How to Hit a Baseball

How to Hit a Baseball
By Chris Moheno

There is a science to the sport of baseball, especially in the batters box. It really is more than just standing up there and hoping to hit the ball. A player can either research baseball hitting information on their own or seek out professional baseball training. Either way, learning is the companion of success.

There are several principles involved with hitting a baseball successfully and consistently. Once these principles are learned and memorized, practice is the key. Ever wonder how the MLB players hit a 98 mph fastball? Lots and lots of baseball batting training.

So take these basics and practice them until they become second nature. Everything should feel natural and comfortable. Now let's take a look at the elements of baseball hitting.

1. Select the proper bat. Bats come in different lengths and weights. Then there is what is called "bat drop". This is the difference between the length and the weight. For instance, a bat that is 29" long and weighs 18 ounces has a drop of -11. This means that it feels lighter and is easier to swing. The higher the drop number, the better (and more expensive) the bat. Selection is made based on the batters height and weight.

2. Develop a hitting approach. This is also known as plate discipline and is extremely important as the player gets older. The batter needs to be able to distinguish what is a "hittable" pitch and what is not. Simply going to the plate and swinging away works for very young players as it helps allay the fear of being hit, but older players need discipline. A good start is to watch the ball from the pitcher's hand all the way to the plate, or preferably, to your bat. Adjust your strike zone as the strike count develops. A smaller zone for 0 strikes, a bit larger for 1 strike and larger still for 2 strikes.

3. Develop a good bat grip. Not tense yet firm. Not loose yet relaxed. When you grab the bat, it is important to stay relaxed in your whole body, starting with the hands on the bat. The hands should be positioned so that the top knuckles of the lower hand line up somewhere between the middle and top knuckles of the upper hand. Anywhere in that area that is comfortable is workable. The idea is to keep the bat out of the palm and closer to the fingers for more control. This also helps keep the grip relaxed, helps avoid "bat drag" resulting from tension and increases bat speed/reaction time.

4. Take note of how you stand in the batters box. Always remember the three B's: Be comfortable, be confident and be balanced. All three are necessary for hitting success. Make sure you can cover the plate and your strike zone(s) completely. Find the right depth in the box, too. You will want to be able to get on top of a fastball as well as time the breaking pitches. Most important of all is to be perfectly balanced with the hands at the top of the strike zone.

5. Learn to "pick up the ball" as it is released by the pitcher. Watch his arm until the ball is released, then pick up the ball as it travels towards you. After a little practice, you will learn to distinguish the type of pitch that is coming and that goes a long way towards hitting the baseball. Baseball training focuses on this aspect of hitting mechanics.

6. Take your stride before you swing the bat. As the ball travels towards you, take your step (stride) and keep the weight on the back leg. As you begin to take the swing, bring the weight forward and use the momentum for power.

7. As the swing starts and your weight comes forward, pivot the back foot and keep the front as planted as you can. The hips will begin to open up and work with the legs to add the power to the swing. Arms and hands should be brought through close to the body. This helps with bat speed and accuracy. The head should be picking up the ball the entire time it is in flight.

If you practice these basics of baseball hitting, you will see a difference at the cages as well as on the field. Your batting average will soar and you will hit the ball consistently. Baseball training is the way to go for baseball hitting success!

Chris Moheno has a long time passion for sports in general and for baseball coaching more specifically. His goal is to spread the word about effective non-fluff baseball training techniques for both more experienced and young baseball players, to help them perform better during the game. Discover more about baseball training on baseballtrainingsecrets.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Moheno

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Mental Training Tips to Improve Baseball Performance

Mental Training Tips to Improve Baseball Performance

By Luke Woodard

If you or your kid have played baseball long enough, I'm sure you have heard the phrase "mental toughness". In fact, you probably have heard those words used plenty of times in other sports and even outside of sports. But what exactly is it and how can you improve your mental toughness? We've all witnessed the guys who strike out, throw their helmet, and are obviously angry for the rest of the game. In the field, they make an error on an easy ground ball. Then, next time their up, with a chance to win the game, they swing at bad pitches and hit fly out to end the game.

