Develop Proper Hitting Mechanics in the Batting Cage

By James J Lathon

You can improve your hitting by using the batting cage. The advantages are you can work on your timing, and develop good habits. It is important to know when you are getting good quality hits. A quality hit is not only hitting the ball hard but the type of hits you are getting.

The focus should be on hitting line drives and hitting the ball on the ground. With time, these types of hits will translate into higher hitting average, and there is less chance of these balls being caught as opposed to fly balls. Here are some techniques that have helped many hitters and are practiced by many big leaguers.

The strategy on hitting a baseball to help keep you focus and meeting you goal is scoring your batting cage practice. All that is needed is a person to keep tracking of your hitting performance as you are batting in the batting cage.

To accomplish this follow these simple steps:

1. Use the three-point hitting system. This point system awards 3 points for line drives, 2 points for balls hit on the ground or low to the ground, and 1 point for fly balls.

2. Create the three hitting zones. For the hitting cage as well as the practice field, by use of arbitrary markers for each zone. The Zones are to be separated by about 6 yards. The ground ball hitting should have a horizontal zone from the ground to six (6) yards straight up in the air. The line drive hitting zone should be the zone between 6 and 12 yards in the air. Finally the fly ball zone should be the hitting zone between 12 and 18 yards in the air.

3. Using the Arbitrary markers in the batting cage. In the hitting cages, you can use arbitrary markers such as the top of the pitching machine to mark off each section. Regardless of your arbitrary markers, you want to star scoring each session in the batting cage.

4. Record your results after each session. It's important to get in the habit of recording each of your sessions. As you keep this record try to outdo your previous best scores. This will turn batting practice into a game and you will benefit and get more enjoyment out of your practices
.
5. If at the batting cage by yourself, use the memory technique. At times you will be along at the batting cage, in these instances focus on your scoring by seeing how many times you hit 6 in this target zones. Your goal for the next round should be to get at least 7 hits in this area. This type of concentrated thinking will not require you to see how you scored in the other areas, and still get the maximum benefit and encouraging you to hit in these main zones.

Like most everything in life, you get better at things the more times you do them. Hitting a baseball is no different. The best advice for baseball hitting is practice, practice, and I repeat PRACTICE YOUR SWING. This is the strategy that work for the PROS.

James Lathon is the owner of ProHittingCages.com. Visit his website for more baseball tips and to see various batting cages that hitters around the country are using to train with today.

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3 Key Components to Creating A Great Baseball Swing!

By Justin Willman

In this article, I am going to tell you my closely guarded hitting secrets that only a tight knit group of coaches and players know. I will show you the 3 key components to creating a great baseball swing!

Alright, so obviously if you are on this page you play baseball. And obviously you are not seeing all the results that you wish to see, right!? Of course that is the case, because if it weren't, you would be a pro already!

So here are a few of my key components to creating a great baseball swing. The first thing you need to do is develop the right mechanics and tools in order to succeed. Try and sit down and watch baseball. Don't just flip through tv channels, actually watch the game and pay attention.

Pay close attention to the small things. Watch how hitters hold the bat. Watch what they do once they are on base. All of these things can make you a better hitter.

The next key component is to actually practice baseball! You can't get better at anything if you don't take the time to practice and make yourself better, so do it!

The last thing that you can do to become a better hitter and baseball player is have fun playing the game. Lots of players take a simple game too seriously. Unless you are playing at the pro level, it is not your job. Sure you want to perform and play well, but it's not your job. Don't treat it like one!

I am a former pro baseball player, having helped hundreds of people to easy baseball success. I've recently developed a video training course showing you a step by step process for making your baseball training results come easier and faster. To learn how to become a better hitter without all the fluff, visit, http://www.DynamiteHitting.com

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Hitting - Teaching the Correct Stride

By Andy Pohl

The stride might be the most over taught aspect of the baseball swing. Simply speaking, the stride is the movement of the front leg before contact. Personally, I don't care how a hitter strides, as long as they stride to balance. Some hitters, like Juan Gonzales, kick up their front leg as if they were pitching. Other hitters, such as Chipper Jones and Sammy Sosa, bring their front foot back and forward quickly as if they were tapping the ground. Other hitters, such as Jeff Bagwell, do not stride at all-they just pick their front foot slightly off the ground and put it back in the same spot. Whatever is comfortable with the hitter works for me, as long as certain rules apply. In addition, regardless of how a one strides, all successful hitters stride to a balanced position. The phrase "stride to balance" is often used to further describe this aspect of the swing.

