Baseball Hitting Tips

Stepping Out on the Pitch

This generally begins because of fear of the ball and may continue later simply because of habit. To help correct this habit, place a ball glove or something flat to the left of the hitter’s stride area (for right-handers), so they know when they are stepping out. If they realize they are stepping out and continue doing it, they may have a balance problem. Have them lift their front heel off the ground during their stance and stride. This will help them keep their weight forward toward the plate.

Stepping out may also be due to the desire to pull the ball. Discourage strict pull-hitting. The hitter should develop the mental image of hitting the ball straight back at the pitcher and hitting to all fields.

If fear is a factor, it is important to convince the player that he is safer when striding straight at the pitcher than when bailing out. The proper movement of the batter when a ball is thrown at him is to turn inward toward the plate and then toward the catcher (while dropping his head if the pitch is high). This protects his head and chest (the two dangerous places to get hit). Bailing out opens the hitter up and usually results in exposing the chest and head to the ball.

Lunging and Overstriding

Lunging forward during stride
Many young players fail to keep their weight and hands back when striding toward the pitcher. A simple way to work on this is to have players take (not swing at) pitches during batting practice and freeze until you have time to look at the position of their hands. Also, striding from their ready position (or stance) over and over will help remove the lunge from their swinging habit.

Over striding

Over striding is a serious problem for many hitters, leading to movement of their head and loss of balance. Often, widening their stance can help correct this problem (they simply can’t stride as far). In addition, placing their ball glove six inches in front of their lead foot during batting practice can help them from striding too far. Some hitters reduce their stride by trying to simply pick up their front foot and placing it back down (it will still go forward when they are hitting).

Correcting a Weak Swing

A swing that is slow in relation to a player’s physical ability reflects a problem in thinking. Often a player slows down his swing in an effort to “just make contact.” Making contact is not hitting. This is very poor advice to give a player in most situations. If a player takes a good swing, he will generally make better contact than if he just tries to get the bat on the ball.
Mental focusing on bat speed often corrects a weak swing. One good way of creating this focus is to define the position of the hands in the launch position (right before the swing starts) as point A. Also, define the hands above the lead shoulder after the follow-through is complete as point B. Then have the player concentrate on getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible (without losing his balance or pulling his head). Make sure the hands extends fully forward in getting to point B. Emphasizing “A to B” during batting practice will help to develop a faster swing.

Stance & Stride

Many coaches and parents instruct hitters to point their front toe at the pitcher when striding. Pointing the toe when striding at the pitcher will cause their hips to open before the start of the swing. Opening the hips early (before the swing actually starts) reduces the power of the swing. Premature opening of the hips can also make it difficult to hit an outside pitch. Instead, the toe should be pointing somewhere between closed (in the direction of the plate) and a 45 degree angle (in the direction half-way between the plate and the pitcher). This will allow the hips to explode open when the swing begins. Keeping the front toe closed is one of Charlie Lau’s “Ten Absolutes of Good Hitting.”

Stance versus Swing
There are a lot of opinions and misinformation about a batter’s stance. At the professional level, there are many extreme stances that are often criticized. Julio Franco, for example, begins with his hands and bat over his head. Mickey Tettleton, on the other hand, keeps his hands low with the bat held flat behind him. Eric Davis holds his bat forward in the middle of his body. What many people don’t understand is that their swings are very similar. Once their stride foot touches down, each of these players has his hands over his rear foot at a height around the arm pit. This is the launch position.
Younger players need to develop a stance that’s comfortable and that allows them to reach the proper launch position as they land on their stride foot. As a general rule, the younger the player, the closer he should hold his hands to the launch position when taking his stance.

Poor Timing

Swinging late is often a problem with young players. One reason for swinging late involves the hitter not knowing where he is suppose to make contact with the ball. Many want to make contact over the plate instead of in front of it. Carrying the ball to the plate and having the hitter swing slowly, indicating where they want the bat to make contact with the ball, is a good way to show them to hit the ball out in front. Also, they should be taught that the point of contact needs to be further out in front of the plate when the ball is pitched inside and closer to the plate when the ball is pitched outside.
Players also need to understand that they must swing at a smaller ball against a fast pitcher. They have to make the decision to swing a bit earlier and fire the hands at the ball when it is further from the plate than they are used to (the ball looks smaller further away from the plate).
The most important thing for good timing, however, is to teach hitters to make adjustments with their stride foot. If they are swinging late, they need to lift the front foot and begin the stride earlier. If they are swinging early, they need to lift the front foot and begin the stride later.

Proper Hitting Goals

The goals of getting a hit (short term) or to hit .300 (long term) sound reasonable at first. But having goals that are not within one’s control can lead to frustration, desperation and a lowered probability of success. A line drive caught by the center fielder should be considered more of a success than a bloop single over the short stop.
A more reasonable and useful goal is to have a successful at bat. Successful at bats are under the hitter’s control. They don’t depend on how good the pitcher is or a great defensive play. They don’t necessarily exclude a strike out. They can be monitored by parents or coaches and provide the basis for real improvement (which isn’t necessarily the case with batting averages). Such a goal also puts success within every player’s reach.

A good at bat first and foremost involves taking a good swing. Players should be taught to take a good swing or not to swing at all. A bad swing single is not a success at the plate. The “just make contact” mentality has hurt a lot of young players. “Good swing” in this context includes proper tracking of the ball to the plate, good weight shift, balance, etc.

The second aspect of a good at bat is swinging at the right pitches. This part of a good at bat will vary by hitter and experience. Generally, this involves swinging only at strikes or, with two strikes, swinging at pitches that are close to being a strike. For more advanced players, this might involve swinging at specific pitches in selected parts of the strike zone early in the count.

The third aspect of a good at bat is making adjustments, especially in relation to timing. Swinging late at the first pitch is fine as long as the swing isn’t as late on the next pitch, etc.

A good at bat is a short term goal. Long term goals will vary by level and experience (and concentration levels for very young players). Batting .800, or having successful at bats 80% of the time, is a reasonable goal for many young players. When a player truly adopts good at bats as their goal, their batting average will almost always increase and they will get more enjoyment and satisfaction from the game.