Five Maverick Baseball Batting Drills Revealed

As I sit back and think about my playing days, I can't help but think I didn't question enough people about their methods of training. I took for granted that my high school coach, or the local hitting instructor had a legitimate theory on how to develop me as a hitter. Now as coach, I look back on the hundreds of camps and the dozens of instructors I had and can't help but think that I wasted a good majority of my time. Unfortunately, baseball has become oversaturated with "new" drills. If you are not careful, you will train your players in circles instead of helping them make any real progress. This is precisely why I have put together the top 5 baseball batting drills that your players can start using today, and begin to see some real results.

Unfortunately, the baseball community is obsessed with statistics. In fact, almost every major league coach has a book of statistics in the dugout with a numerical story about each player. Over the years this sort of analysis paralysis has trickled down to even the youngest players and that is all they focus on. As a result, this has made coaching baseball even at the youngest level very difficult because players become resistant to change. Players, and people in general, always feel they know what is best for them and when you factor in the idea of getting a hit or playing time, you can rest assured you are going to have help them see improvement immediately in order to bridge any real gaps during training. If you don't, you will hear phrases like, "It feels uncomfortable", or "That doesn't feel right I am going to do it my way."

That sort of reaction isn't anything you should take personally because players hate change. It's nothing unique to players, people hate change too because it forces them outside of their comfort zone to experience something different. Usually players are emotional that they aren't doing well and it is a loosing battle all the way around. Therefore, instead of trying to change players, I like to challenge players with drills, so they have to change. At heart, everyone loves a challenge and will do their best to complete the challenge if put in front of them. Therefore, why not design drills that challenge players to make their swing better. The top 5 drills do exactly that! I use a batting training technique I call "Swing over train" or "swing exaggeration". It involves step specific drills that leave players no option but to adjust their swing to perform the drill.

Unorthodox baseball batting drill number 1, the Samurai Drill. To my knowledge, I am only one in America that does this drill with players. I say this because not only have I never seen it, but no matter who I talk to I hear, "I have never seen that before!" This drill was inspired by a group of players I call "weight loaders". These players have trouble separating their hands and front leg from their body during load portion of the swing. So here is what I came up with. Players should start with their feet together and their hands extended in front of their body out towards the pitcher; sort of like Ichiro or Ryan Howard. Then we break down the swing into two sections, the load, and then swing. When you tell your player to load, you want his hands to draw across is body back to the hitting position and you want his front leg to extend out towards the pitcher. Note, his body should remain stable and 99% of his weight should be on his back foot. Once the player has performed the load correctly, he may swing. This batting drill is done to help players understand how to disconnect their hands and front leg during load portion of the swing. If you are looking for why this is important, I want refer you to my article on the load.

Batting Drill #2 the Oar Drill. Before you right this drill off as something just for the younger kids, I want to let you know I have done this with 18-year-old kids. Older doesn't necessarily mean better, it just means older. In this drill we remove the bat and replace it with a small four foot oar. Then we take the oar and place it behind the player's back, flat side open as a hitting surface. As coach you soft toss tennis balls and the player has no option but to turn his back foot in order to have the flat side of the oar hit the ball. My father did this drill with our little league team and it is still the best drill for helping young players how to use their hips to hit the baseball.

Top 5 Baseball Batting Drill Number Three: Top Hand Drill. Out of all the drills I put my players through, this is the drill they struggle with the most. This is partly because using the hands is the most highly misunderstood step of the swing, but because players simply do not understand what it means to drive their hands to the inside part of the baseball. For this drill, have your player grip the bat with both hands. Then, have him open his top hand so just his palm is touching the bat. After that, he should place the back of his top hand on the other side of the handle. Finally, flip the hand over so the palm of his hand is on the opposite side of the handle and his thumb is pointing down. Note: Never grip the bat with your top hand. The goal is to push the handle of the bat through the zone with your top hand as you swing. For those of you out there who think you will not be able to generate any power, I have seen my players hit doubles off the wall in batting practice to all fields. The key is to extend your top hand to the field of play you want to hit the baseball. Goal: Understand what it feels like to drive your hands hard to the baseball.