First of all, hitters must not over stride, or stride out too far. This results in an unbalanced position that prevents the hitter from making a powerful move towards the ball. Secondly, hitters must stride with their front foot at or very close to a 45 degree angle. A wide open foot while striding prematurely releases the hips, thus decreasing the hitter's power and plate coverage. A closed front foot locks up the hips, thus preventing the hitter's ability to create maximum rotation. Striding with the front foot close to a 45 degree angle enables the hitter to maintain both their posture and balance throughout the swing while correctly laying the foundation for a proper hip rotation. Finally, and most importantly, hitters must not move forward when striding. Moving forward during the stride, otherwise known as a 'dive move', causes the hitter to lose all balance and power.

Ultimately, when the hitter strides, the head should remain over the rear knee. During the stride, there is only slight linear motion forward, and after the front heel drops to the ground, the linear aspect of the swing is over. There is no more movement forward. The dropping of the front heel acts as an anchor that stops the hitter's momentum from going forward. After the hitter's front heel is firmly planted on the ground, the hitter moves rotationally to the baseball.

By keeping the weight on the backside and minimizing forward linear motion during the stride, the hitter is able to keep his upper body still, mainly his head. This allows the hitter to see the pitch better, which in turn, increases his ability to make consistent contact. While it is hard enough to hit any moving object, it is much harder to hit that moving object when you are moving too. Keeping the head still enables the hitter to see the plane of the pitch more accurately. Remember, hitting is sight oriented. No matter how good one's mechanics are, nobody, not even Ted Williams, could hit blindfolded.

Andy Pohl - Co-Founder, DNA Sports

DNA Sports specializes in personalized baseball and softball skill programs, college recruiting education and preparation, and coaching clinics. Learn more: http://www.dnasportsonline.com


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Rotational Hitting Mechanics - The Best Hitting Mechanics You Can Teach Your Players

By George Montoya

What are the best batting mechanics you can teach your players?

As a baseball coach, that's a question that I get all the time. If you look around you'll notice well meaning coaches doing the same stale drills, but never really improving their player's mechanics. In fact, these baseball coaches, most of the time, are enforcing poor hitting mechanics.

So what can you do?

The fact is that 95% of all Hall of Fame hitters are using rotational hitting mechanics. That's right; the Major League swing is rotational hitting.

I learned how to teach rotational hitting, and so can you.

Here are some key things to keep in mind about rotational hitting.


It all starts with the grip - The knocking knuckles of the hand have to be lined up; this makes for a more accurate swing. Why do you think an axe handle is oval? It automatically lines up your knuckles for a reason - accuracy!
The stance - You don't want to be too wide or to narrow. A good start is feet shoulder width apart, or about the length of their bat wide.
Load - As the pitcher begins their motion, the batter turns their lead shoulder and front knee toward the plate slightly, always keeping both eyes on the pitchers release point.
Stride and weight transfer - The batter shifts their weight from the back foot to the front foot on a tilted axis, NOT a straight up and down axis. You might even note that their back foot becomes light, sometimes even coming completely off of the ground a couple of inches.
The Hips - Once the batter is going to take their swing, their front heel drops locking out the front leg, and the hips begin to rotate. The rotation of the hips is what pulls the hands around. This is when the batter turns around a fixed axis, their front leg.

Important! The key rotational hitting points above are what most Major League baseball players do during their swing. You CAN learn to teach the mechanics of the Major League swing.

Don't ignore these steps. Quit doing the same stale drills ever other coach out there is teaching. Do your players justice... YOU CAN!

Learn the rotational hitting drills that will show you how to improve your player's mechanics, and make you look like baseball genius.

At www.baseballslugger411.com you can get all the information you need to succeed.

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Teaching Mechanics in Youth Baseball - Is It Important?

