Anthony Matteis

The slot. A position every elite hitter passes through, yet one you rarely hear coaches talk about anymore. Why? Because most people don't know how to teach it. The slot is not something a hitter consciously creates with the hands or arms. It is not an independent movement. The slot is a result of connection. When the body moves together around center mass, the rear lat maintains its relationship with the top arm, the torso carries the hands, the rear elbow naturally works toward the hip, and the knob works inside the path of the baseball. That's when the hitter passes through the slot. You don't teach the slot by telling a hitter to "get into the slot." You teach the movements that create it. The slot is simply a checkpoint produced by elite movement not a position to manufacture. That's the difference between teaching positions and teaching movement.