Batting Drill #4 the Carrier Drill: Young players have trouble conceptualizing "staying long through the hitting zone" and gaining extension. However, if you make their concepts come to life, now you have something to work with. For this drill you are going to need two batting tees lined up at that same height about 17" apart. Then you are going to place a ball on each batting tee. The idea is to hit both baseballs with one swing. I relate this concept to landing a plane on an aircraft carrier. Once baseball is at the begging, and one baseball is at the end. In order to hit the both baseballs, you must land the bat on the aircraft carrier and keep it flat through the zone.

Batting Drill #5 the Reverse Bucket Drill. I have been called unorthodox plenty of times in my life, and this drill is no different. Understanding how to finish high and through the zone is a learned skill, not a natural reaction. Must young kids are caught up in rotating around their body to generate as much power as they can instead of finishing forward after contact. Here is how we change that. For this drill you are going to need a bucket or chair. Then you tell your player to put is back leg up on the bucket or chair. From there, the player loads and swing. If the player is off balance or finishes around his body, the bucket or chair will fall over. However, if they work through the ball everything will stay in place and they will finish high through the baseball. As a note, players use more of their upper body to swing during this drill.

If you take these batting drills into your next batting training session you will be amazed at the adjustments you player will make in just a few short rounds. These drills challenge players to become better and force them away from their old tired swing. As you break their comfort barrier, they become more open and receptive to your feedback and you are able to gain real, sustainable progress, that will help them have success on the diamond for years to come!

Get more effective batting lessons from our blog! When you want to improve your baseball batting skills, you can get the complete information you need today!

by Robert Wicks Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/robert-wicks/791244

How To Improve Your Baseball Vision And Hand-Eye Coordination (Part 1)

How To Improve Your Baseball Vision And Hand-Eye Coordination (Part 1)
Uploaded by BaseballVision http://www.baseballvisionprogram.com/ -- Chris McKnight and Harvey Ratner teamed up to produce a DVD which helps baseball hitters improve their hand eye coordination through unique sports vision training drills. Chris and Harvey's techniques will help you improve your baseball vision and hand eye coordination using simple drills which have increased the batting averages of players from high school all the way to the pros.

Chris is the manager of the 2009 independent professional baseball Texarkana Gunslingers team, and he has also authored numerous articles that have appeared in "Scholastic Coach" "Coach and Athletic Director" and the American Baseball Coaches Association "Coaching Digest".

Go to the website to find out more about how Chris' information can help you improve your vision for sports.

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How to Avoid Bat Drag - How The Best Hitters in Baseball Use Their Hands

How to Avoid Bat Drag - How The Best Hitters in Baseball Use Their Hands



In order to swing the bat effectively and produce bat speed you need to learn to torque the handle of the bat. This video explains the hand mechanics which 95% of the best hitters in MLB use.

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Baseball Coaching Digest Presents Jeff Forney & Arizona State Coach Pat Murphy Discuss The Seven Keys For Hitting Success

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Baseball Coaching Digest - Teach Batters to Use Their New Brain When Batting

Baseball Coaching Digest - Teach Batters to Use Their New Brain When Batting
By guest author: Nick Dixon


To me the hitter's brain is his eyes. If you literally try to think yourself through every at-bat, you are in trouble in today's game. The hitter must let his eye's do his thinking at the plate. I consider the eyes a batter's new brain. They must learn to properly use it. This article discusses several coaching points, tips and details related to this approach to hitting.

Teaching young hitters to swing at what they see, not what they think they see or what they think that they are going to see is one of the most important coaching responsibilities as a youth coach. What I mean about this statement is that players have to step into the box realizing that they "never know" what the pitch will be. They should not guess pitches but rather learn to keep the hands back and see what the pitch is and then react.