By Mickey B

Next to having fun, teaching mechanics is the most important thing a coach can do for his youth baseball players. Some of you dads who are coaching only because nobody else volunteered, might be wondering just what in the world does mechanics have to do with baseball. The answer is...Everything! Mechanics simply means the correct form and movements required to properly hit, throw, or field a baseball. It also applies to running the bases. Watching Major League ballplayers can give you the impression that there is no one way that is considered proper. Every batter seems to set up differently and go through all kinds of unusual gyrations, each pitcher has his own style of wind up, and infielders throw from every conceivable angle. Remember, they are professionals who are perfectly grounded in the fundamentals, and at the point of attack their bodies are in the proper position. The only exception to this is when an infielder has to perform some miraculous feat of athleticism in order to make a play. Also, bear in mind that they get paid a lot of money to do this. That being said, here are some reasons for teaching mechanics in youth baseball.

1. You want to avoid injuries, especially when you are working with kids. Sore arms, particularly elbows, are one of the most frequent problems in baseball. This is usually caused by the player starting the throw with his body before his arm is in the right position. Consequently, he has to drop his elbow in order for the arm to catch up with the body, resulting in his hand getting under the ball and putting a twisting motion on the elbow. If this is done repeatedly, the player will be complaining about a sore arm by the middle of the season. Hitters develop problems with their wrists from an improper grip. They can also hurt their backs with a crazy swing and lack of balance. I mentioned running the bases earlier. I can't tell you the number of times I have seen broken legs or sprained ankles caused by hitting the base wrong or sliding improperly. Most of these injuries can be avoided through the use of good mechanics.

2. Everybody likes to be a winner. Kids are no exception. Yet, I never coach winning or losing. I don't have to. My teams win more than they lose because I concentrate on mechanics. By learning proper skills, my players make more accurate throws, get more hits, and commit fewer errors from mishandling the ball. Don't get me wrong, they are definitely not perfect. They are still growing and can be quite uncoordinated, but they are learning how things should be done. One thing that helps is lots of praise from the coach when they show improvement. I should probably point out that your players will not be as devastated by a loss as you and their parents will be. Remember, they are there to have fun. However, they also want to learn how to get better, and they will improve if you teach them proper mechanics.

3. As a youth coach, one of your major responsibilities is to get your players ready to compete at the next level, like moving from Little League to Babe Ruth. We lose a lot of young ballplayers at this stage every year for a variety of reasons. Some haven't gone through puberty yet and cannot handle the larger field. Others discover girls or different activities that stimulate their interests more than baseball. But sadly, a large percentage leave the game because they can no longer compete with the other players. They were never taught proper mechanics. The throws are longer so they have to throw harder and, as a result, get a sore arm. The pitchers are faster and they can't get the bat around fast enough to hit the ball. They get discouraged, and they quit. You can help prevent that by teaching them the appropriate skills now. I have seen Little League all-stars fade into oblivion on the bigger field because nobody gave them the correct coaching. They made the all-star team on natural skills that weren't enough for the tougher competition that they faced at the next level.

As you can see, these are some very important reasons to teach mechanics in youth baseball. some side benefits for your players are that, without mentioning it to them, you have shown them that success can come with proper execution. They are also learning that hard work has its benefits. This goes for you too, coach. Are you prepared to work hard, also? Do you know what the proper mechanics are for baseball? Don't worry, there are many websites devoted to teaching mechanics. Look for sites that talk about the power triangle, and avoid sites that emphasize pushing off the rubber with the back foot. This is something that a pitcher does, but it should not be taught that way, especially to still developing children. Now, go have fun with your kids!

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Misconceptions About How to Hit a Baseball - Stay Back

By Joe Brockoff

I have had many hitters who take a batting stroke and keep their entire weight on their back leg as they swing. This is NOT what staying back is meant to be.

Incorrect:


Knocking-knuckles pointed forward
Improper grip produces a sweeping action.
Back elbow at 90 degrees...changes the grip

If the hitter is staying on his backside throughout his stroke, he needs to adjust out of this immediately!

In observing all better professional hitters, we can see that when they are in contact with the ball, their front side is firm, with their weight against the front heel. They are on their back toe, with the back leg making an "L." They are not on the ball of the back foot. The body's center mass is in a stacked position. The weight is not back on contact, rather, it is being transferred through the ball.

Body is stacked on contact. The hands are in front of the body, not over the plate.

The proper term here is not to stay back, but to "start back". We collect our weight on the stride. We should distribute 30-40% of our weight. Then, when we pivot, the weight is transferred from the back side to the front side. This transfer is controlled by the hips, as they come square to the pitch. This method allows the hitter to transfer his weight through the ball.

What really stay back are the hands!