Compared that to someone who is considered "mentally tough". Yes, he strikes out the first and he appears angry for a while, although he doesn't throw his helmet. As soon as he steps on the field to play defense, it appears that he has washed it away and he has. He makes a good play on the same ground ball, and when it comes time for him to hit again with a chance to win the game, he hits a line drive base hit up the middle.

So what is so different about these two example? It wasn't the amount of time they worked on their swing, the work they put into their fielding, or that one was better than the other physically. The difference was that the second example was better mentally. So if the mental aspect plays such a large role, how can you improve it? Here are some simple tips to getting better mentally.

1 - Clear the mind

Yogi Berra also said "I can't think and hit at the same time". While he may not have been the brightest fellow around, he was definitely on to the mental aspect of the game. When you step on the field, whether pitching, hitting, fielding or running, you have to totally clear you mind. I found that repeating to myself "ball, ball, ball, ball.." helps me focus. A game is NOT the time to think about mechanics. Tell yourself your mechanics are perfect and think only about the ball.

2 - Flush it

We've all seen it happen and probably it's happened to you. A player makes an error in the field, which leads to a second error because their mind was still on the last play. They then come up to bat and strike out. What where they thinking about? They were still thinking on the previous inning and the errors they made. When something doesn't go the way you want it too, take a second to think through what happened and how to fix it so you can work on it later and "flush it down the toilet". Re-focus on the task at hand with a clear mind.

3 - Think Positive

Especially if you're in a slump, or not having success on the mound, it is so easy to go to "Don't strike out this time" or "Whatever you do, don't walk this guy." Guess what, you're probably going to do what you are telling yourself not to do. Instead walk up to the plate saying to yourself "my mechanics are perfect, I know I WILL hit this guy hard" or on the mound "I have all my stuff today, this guy has no shot, and I am in control."

4 - Relax

You have to remember that you are playing baseball here and that failure is going to happen. We are all humans and any human will make tons of mistakes. The key is not to worry about mistake or anything else. To relax when you are feeling stressed, breath deep, and don't be afraid to take a mental "vacation". For me, I find that whistling any random tune helps me relax tremendously. Also, take deep breaths pushing your stomach out helps relaxation as well. This also provides your body with more oxygen, which is essential in anything athletic.

5 - Visualize

Take time everyday to visualize yourself succeeding on the baseball field. Visualize yourself with the perfect mechanics just absolutely drilling that curve ball the other way or yourself on the mound throwing your dirty change-up for strike three. Visualization can happen a number of ways. You can see yourself from the outside or see things through your eyes. You can do it pretty much anywhere, and you'll be amazed out how much this can help you prepare for when you are actually playing. Just remember to see yourself doing the right thing, just like you practice your swing the right way.

I hope this helps. The mental side of baseball is often overlooked and is such an important part of success on the field.

If you found this helpful, here is an awesome program that goes much deeper than this article:
Mental training for baseball

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Luke_Woodard


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The Five Elements of the Major League Little League Baseball Swing

The Five Elements of the Major League Little League Baseball Swing

By Nick Dixon

There is nothing more beautiful in sports than when a "major league" swing whether it be at the tee ball, little league, high school, college or Major League Baseball level of play. A "major league" swing is what I consider to be a perfectly executed swing. There is nothing more beautiful in sports than when you see a baseball batter, at any level, executes the perfect swing, and drive a line drive into one of the outfield gaps.

What makes a little league baseball swing become a "major league" swing? What are the 5 elements of the perfect baseball swing? The answer to that question is simple. The batter must have batting skill, good bat speed, a good eye for the baseball, perfect timing and a proper approach to hitting. Here I discuss all five of these basic elements and how each is improved:

The five basic elements of the "Major League" Little League Swing are:

1. Batting Skill - There is only one way to improve batting skill. That is making sure that the batter takes a high number of practice swings daily or at least 3 times a week year round. The younger the batter begins this practice routine, the batter. It is crucial to batting skill development that the batter receives proper instruction as to proper hitting mechanics.