Several coaching points come to mind when I discuss this process. Many of these are saying that you should teach or convey to your staff and players. Those points are:

1. Always set yourself up physically to hit the fastball on the outer 3rd of the plate, and adjust to hit the fastball in. Notice, I said "physically" set your stance at the plate. I did not say, "Convince yourself that the next pitch is going to be a "fastball away". The key is getting in a position to hit it and being able to reach. Batters should always be ready to hit the fastball away first and then adjust to the fastball in, curveball away, or pitch on the middle 3rd of the plate. The batter must let his "eyes control his hands". The decision to hit or swing comes from the eyes, not the brain. Therefore, the eyes are the hitter's brain.

2. Always set yourself up physically to hit the fastball and adjust to hit off speed pitches. The batter must be able to hit the soft stuff on the outer 3rd of the plate at all times. The batter should always be ready to hit the fastball, but should keep the hands back, and adjust to hit the off speed pitch. The key here is that to be a confident batter, a batter must have confidence in his "hand or bat speed". He must know and realize that if he keeps his hands back, he can still catch up with the fastball, but if he "leaks or cheats his hands forward", he will be incapable of hitting the away fastball and the way off speed pitch. He must learn to keep his hands back and allow his eyes to do his thinking. He must see a pitches location before he reacts. Assuming a position that allows you to see, react, and hit all pitch locations is the key to hitting success.

3. The hitter should never guess. Guess hitting makes a hitter an easy target that will fall victim to good pitches. Hitting is a process of see and reacting, not guessing and swinging. The hitter must see the pitch location before he swings, not guess a pitches location before he swings. The difference is that when you guess, you start too early. When you guess, you have a tendency to start the swing prematurely. The guess hitter may be able to get it right sometimes, and crush the fastball with power. But, more times than not, he will lunge, jump or get out to quick and strike out or pop the fly ball into the air.

4. The only thing a hitter should know is that you "never know" what the pitch is going to be. The key is to trust you eyes as your brain to allow you to be a "see" hitter and not a "guess" hitter. I know that count awareness can give you the edge as a hitter in many situations. If you are ahead, you are more than likely going to get a fastball. If the pitcher is ahead, you are more than like going to get his best out pitch, which may be a breaking ball. But, more and more in today's game, we are pitching batters backwards. So, the absolute best way to hit is to make batting a "seeing, identifying and reacting process" that allows the swing to be triggered, controlled and executed by the eyes.

I hope that you found this article to be useful and informative. You can find more like it at Baseball Coaching Digest, Youth Baseball Digest, Little League Digest, and the Baseball Parent Guide. I thank you for taking the time to read this article. I wish you and your team the best of luck in the coming season. Have a great day, Nick

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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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Batting Cages - Helping You Improve Your Game

Batting Cages - Helping You Improve Your Game
By Michael C Logan

Let us understand what a batting cage is; it is an enclosure within which a batter can practice his batting. It is a netted cage made especially for baseball players to practice their batting skills. It is therefore well secured for the players to practice. These days there are various varieties for us to choose from. We can choose the one that would be appropriate for us.

A Batting cage can be paired with a pitching machine that lets out balls so that even a single person can practice and doesn't need someone to practice with him. The floor of one can be a slight slope, to feed the balls into the pitching machine. The combination of the Pitching machine and Cage allows the player to get a complete training session.

Batting cages are made for the safety of batter's. They are made so that a batter can practice without worrying about anything and feel free to use any direction he would like to use to hit the ball. It is a netted cage made especially for baseball players to practice their batting skills. This concept was put into being to enable the batsmen playing baseball would have the freedom to practice without worrying about where and how they are hitting the ball.

The batting cage also saves space. You don't necessarily require a huge back yard or a huge open space to start practice. All you need is some place to put it and you are set. This resolves the space issue that you otherwise might face.

A Batting Cage is very useful for new players. It allows them to experiment with their strokes for the game really well. They can hit the ball freely and keep improving the strokes with every ball they hit. This something that new players must practice well. Since they are new they need to get the hang of hitting the ball. Being new it is understood that the ball will be hit all over the place but the right or correct direction hence it allows them to get the sense of direction while hitting the ball. It also resolves the concern of damaging any neighbors property. So you can hit in any direction you like and still be on good terms with your neighbors. Jokes apart, practicing really requires determination and hard work which would be impossible if you had worries of hitting your neighbors cars or windows etc. You would also not need to worry about getting hurt yourself. It's really safe for you and people around you.