Using the following steps, the weight transfer will be smooth and powerful:

1. Load (or coil). The weight goes back as the hips rotate slightly inward, lifting the front heel off the ground.

2. Stride. 30-40 % weight on the stride. When the front heel goes down, the next step occurs.

Hands are back in the stride. Throughout all of this time, the hands stay back.

This is what "stay back" really means.

When the front heel, comes down, the hips come square in the pivot and the weight transfer occurs from back to front. The hands have the option at this point to launch or not to launch.

Hands in Launch Position

The hands go last.

When a coach sees a hitter commit his hands first, perhaps that is when we hear him say, "Stay back."

This must not be interpreted as keeping the weight back throughout the stroke. A better way of saying this would be "Keep the hands back." A hitter must train his hips to take him to the ball and discipline his hands to wait for the right moment to start the stroke.

Hi. I'm Coach Joe Brockoff, a Division I Head Baseball Coach for Tulane University for more than 19 years, and former minor league player for the New York Yankees. Over the years, I've taught thousands of baseball players how to increase batting speed and improve their overall performance on the field. In fact, my proven training system has sent 45 baseball players to the pros.

As a coach committed to continuous improvement, I share my baseball drills, tips, and techniques here so that you will, in turn, inspire and motivate young players to improve their game. I hope you'll visit my web site, the Super 8 Baseball Hitting System at http://www.learnbaseballhitting.com to watch some of my free instructional videos.

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Baseball Drills - Hitting Drills to Strengthen Players

By Kenny Buford

Drills are routine practice elements used to build strong foundations in players. Hitting drills are effective for solving problems players face at the bat. Once a coach has identified what problem the player has, he can utilize the appropriate drill to strengthen that element of the hitter's technique.

One-knee, One-hand

This hitting drill involves the coach, acting as pitcher, and player both on one knee. The player extends the front leg, keeps his bottom hand on the bat handle and hits soft tosses from the pitcher, keeping his wrist flat and palm down. The player should use a short swing, keep his hand inside the ball and avoid rolling the wrist.

This drill isolates the player's movements to focus on hand position and technique, building strength in the wrists and forearms. The coach should be able to see if the player is employing improper technique, like rolling his wrists or swinging too long. To take the drill further, the player can use a smaller bat and swing with only one hand, alternating between the top and bottom hand.

Front Inside Soft-Toss

This baseball drill also emphasizes shortening the swing and maintaining flat wrists to build strength and increase quickness. In this drill, the coach feeds inside pitches from behind a screen.

The hitter stands, with both hands on the bat, and tries to hit the inside half of the ball. This positioning requires the player to use quick hands, because slow hands that drag the barrel of the bat will cause the pitch to jam him. In addition to using quick hands, the player also needs to maintain flat wrists to ensure that the fat part of the bat makes contact with the ball.

The feeder should watch the player's technique to make sure he is not rolling his wrists or using a long swing. The coach may want to hold the ball on some pitches to better observe the balance and stance of the hitter.

Stride and Freeze Tee

This drill addresses the stance and balance of the hitter. If a hitter gets out on his front foot and struggles to keep his weight back, he is not able to generate enough power to be an effective hitter. By using a tee, the hitter and coach can both focus on positioning and stance without the added element of watching for the pitch.

To begin this drill, set up the tee without the ball. The player then prepares to hit the imaginary ball by taking his stride and releasing his hands back. The hitter then freezes and allows the coach to check positioning, making sure his hands and weight are back and in proper balance.

At this point, the coach then puts the ball on the tee and allows the player to hit from that position, watching to ensure proper follow-through and balance. After repeating this drill 10-15 times, the hitter can then swing with the ball on the tee from the beginning.

And if you'd like to see more free baseball drills and coaching tips, go here to watch a free video:

http://www.baseball-tutorials.com/vid/

Kenny Buford is a youth baseball coach, and the owner and publisher of Baseball-Tutorials.com, the web's #1 resource for baseball drills, tips, and practice ideas for youth and high school coaches.

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Uncommon Baseball Hitting Drills

By Jeffery A Wise

Baseball hitting drills are a necessary part of practice. Players run these drills to improve their skills and get them ready for batting practice and games. There are some common hitting drills, but we're going to talk about one that is not so common. Nonetheless, it is important and should be practiced more often.