2. Bat Speed - The grip must be perfect with the fingers aligned and the bat handle gripped in the fingers and not deep in the palm. The batter must have adequate strength to get the bat speed generated. The absolute best way to improve hand and arm strength is do finger pushups, weight roll ups with the arms extended and wrist curls with the arms on a bench.

3. Good Eye for the Ball - There are two things involved in having a good batting eye at the plate. First the batter must learn the strike zone and be able to determine quickly whether a pitch is a in the strike zone or out of it. The other thing that makes the eyes of the batter an asset at the plate, is when the batter has the ability to pitch the ball up very quickly as it is released from the hand of the pitcher. The batter must learn to identify pitches, the spin on the ball, the pitchers arm slot, and the pitchers release point. There are many drills that can help a better have a better eye. One such drill is a "tracking" drill in which the batter stands in while a pitcher throws his bull pen. The batter verbally calls out the type of pitch and its location. The batter will call the pitch in this order...strike, fastball, in or ball, curve ball, off the plate away.

4. Proper Timing - Good timing is something that all great hitters possess. They know when to load and when to launch. They are never late on the fastball. They are never early on the off speed pitch. They know exactly when to attack the pitch based on where the pitch is located. The always attack the inside fastball early. They always attack the fastball down the middle when it gets over the plate. And most important of all, they attack the off-speed pitch late when it gets just inside the back foot. One of the best drills to develop timing is the do a front long toss drill. The pitcher should vary locations, speed and pitch types.

5. Proper Approach - Having a good approach at the plate is a process that involves two aspects of mental concentration.

One part of having an approach is to know what your team needs from your at bat.This is known before the batter walks up to the plate. For example, if the team needs a deep fly ball, the batter looks for a pitch up. If the team needs a ball hit behind a runner, the batter will look for a pitch to hit the other way.

The other part of having an approach is the batter executing the perfect timed swing for the pitch thrown. The batter turns on the fastball in or the batter stays back and hits the curve ball to the opposite field.

The best way to develop a good approach at the plate is to have situational batting practice sessions. The batter takes batting practice swings under simulated situations specified by the coach. The batter practices hitting with the coach calling different numbers of out, different base runner locations or different offensive plays be run.

I hope that you found this article to be interesting and informative. I really appreciate you taking the time to read it. 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.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

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The Categories they have are: Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, Batting Cages, Pitching Machines, Jugs Equipment, Game and Practice Baseballs, Protective Practice Screens and Nets, Portable Pitching Mounds, Baseball DVDs & Books, Clearance Items on Sales, BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!
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3 Hitting Drills For Baseball to Build Correct Swing Mechanics

3 Hitting Drills For Baseball to Build Correct Swing Mechanics
By Rob Bucher

You've probably heard practice makes perfect, but if you're not using proper mechanics in your practice drills then you could build swing flaws into your swing.

Perfect practice makes for perfect baseball swing mechanics.

It's critically important when teaching players to hit that you break down the swing into tiny chunks. This allows the player and coach to identify the flaws in the swing.

I want to share three hitting drills for baseball to help you break down the swing and build better swing mechanics.


With both soft toss and tee work you should have the player swing to contact and stop. This will ingrain the proper contact position and allow them to feel the correct positioning of the body. Have your player take their normal swing but stop them at contact.. Some props you can use are old punching bags or a used tire.
Swift sticks and small whiffle balls can aid in in eye hand coordination. Stand slightly ahead of the player and to the side and toss the balls slowly overhand. Notice I didn't say underhand. Baseball players never see a live pitch underhand and your practice should always mimic live game action.
During batting practice have your pitcher stand at various distances from the hitter to simulate different speeds. Stand closer to give the action of a fast pitcher and stand further away for a slow pitcher. This allows the hitter to work on timing different pitch speeds.

These are a few tips to help you practice hitting and become more adept as a hitter and a coach.

It's important to pin point the flaws in the mechanics before maximizing repetitions. It bad swing mechanics are formed it will be harder to correct later on as the player develops.

Learn the proper mechanics of hitting?

Click here Baseball Hitting Mechanics

Because better mechanics lead to improved average.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rob_Bucher

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