Curtis Granderson Quotes

I think my mindset and my approach is to hit the ball hard, whether it be first pitch or work the count.

Once I found my swing, I feel like if I put a good swing on it, I feel like it's got a good chance to go wherever - left, right, center - it doesn't matter. But I'm not just out here going to swing for home runs of anything. I'm just trying to put a good swing on the baseball.

That's one thing I learned from watching great hitters hit. A lot of hitters, they're ready to hit from pitch one.

I was a contact hitter my whole career but I learned how to handle the ball inside. And Ted Williams played a big part in that. He gave me the advice on how to handle inside pitches.

I'm the kind of a player who, if you give me something good to hit, I'm going to swing at it. Otherwise, there's nothing else you can do.

I have to go with the approach I had in Triple-A. I need to take a lot of those fastballs I am seeing to left field. Also must gear up for the changeup and take them up the middle.

If a pitcher makes a mistake inside, I'm going to hit it.

For me, the strike zone has always been, If it's something I can drive, it's most likely a strike. I feel like if it's a ball I really can't do much with, it's most likely a ball. So that's just always been my approach.

You can't go up there trying to get hits. You can just go up there trying to put together at-bats and square the baseball up.

Sometimes you go to home plate, and you have an idea, like a clear idea, of what they're going to throw to you. I think that's all: getting better pitches to hit, realizing when you hit the ball better, what pitch you hit, if you're chasing too much. If you figure out all that, you can get a little better as a player.

When I'm at the plate, I'm not thinking about what I'm trying to do with the bat - I'm thinking about what the pitcher is trying to do with the ball.

Generally in the Little League you're up against a good pitcher who throws like hell. What does the coach say? Get a walk. Isn't that beautiful way to learn to hit? For four years you stand up there looking for a walk.

Eddie Haas talked a lot about not hitting the ball in the air.

Hitting is business. With two strikes you really protect that plate.

Pitchers make adjustments, and it's up to the hitters to readjust and sort of tweak what they do.

Basically, hitters fall into a pattern, and once you know what they like, you can set them up for the putout with something else.

Some batters, and good ones too, scoff at the whole theory of place hitting, calling it a myth. They are wrong, however.

There are certain things I can't do, certain pitches I can't hit. You stay away from them. You try to wait for pitches you can hit. The bat speed isn't what it used to be. You make up for it by using your head, working counts, getting ahead in counts and getting pitches to hit and hitting them hard.

To be a good hitter you've got to do one thing - get a good ball to hit.

I'm not afraid to swing the bat. If they elect to pitch to me, I'm going to swing. I'm not as picky as Mr. Sheffield. I'll swing at something over my head.

A lot of hitters stay away from the plate, some are close up, some are forward, some are back. The thing about hitting is this: You have to know the strike zone. That's the most important thing. Hit strikes and put the bat on the ball.

Joe Torre would tell you to make sure you can hit the ball on the outside part of the plate.

Guessing what the pitcher is going to throw is 80% of being a successful hitter. The other 20% is just execution.

The way those clubs shift against Ted Williams, I can't understand how he can be so stupid not to accept the challenge to him and hit to left field.

The fellows that I played with encouraged me to bunt and beat the ball out. I was anxious to make good and did as I was told. When I came to Brooklyn, I adopted an altogether different style of hitting. I stood flat-footed at the plate and slugged. That was my natural style.