The modified broomstick drill is very helpful. You need a broom handle that is cut down to the length of a bat. It will help to sand the end and add batter's tape on the end for grip. Then, ask someone to pitch plastic golf balls to you. These balls can be purchased at any sporting goods store.

The distance between you and the pitcher doesn't matter as long as they can toss you the balls easily. Start with underhand pitches. Then switch to overhand pitches so there is some appropriate velocity on the pitch which simulates a real pitch.

You can work on many different hitting mechanics for improvement, but now let's just focus on your upper body. Relax your shoulders, neck and face. If you are too tense at the plate it is much harder to have a quick, fluid swing. That's what this baseball hitting drill is for.

Also, make sure your front shoulder is lined up to the pitcher and have it closed. Sometimes ball players have an issue with leaving their shoulder open and that makes them open up and start their swing too early. This causes players to pull the ball in the form of a ground out or fly out.

During this baseball hitting drill, keep the shoulder closed and wait for the plastic golf ball to arrive in the hitting zone before taking a smooth, fluid swing. Take turns hitting 25 balls and then rotate. This drill is a lot like playing wiffle ball so have fun with it.

The purpose of this drill is to improve hand-eye coordination and mechanics. You may also want to use this drill to practice hitting harder. Whatever you do, always strive to have fun!

Jeffery A Wise invites you to learn more about baseball hitting drills so that you can hit a baseball better. Start learning today at http://www.baseballhittingtipsonline.com by reading our information, watching our videos and participating in our blog.

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Baseball Coaching Digest - Want to Be a Great Hitter? Learn to Be Patient

By Nick Dixon

One of the worst hitting flaws in baseball is "lack of patience" at the plate. This article discusses importance of being a patience batter and the reasons being a patient hitter puts the odds in the hitters favor. It also discusses one common baseball practice procedure that causes batters to not be patience at the plate

To be a great hitter, you must learn to defeat the pitcher. The pitcher's job is to get you out. The easiest way to get a batter out is to throw bad or unhittable pitches that "bait" the impatience batter into getting himself out. Having good patience at the plate allows the batter to have three traits that put the odds in his favor.

1) He does not chase or swing at bad pitches or unhittable pitches, so he does not get himself out.

2) He knows the strike zone and is content with taking a base on balls if he does not get a good pitch to hit.

3) His patience allows him to stay back, trust his hand speed, and hit the ball to all fields.

This flaw means that a batter attacks the pitch incorrectly or too soon. Being a great hitter requires skill, bat speed, and patience. Batters must know the strike zone like they know the inside of the bill of their cap! They must know what a strike is and when a pitch is out of the strike zone. Impatience hitters often fall victim to good pitching because they swing at bad pitches and get themselves out.

"Patience at the Plate"

Teach your hitters to be patience. They must learn to attack the inside pitch early, to attack the strike over the plate behind the front foot, and to attack the off-speed or fastball away late, just inside the back foot. Patience hitters hit to all fields. They never get fooled. They always seem to hit the ball on the "sweet spot" of the bat and frequently hit line drives.

"Practice for Patience"

One way to teach hitters to be patience is to not allow them to swing at everything during batting practice. I know that you have heard a coach say, "Swing the Bat"; to a kid that takes a pitch during batting practice. The coach becomes impatience with the player because the coach wants every batting practice throw hit. That tactic can often confuse young batters as to what pitches they should or should not hit in a game. You as a coach should remember, this one statement from this article, "If you want them to only swing at hit good pitches in a game, then make then take bad pitches during batting practice."

I advocate allowing all batters to take or let bad pitches go by during every drill and during batting practice. Often times, the only way you can hit a bad pitch is to take a bad swing. You do not want your players practicing bad swing because that leads to bad habits. What I suggest is to allow then to track bad pitches from the pitcher's hand to the catcher's mitt or until the ball hits the back stop screen, without swinging the bat. They are seeing the ball, and they are learning the strike zone. If you want to work on swinging at every pitch, have a "hit and run" batting practice session in which they must swing the bat at everything. Then they must concentrate, stay inside the ball, and make every possible effort to hit the ball to the desired location.

I hope that you found this article to be informative. If you want to read more of my articles or to read more articles on every aspect of coaching baseball, go to the Baseball Coaching Digest, the Youth Baseball Digest, and the Baseball 2Day Coaching Journal. Thanks for reading this article. Have a great day, Nick.

