We’ve heard it for years… Swing Level, Stay Back.

 

I’ve heard professional hitting instructors use these phrases.

 

I deeply respect and appreciate all of the baseball coaches

who have given their valuable time to coaching this great

game, at all levels, from little league through college, and

especially the little league coaches who put in hours of volunteer

service. What I’m about to say is not to disrespect well meaning

coaches and parents, but to give aid and help to them in order

to avoid the destructive hitting clichés that are passed down from

coach to coach and player to player through the years.

 

Hitting habits usually begin at a very young age.

 

For this reason, here are the “7 Deadly Misconceptions in Hitting” and baseball hitting drills

to go along with it.

 

Stay AWAY from these!

 

Misconception #1 – Swing Level. The fact is that one of the worst

mistakes a hitter can make is trying to keep his bat level as he goes

to the pitch.

 

#2 – Get The Back Elbow Up. If we had to throw a punch, would we

have the elbow up? If so, it would NOT be an effective punch. The elbow

needs to support the hands. It cannot do this if it is above them.

 

#3 – Stay Back. The proper term here is not to stay back, but to START

BACK. We collect our weight on the backside.

 

#4 – Squish The Bug. The back foot should not “spin” on the ball of the

foot, the back foot should roll up on the back toe as the hips rotate

toward the pitch.

 

#5 – Roll The Wrist. The correct way is when a hitter is in contact

with the ball, his top hand is in adduction (like a hammer) under the bat,

and it stays under the bat through extension. Does wrist-roll ever occur? Yes,

when the bat is coming out of extension and is coming around to the opposite

shoulder at the completion of the stroke, the wrist rolls at this time.

 

#6 – Get The Hands Away From The Body. This is incorrect! The fact

is that the hands require body support during the hitting stroke. The farther

the hands get away from the body, the weaker the stroke.

 

#7 – Stride In The Direction Of The Pitch. Stride in the same place every

time, directly ahead, with a 6 inch glide step. It is the ROTATION of the

hips, not the stride, that determines inside or outside.

 

The objective in hitting is to be quick with a compact stroke, making full

use of body action to support the stroke.

 

I just received this great email from Coach Miller:

 

“I can’t thank you enough for the Super 8 Hitting System. It provides

absolutely the best hitting instruction I have ever seen. I wish I had it

when I was a little leaguer!!! Actually, I wish I had it when I started

coaching 8 years ago. The youngsters I have coached would be

WAAY better hitters!” – Gary Miller

 

The Super 8 Hitting System teaches a hitter everything he needs to know about

hitting, no matter what problems the hitter has developed. These problems

can be reversed with good hitting principles.

 

Go here to avoid making these mistakes:

Super 8 Hitting System Reviews 

Here are some free articles and videos that I have posted that are pretty popular:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZdhzqbvMYM

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Hit-a-Baseball—Is-the-Stride-Necessary?&id=2484056

http://youthbaseballblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/great-baseball-hitting-drills-for.html

It’s real important to understand the idea that we try and teach in our hitting. It’s the physical activity which will always start with the largest muscle mass. Take the stride out of the feet, and use it in a large muscle mass and use the hips. When you are doing this, there will be less of a chance for the feet to overact.

You now have a better chance to maintain control of the stride. Thus, we strongly encourage that you stride with the front hip, and allow the feet to follow. The stride should only be about 6 inches.

While most sports emphasize full linear action, most activities in the game of baseball are different.  It is a combination of linear and rotational hitting.

Let’s put that in order:

1. Coil (load)  – Rotation…initiated by the hips.

2. Stride- -linear.  Also controlled by the hips (large muscles)

3. Drive - Hip rotation Hips rotate 90 degrees for down the middle and inside pitches, and 45 degrees for outside pitches)

4. Contact- Linear – Hands move in a straight line to the ball from the chest area.

5. Extension – and Finish  – Rotation 

Note that the arcing of the bat occurs in front of the hitter after contact.

The Super 8 system is an incredible program to use with a team.  It has improved batting averages of the whole team above .300.  Teams have gone from last place to first place champions using the super 8 Hitting system. 

Click here to view our free 15 minute video explanation on rotational hitting.

Linear vs. Rotational Hitting