I love hunting. I love baseball. Let me take you on a bit of a stretch comparison as I parallel the two activities.
Practice
It should go without saying, that to be a good hunter, to be a good hitter, you need to practice shooting, to practice swinging. Practice comes in many forms, many drills, many situations. You need to practice until your routine, your movements are instinctive.
Patience, Patience, Patience
I get to spend a lot of time hanging out with hunting outfitters, and I used be a hunting guide, so I have heard many many times the how the virtue of patience will payoff for hunters. When big game hunting, you need to spend the time in the seat to wait for the right animal. Most likely, that will not be the first Bear, or Deer, or Elk, or Moose that you see. If you have been using trail cameras, or if you have been pre-hunt spotting the area, you know the potential. Patience will reward you. For a waterfowl hunter, the idea of patience comes in the form of letting the birds work to the decoys. If you pull up at 50 yards when birds are still on approach, you may only shoot the clouds. Let the birds work over the decoys and drop their feet.
As a hitter, patience is often describe as “getting a good pitch to hit”. If you are sitting on a fastball, don’t swing at the curveball. If you are looking for an off-speed pitch, let the fastball go. Some hitters look for any pitch in the location they want. Some look for a specific pitch. Both approaches will work, if you add patience to the approach.
Wait for the Right Moment
The “Moment of Truth”, it’s that time when the factors fall into place. The right animal, in your range, giving you a great shooting opportunity. Make sure your moment includes a shot you can make, in range of you and your weapon. If the moment is not right, stay off the trigger. I’ve heard the right moment described as that time when it feels like your heart is trying to jump out of your chest. Take an extra bit of time to calm down, before the trigger pull. The situation is somewhat different in waterfowl hunting. If the moment is right, act quickly.
In baseball, this is somewhat the same reaction as in waterfowl hunting. When patience has rewarded you with a good pitch to hit, time to get extremely aggressive. This is when your instincts take over to deliver the bat to the ball. Timing and bat head accuracy, the results of practice, take over.
Scouting
Preparation should take 100 times more than hunting or hitting. In hunting, choosing the location is what puts you in the best place to make your shot. Mother nature always plays a role. Changing weather and changing animal activities all can change your opportunity. The presence of a predator animal may put your hunt off for a few hours, or the whole day.
In baseball, scouting the opposing pitcher, how they pitch hitters like you, how they are pitching that game, help you understand what your best opportunity will be. Along with the pitcher tendencies, if you know the umpire tendencies, such as a high strike zone, giving an extra inch on the outside corner, etc. may help you adjust your approach. If the pitcher has a tendency to get ahead with fastballs, then tend to off-speed, choose accordingly. (I was always looking for a fastball to hit first 2 strikes).
1 Moment
Just 1 moment can make the difference in a season, or in a game. In big game hunting, you likely only have one trophy tag. Only one chance to fill your quota with the right animal. Don’t settle early for an animal of lesser quality than you know is in the area. Come the last day of the hunt, if you are looking to fill the freezer, you might become a little less selective.
In an at bat, you have 3 strikes to work with. You can waste the at bat by swinging at the wrong pitch and making an out early in the count. The patience to wait for the 1 moment will help you be more successful. But nobody bats 1.000. You are working your approach, your plan, to give you the best chance of success.
Sometimes, It Doesn’t Happen
Despite all the right steps taken, patience, scouting, practice, and more, the win may go to Mother Nature. When that animal that excites you never arrives, or never gives you the opportunity, you have to tip your hat to Mother Nature and plan for the next season. Maybe more practice, more scouting, or the timing just work out for your next hunt.
In hitting, more often than not, your plate appearance results in you returning to the dugout. Some days, that’s the way the entire game goes. Other games, your approach pays off.