The CoachesBest Baseball Store has a great selection of 1400 Baseball Products. Check out the BatAction Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty.

Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

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How to Prevent Strike Outs - Baseball Hitting Advice From a Former Major Leaguer

By Jack Perconte

Nothing is more frustrating for young baseball players and their parents than strike outs, especially if it is a recurring event. Strike outs may lead to very depressed ballplayers and to upset coaches and parents. Obviously, continual strike outs lead to athletes losing confidence, self-esteem and usually their desire to play the game altogether. What to do?

First, explain to ballplayers that hitting a baseball is one of the toughest things to do in sports and good fundamentals, practice and patience are necessary. Further explain that there are very few kids that have natural swings and the necessary hand-eye coordination to automatically be able to hit a ball. This explanation is important so players do not get too frustrated and depressed and to give them the message that they have control over the situation if they are willing to put in the work.

Next, the results of the hitter's at-bats must be analyzed. Sometimes, it is just a matter of the hitter becoming a little more aggressive when batting so they are not always behind in the count. Unaggressive hitters find themselves hitting with two strikes too often. If that is not the problem, check the results of the player's swings and misses. Are they under the ball (most common), over the ball, early or late? This will lead to what needs to be done.

Following are possible solutions for each of these situations:

1. When hitters are continually swinging late at the pitch - challenge them with higher velocity that approximate game speeds. Many hitters will make the necessary adjustments on their own when they begin to see faster speeds and get their eyes used to seeing the faster pitching.

2. Similar advice - when hitters are continually early they need to face much slower pitching so they learn to wait on the ball.

3. When hitters are under the ball they need to shorten the swing. This means keeping their swing path more direct by keeping the barrel of the bat above the ball on the approach to the ball. This can be done in a number of ways including the following drills.

Hitting Drill - With the use of two batting tees set the tees a bout a foot apart and in line with each other. Place a ball on both tees with the ball closer to the catcher about a balls width lower than the ball out front. Hitters should work on hitting the ball closest to the pitcher while missing the back ball.

Hitting Drill - Along the same lines as the previous drill, set the height of the batting tee a little above the back hip and place the tee under the hitter's hands in their stance. Pitch balls to the hitter and have them swing over the tee on the way to contact. This will help hitters develop a more direct swing path and should lead to more consistent contact.

4. When hitters are over the ball they should work on knee high pitches until they can begin to hit line drives on this pitch location. This will help them get use to driving their hands to the back of the ball while using their hips and legs in the correct way.

It is important to note that habits are tough to change and that there are times when I use "opposite drills" to change a players habits. These drills are extremely different then what the player is doing and often are not the fundamentally sound swing either, but they are the only way the hitter can break their initial bad habit. The hitting drills under point number 3 above could be considered opposite drills compared to what happens in reality with a great swing. The goal is to eventually meet in the middle with the correct swing and this is a way of doing that.

Finally, a great way to prevent strikeouts and promote more consistent contact is with front arm work. The hitters lead arm (hand) is the one that takes the bat to the ball so swinging the bat with just the lead arm will help contact. This drill will force the hitter to use the lead arm and get stronger with the front side, which is often the hitter's weaker arm.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His baseball playing lessons, books and advice can be found at http://www.baseballhittinglessons.com/baseball. Jack is the author of two books, The Making of a Hitter and Raising an Athlete - his positive parenting advice and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com.


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Good Hitters Hit, Great Hitters Hit More

By Mike Posey

Recently, I was talking to a friend that works in Major League Baseball. We were having a discussion about hitting and agreed many instructors say things to hitters that do not actually happen. Here are a few examples:

1. Stay Back - The hitter does not have their weight all the way back when swinging the bat. What should be said is stay centered. Do not let your weight come forward too soon.
2. Line Up Your Knocking Knuckles - The knuckles are usually off centered with the knocking knuckles on one hand and the big knuckles on the other hand lining up.
3. Rotate on Your Back Foot - On hitting contact the back foot is usually toe down and in some cases off the ground.
4. Hit It Out Front - If the pitch is away, you will actually hit it farther back on the plate. Out front would be for a pitch on the inside half of the plate.
5. Extend Your Arms - Extension only occurs after contact has been made with the ball.
6. Roll Your Wrist Over - On contact the top hand is under the bat. Wrist roll happens after contact.

