"A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that"
About this Quote
The line’s music is in its insistence. “Repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that” is comically redundant on purpose, like a coach who’s said the same thing for 20 years because it’s the only thing that works. The joke is that there’s no secret. If you’re waiting for a magic cue, you’ve already lost. Jackson isn’t selling mystique; he’s stripping it away.
Context matters: Jackson played in an era when “clutch” narratives and swagger often overshadowed process. As “Mr. October,” he was cast as a big-moment force of nature. This quote is a corrective to his own legend. The subtext is almost defensive: what looks like instinct is actually rehearsal so deep it passes for instinct. The “finely tuned instrument” doesn’t get tuned once. It’s tuned daily, under pressure, against failure that keeps changing shape. That’s why the line lands beyond baseball: it’s a pragmatic blueprint for mastery in a culture addicted to shortcuts.
Quote Details
| Topic | Training & Practice |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Jackson, Reggie. (2026, January 16). A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-baseball-swing-is-a-very-finely-tuned-98167/
Chicago Style
Jackson, Reggie. "A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-baseball-swing-is-a-very-finely-tuned-98167/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"A baseball swing is a very finely tuned instrument. It is repetition, and more repetition, then a little more after that." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/a-baseball-swing-is-a-very-finely-tuned-98167/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.




