Home Run No. 1 📺 ragncaj.co/BSBTV42826 📻 ragncaj.co/BSBRadio42826 📊 ragncaj.co/BSBStat42826 #GeauxCajuns | #WaterHoseBoys

Most recruiting services help athletes get recruited. DiamondMatch AI helps players understand where they SHOULD be recruited. That difference matters. Pre-launch is now live. Official launch: Friday, May 1 Save $50 on launch pricing No payment today diamondmatchAI.com

Excited to see Homer Bush Jr. take the field for his Triple-A debut with the Durham Bulls after being activated from the 7-day IL. This is another important step in his development and a testament to the work he continues to put in every day. Looking forward to what’s ahead.

Check out my latest article: The Clause That Costs Players Millions linkedin.com/pulse/clause-co… via @LinkedIn

Check out my latest article: The #1 Mistake Top Prospects Keep Making linkedin.com/pulse/1-mistake… via @LinkedIn

Check out my latest article: Inside the MLB Draft: How to Climb Into the Top 5 Rounds linkedin.com/pulse/inside-ml… via @LinkedIn

Happy Birthday, Ben! 🎉⚾️ Keep doing your thing—big things ahead. #mlb #milb #reliancebaseball