With all the instruction being given today, one has to wonder why some of the same mechanical flaws still occur over and over in youth players. Too many expect paid lessons to be the answer to develop their players hitting abilities.

It might be better to let a hitter develop naturally and not put a lot of extra ideas in their heads to confuse them. Good hitters will hit alot and develop a feel for their swing as they grow. Proper instruction can help a good hitter become better. Many have an expectation that paying for a lesson will somehow cause magic to occur and the good swing appears, "poof", before the next game. Without hours of hitting practice on their own (outside of instruction) a good swing will never be developed.

Hitting is rhythm and timing, this can only be developed through live swings. Good hitters hit, Great hitters hit more.

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Baseball Hitting Drills - Teaching Plate Discipline

By Hunter Sendefer

Hitting drills are very important for young players and one of the best hitting drills that a coach can utilize teach plate discipline. It is very important that a hitter learns to have an approach at the plate, rather than simply swinging away at every pitch, so this drill is vital to the hitter's overall makeup.

This drill starts with the screen close enough to the plate that the batting coach pitcher can have excellent control. Each hitter then gets up to ten pitches, although only three strikes will be permitted. Before the hitter steps up to the plate, he or she will be told how many strikes he or she currently has, as this will directly influence how the hitter handles the pitches.

If the hitter is stepping up to the plate with a fresh count, he or she will begin by showing the pitching coach where he or she likes the ball. If the pitch is in the hitter's hitting zone and he or she takes a swing, the pitch count is reduced by one. If the pitch is outside of this hitting zone, but the player still swings, the hitter not only loses that pitch, but one additional pitch. If the pitch is outside of this hitting zone and the player does not swing, the pitch does not count at all. If the pitch is outside of the strike zone altogether and the player swings, however, he or she will lose half of his or her swings remaining.

If there is one strike, the penalty for swinging at a pitch outside the strike zone is less strict, as the player will only lose that pitch plus one more. This is because when there is one strike, pitchers will tend to come after the hitter a little more, which makes these pitches a little harder to lay off.

Finally, when there are two strikes, the hitter's goal is to be as tough an out as possible. If the player swings at a pitch that is in the strike zone, he or she only loses that pitch plus one more. If a pitch that is around the strike zone is taken, it is an additional pitch penalty because umpires tend to call borderline pitches strikes when there are already two strikes. If an obvious strike is taken, that player is done completely because it is never a good idea to take a third strike.

The goal of each hitter turning this drill is to make sure that he or she gets through all ten pitches without striking out. Also make sure that your players know that each strike that you call will be a judgment call, which is exactly how an umpire will make the call. By teaching your players to have an approach at the plate based on the strike count, you can turn them into smarter hitters. You will also be giving them a better idea of where the strike zone is, so they will know which pitches to take and when to take a cut.

Hunter Sendefer is a former player and current youth baseball coach who consistently coaches his teams to the winners column including an active 26 game winning streak. He frequently contributes to http://www.Batting-Trainer.com where you can sign up for free baseball batting videos and hitting tips or learn about the revolutionary new Insider Bat batting trainer. http://www.Batting-Trainer.com/features


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How to Create Consistent Hitting Mechanics

By Nate Barnett

I'm sure you know from experience that hitting a baseball consistently for any length of time is one of the most difficult and frustrating things to do in sports. There are two areas of your overall baseball preparation you'll need to develop on a regular basis if you want the most consistency possible as a competitive athlete - the mental game of baseball, and proper hitting mechanics. If you're interesting in learning more about baseball psychology there are quite a few resources online as well as my blog. This article is reserved for teaching a little on the topic of hitting mechanics.

I get the chance to work with dozens and dozens of athletes individually each year. It's truly a rewarding experience much of the time, though at times it can be extremely frustrating to see such talented athletes fail to put in the necessary work to achieve some consistency in their swing. I never have a tough time getting the athletes to work hard when I work with them in the cage. It's when athletes have to motivate themselves to work outside of their practice days when their work habit breaks down.

In order to become a highly consistent and effective hitter, I prescribe the following "medicinal procedure" to be used away from practice:

1. Dry Drills: These are hitting mechanics related drills that are meant to reinforce muscle memory. It is impossible to only put in two to three days on a specific hitting technique and make it stick long-term. The problem you'll run into is that during a game your focus will be placed on the pitcher and not your mechanics. If you have failed to put in the necessary time to build quality muscle memory, you'll revert back to the problems you were initially trying to fix.

