Some batters stride away from the pitch because they are afraid of being hit by the ball.
To be successful, batters must be aggressive. If you can't overcome your fear, you won't be able to hit. They imagine the experience to be much more painful than it actually is. When batters do get hit, it's usually in a fleshy spot. I averaged around 600 plate appearances a season, and I stood way up front in the batter's box and close to the plate.