I often get the question, why is it that a player seems to have correct hitting mechanics, and he practices well, particularly in t-drills and soft toss, where his form and technique are good.  And then when he gets into the game, everything goes wrong.  

Let’s understand three important principles when we talk about how to hit a baseball:

1.       Mechanics, which include form and technique

2.        Judgmental principles

3.       Confidence

When a player is hitting off of a tee or in soft toss, this involves only mechanics.  There are no judgmental or confidence factors at all involved.  Whereas, in the game, judgmental principles may be even more important than mechanics.  This involves reading the pitch and taking appropriate action. 

Here is one of my best baseball coaching tips.  The player who does only short-toss and t-hitting misses out on a major part of hitting, and that is judging the pitch in space (trajectory).   When we practice with soft toss, it is “pitch – hit”.  But when we hit in the game, the sequence is “pitch – trajectory – hit”. 

And no player can perform at his best unless he has confidence.  Tension forces a player to do things he would not do during practice.  So how do we make the transition from practice to the game?

Hitting is a conditioned reflex.  A  hitter must practice to “groove” his stroke, and then trust it.  In other words,  no stinkin’ thinkin’ at the plate.  it’s see-ball, hit-ball, have fun! 

Toss and tee hitting only provide practice of mechanics, and the hitter needs much more. Not only does he need to see pitching from a distance, but he also needs to have some pressure put on him during his practice sessions.   

In our baseball hitting drills, we can add a measure of pressure on the hitter in a batting cage by using a Power-10 series, where he works to hit 8 out of 10 pitches hard.  This puts pressure on him to get a high score.  He can also run a series of power-10’s.  This will also increase his confidence level.

There is an old saying that is so true:  

Play like you practice and practice like you play.  This was never more important than in the game of baseball.  So here are some ideas to help accomplish this.

        1. Batters should have some practice where they get some distance from the pitcher, either a machine or live pitcher.

2. Put some tension in the practice.

3. In every batting cage practice session, include a “Power-10”, 7 or 8 hard hits out of 10 to increase confidence level and a good feeling of performance.

4. Use practice that simulates game situations and encourages players to feel good about their performance.

I often get the question, why is it that a player seems to have correct hitting mechanics, and he practices well, particularly in t-drills and soft toss, where his form and technique are good.  And then when he gets into the game, everything goes wrong.  

Let’s understand three important principles when we talk about how to hit in baseball:

1.       Mechanics, which include form and technique

2.        Judgmental principles

3.       Confidence

When a player is hitting off of a tee or in soft toss, this involves only mechanics.  There are no judgmental or confidence factors at all involved.  Whereas, in the game, judgmental principles may be even more important than mechanics.  This involves reading the pitch and taking appropriate action. 

Here is one of my best baseball coaching tips.  The player who does only short-toss and t-hitting misses out on a major part of hitting, and that is judging the pitch in space (trajectory).   When we practice with soft toss, it is “pitch – hit”.  But when we hit in the game, the sequence is “pitch – trajectory – hit”. 

And no player can perform at his best unless he has confidence.  Tension forces a player to do things he would not do during practice.  So how do we make the transition from practice to the game?

Hitting is a conditioned reflex.  A  hitter must practice to “groove” his stroke, and then trust it.  In other words,  no stinkin’ thinkin’ at the plate.  it’s see-ball, hit-ball, have fun! 

Toss and tee hitting only provide practice of mechanics, and the hitter needs much more. Not only does he need to see pitching from a distance, but he also needs to have some pressure put on him during his practice sessions.   

In our baseball coaching tips, we can add a measure of pressure on the hitter in a batting cage by using a Power-10 series, where he works to hit 8 out of 10 pitches hard.  This puts pressure on him to get a high score.  He can also run a series of power-10’s.  This will also increase his confidence level.

There is an old saying that is so true:  

Play like you practice and practice like you play.  This was never more important than in the game of baseball.  So here are some ideas to help accomplish this.

1. Batters should have some practice where they get some distance from the pitcher, either a machine or live pitcher.

2. Put some tension in the practice.

3. In every batting cage practice session, include a “Power-10”, 7 or 8 hard hits out of 10 to increase confidence level and a good feeling of performance.

4. Use practice that simulates game situations and encourages players to feel good about their performance.

We have discovered one of the greatest methods for teaching baseball (or anything else for that matter) is to find a key word to help the player understand the concept we are trying to teach.  And these key words work better if they are word pictures. 

One great word picture that we use to help hitters get short to the ball is what we call “Shine the Light”.  In our youth baseball drills, If we can help the hitter to visualize the knob of the bat as a flashlight, it will help him to get inside the pitch and achieve the short, compact stroke. 

Most hitters will initially drive the knob of the bat towards the ground and they begin their stroke.  This causes the bat to flip behind them, causing a long stroke, and taking the hands out of position.

Also, if the hitter lifts the front shoulder just one inch, this will also invite the bat knob to drop down .   

Here’s one of our best youth baseball hitting tips.  Imagine a lazer beam coming from the flashlight directly to the ball.  Ask the hitter to immediately “shine the light” on the ball, driving the knob in the direction of the pitch.  This will help to correct the long stroke and get the bat head into the proper contact position.

This is easy.  “Shine the Light”.  From that point the short stroke and proper contact will follow.              

We have experienced immediate improvement in our instruction in baseball hitting drills with this simple concept….”Shine the Light”. 

Here is a video on batting stance and preparing to get in the box.

Here is a short video on baseball drills that you can put to use today to increase your bat speed and hit better pitching. This video will cover:

1. How to correct hitting problems.
2. How to increase bat speed and power.
3. How to maintain a consistent hitting stroke.
4. How to improve baseball hitting through constant practice year round.
5. Simplify the routine of a hitting program at home.
6. To help you or your youth baseball team make hitting practice more efficient on the baseball field.

Enjoy!

As a baseball hitter…. “Are you making these hitting mistakes that are killing your chances of becoming a better hitter?”

Coaches and parents… “Are you teaching these baseball hitting mistakes that are killing you players’ chances of becoming a better hitter?”

Professional hitters make contact with their bat barrel under their hands 90% of the time. Look at hitting pictures of the pros and hit replay on your television. It is obvious that this is true.

What happens to the hitter who attempts to swing level? Here are three major results:

1. His hands drop to the level of the pitch, creating a “loop” in his baseball hitting stroke and a loss of power. Over 90% of my new students that come to me for baseball instruction have a “loop” in their stroke… and, THE CULPRET IS SWING LEVEL!

2. A batters top hand has to go around this bottom hand, forcing a longer stroke, and timing and contact more difficult. This also DECREASES BAT SPEED.

3. He exposes more of the top of the bat and the bottom of the bat to the pitched ball. The result: POP-UP’S and CHOPS!

4. Transfer of weight is limited. It doesn’t allow the batter to transfer his weight through the ball.

5. The batter has a tendency to sweep the bat, which causes the bat to roll and make poor contact.

6. The batter must begin the bat early, in a circle.

7. The result is less club head accuracy, less head velocity, and more difficulty in timing.

So, what is really meant when we hear the term “Swing Level”?

While, we do not swing level, we GO LEVEL!

In other words…The waistband is level. Shoulders are level at the beginning of the hitting stroke. The body is kept level, or stacked. This is level.

THE BAT… DOES NOT SWING ON A  LEVEL PLANE.