2. Mental Rehearsal: The mind is a powerful tool for good or evil. When you use your mind for positive imagery or visualization you will increase your effectiveness as a hitter. If your mind pollutes your body with thoughts of failure, your body will respond in a negative way. Lack of confidence and fear can destroy a good hitter. To make sure you are conditioning your brain in the right way, it's highly important that you replay mental video clips of yourself succeeding offensively. This is easy to do, many of you do it all day long in other areas. Sometimes your mind wanders in church or school and you lose focus as to what is occurring around you. If you can slip into this mode and daydream about your performances, you can truly become a master of the mental game of baseball.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball. His website is devoted to teaching the mental game of baseball and hitting mechanics. After finishing a professional career in the Seattle Mariners Organization, Nate pursued his coaching and motivational training career.

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Are Hitting Mechanics Your Only Ticket to Success? What You Might Be Missing

By Nate Barnett

The great Ted Williams once said, "A good hitter can hit a pitch that is over the plate three times better than a great hitter with a questionable ball in a tough spot." In his book, The Science of Hitting, he makes it clear that being a selective hitter made him the.344 lifetime hitter he was. When reading his book, this stood out to me as one of the more valuable and under taught principles in hitting instruction.

Williams spends a good amount of time demonstrating the technique he uses to develop a good understanding of plate zones. What's interesting is that getting a good pitch to hit is mentioned in his book prior to his breakdown of proper hitting mechanics. As a side note, be careful that you spend ample time on the mental game of baseball otherwise you may never fully get to enjoy your hard work you've spent on your mechanical development.

Being a selective hitter is an absolute must at all levels of baseball. Once pitchers observe that you aren't going to bite on a pitch that is out of the zone, a choice has to be made on their end. It's simple; either give you a good pitch to hit and see if you can do it, or pitch around you and throw to some other guy. It's a tough choice either way, and that's how you want it to be. The more thinking going on in the head of your opponent, the better chance he will screw up and give you a fat pitch to hit.

Here's how to learn this concept Williams teaches. I've modified his idea just a bit but the core is the same. I find it easier to break this down by individual points.

1. Grab six baseballs and line them up next to each other on the front of a plate. The six baseballs will cover the entire front end of the plate nearest the pitcher. (Williams uses seven baseballs, though I find that six is easier to fit on the plate and serves the same purpose.)

2. Name the balls numerically beginning with the baseball nearest you as a hitter. The nearest ball would then be the #1 ball, and the furthest ball on the outside corner would be the #6 ball.

3. During batting practice learn to identify what range of baseballs you handle the best. That is, what ball do you get excited to see thrown your way because you know you can tear the cover off it? Throughout my career I knew I could handle balls #2-#5 quite well and could expand that to add the #1 ball if need be.

4. When you have identified your range, #2-#5 balls or #3-#6 balls, or whatever, this range is where you will spend the majority of your time in batting practice. Many coaches choose to work on pitches that are toughest for you to hit. Resist this advice for the following reason. If you know that being selective will increase the likelihood that you will get at least two good pitches to hit in any given at bat on average, then developing your skills to absolutely crush those pitches is a must. If you can hit the balls hard you've chosen in your range 80% of the time, why swing at balls outside of your range that you can only hit hard 30% of the time? Now, please understand that I'm not advocating never practicing the weak areas in your hitting zone; I'm just not advising spending the majority of your time working on those spots.

5. Learn to use the count to your advantage by shrinking your zone. On counts of 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 3-1, the ONLY pitch you should be swinging at is one that fits your developing hitting zone. If you can train your eye to recognize the pitches that float through this zone on a regular basis, you're batting average and confidence will go through the roof. Remember, pitchers aren't good enough to identify your weakness and exploit it each time you're up to bat.

While I get a thrill teaching baseball hitting mechanics to my students, I absolutely enjoy teaching hitters to increase their odds at performing to the best of their ability by winning the mental game of baseball as well. While you only get about 10 minutes of time to use your hitting mechanics in a game, your brain is working the entire time you are on the field. Training it to work with your body instead of sabotaging it will be your ticket to some good fun and success in this great sport of baseball.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball. His website is devoted to teaching the mental game of baseball and hitting mechanics. After finishing a professional career in the Seattle Mariners Organization, Nate pursued his coaching and motivational training career.

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