When going to practice in the batting cage you must remember to use your safety gear so that you don't end up hitting yourself or hurting yourself. What's more, go and get yourself one and practice. You have a variety of options available online to choose from. Choose one that suits your pocket and you and get started!

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Hitting Ground Balls? - Turn Them Into Line Drives

By Jack Perconte

Putting the ball in play on the ground is not always a bad thing, but turning ground balls into line drives will definitely help the hitter's batting average and chances of playing baseball at the higher levels. Hitters with good speed can prosper by hitting the ball on the ground, especially in youth baseball, but at some point the ability to drive the ball into the outfield is necessary. Of course, hitting ground balls is better than hitting pop-ups but hitting the ball consistently on the ground is a sign of a faulty fundamental swing.

People generally think that hitting the top of the ball, which results in ground balls, is caused by hitting down on the ball or chopping at it. In my 21 years of coaching baseball, rarely would I come across hitters who actually chopped at the ball. I observed that most ground balls hit were caused by the hitters hands were on an upward path on the initial portion of the swing, usually caused by the lead elbow coming up at the beginning of the swing. This incorrect action is generally known as a chicken-wing, which does not allow hitters to bring their hands to the correct palm-up, palm-down hitting position at contact.

With this in mind, here are the drills which will generally turn ground balls into line drives.

Drill # 1 - To rid the player of the chicken wing problem, have them place their fielder's glove under their lead armpit and take numerous swings this way, allowing the glove to fall out on the follow through.

Drill # 2 - Have the hitter stand belly button away from a net and take swings with the end of the bat just scraping the net as it comes through the hitting zone. This will prevent the hitter from casting the bat out and over the ball which can cause ground ball hitting. This drill and the next on will help players develop the correct hands to the ball and hand position necessary to hit the ball in the air.

Drill # 3 - Place a tee at knee high level and have hitters work on hitting balls at this height until they begin to hit line drives or solid fly balls. Hitters with incorrect swings will continually hit ground balls at this pitch level. Hitters will have to develop the correct hip turn and swing in order to hit solid line drives on the knee high pitch, as stated.

* Hitters can combine these drills and perform all three at the same time. This becomes more difficult but can accelerate the process of developing the correct baseball swing.

For hitters who consistently hit solid ground balls, as opposed to weak or chopped ground balls, a slight adjustment in their stance or hand position may lower the bat position on the ball just enough to hit the lower back portion of the ball instead of the top of the ball. Hitters who widen their stance and bend their knees slightly may see the necessary line drives. Also worth a try is lowering the height of the hitter's hands a couple of inches in their initial set-up position. This may allow the hitter to get to the back of the ball more consistently. Following these few guidelines should turn those ground balls into solid line drives. For photo illustrations of these drills please refer to my book, The Making of a Hitter: A Proven & Practical Step-by-Step Baseball Guide.

Former major league baseball player, Jack Perconte gives baseball hitting tips and batting practice advice for ballplayers of all ages. His books and baseball hitting lessons 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 parenting blog and books can be found at http://positiveparentinginsports.com

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

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Tips For a Great Batting Practice

Batting Practice Training Bats

Article Title: Tips For a Great Batting Practice
By Mike Posey

Batting practice is an important ingredient to every practice, but it can also be a time waster. Many players at a young age accomplish little during an ineffective BP session. Here are a few tips to help every coach run a quick paced, exciting, BP session.

Batting Practices that Rock!


Stay in Small Groups. Divide your team into groups of 4 or 5. One group can hit BP, one can be in the field shagging balls, and one group can be with another coach in the batting cages working on tee drills or toss drills.
Good Batting Practice Pitchers Throw Strikes. A good BP pitcher must throw a lot of strikes and keep the pace moving. We also use a hack-attack pitching machine twice a week to supplement our pitching. Use coaches to throw BP when possible and let the players throw in scrimmages.
Take Quick Short Rounds Hit in quick short rounds of no more than eight (8) swings. Keep the hitters moving in and out. Usually hit 3-5 rounds.
Have a Goal for Each Round Each round must have a purpose. First round can be to the opposite field, second round can be hit and run, third round can be moving runners over from second, etc.
Use a Lightning Round at the End. Lightning rounds can be fun as the last round. The concept of a lightning round is every hitter gets one pitch, if he hits a line drive then he gets a second pitch. Every line drive will result in another chance. If they miss, then the next player jumps in. Keep them moving in and out.
Use a Roll On Batting Tunnel A portable roll on tunnel will help BP move much faster. Every league should invest in a good roll on to use every day at practice.
Hustle make sure everyone is busy and hustles when changing groups. Group in the field can rotate to the cages, the cage group rotates to the field BP, and the BP hitters go to the field. Use a stop watch or field timer if needed (you can even use an air horn when its time to change groups, train them to hustle)
Running the Bases If you have enough players for a fourth group, then add a base running group. If not, you can have groups of four or five, with two base runners while the others hit. But plan to practice base running at times during BP.
Take Ground Balls If possible, have fielders rotate into short and second. A coach (or volunteer) can hit fungo ground balls in between BP pitches.
Situational Hitting Some BP sessions can include a round of situational hitting. The coach calls out the situation for the hitter to execute (if you have runners on base, put them in a situation). For example, runners on third with no outs. (hit a ground ball in the infield or outfield fly ball) Runner at second base with no outs (hit behind the runner to move him up to third base)

Batting practice should be fun. Keep them moving and throw strikes.

Mike Posey "CP"
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How to Create Consistent Hitting Mechanics

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Article Title: 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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The Categories they have are: BatAction Hitting Machines, Hurricane Hitting Machines, 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, NEDCO Bataction Replacement Parts, Baseball Training Equipment, Youth Baseball Training Equipment, Training Bats, Pitching & Throwing Trainers, Defensive Trainers, SKLZ Hurricane Replacement Parts and Much Much More! Visit Baseball2U.com today!

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

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Article Title:
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.

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

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Zone Hitting - Working the Pitch Count

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By Fred Bonds

Undisciplined hitting has two major pitfalls. First, the batter is not swinging at pitches that are located where he hits most effectively, resulting in weak grounders or fly balls and easy outs. Second, a team of undisciplined hitters will never (and I mean NEVER!) press the opposing pitcher to the point of breakdown. Bottom line is that the pitcher will always maintain control of the ballgame as long as he can count on hitters swinging at his pitch and not theirs.

There are many ways to have a good at bat (let's call it a QAB or quality at bat) from this point on. QAB's come from good clean hits. The pitcher throws the all, you hit it hard, it finds a hole and you're on base. That's the most obvious QAB. The less obvious ones come from forcing the pitcher to throw you your pitch or taking him deep into the count before getting a walk or making an out. Both should be rewarded by teammates for reasons I will explain later.

Let's start by defining a QAB. This is a concept you must learn, understand, and apply every at bat from this point on. A quality at bat is any at bat you have that results in either you getting on base via a hit or walk, or you forcing the pitcher to throw more than four pitchers. Why four? Because if I, as a pitcher, can get you out in 4 pitches and I can do it again for each of your teammates, then my pitch count is 12 pitches per inning, 108 for the game. That's not too bad for a pitcher. Also, it means that you, as a hitter, are only getting 12-16 pitches (if that) per game to hit. Later in the game, you'll not have seen enough pitches to get your timing down and get comfortable. Have you ever wondered why a pitcher, who is cruising along in a game with no real problems but is going to full count with nearly every batter, suddenly gets rocked even though he is doing well? The batters got comfortable with him. They saw enough pitches to figure out how to hit him effectively. That's why closers are so effective even if they throw only one type of pitch.

By forcing the pitcher to throw more pitches, you get to see him longer, and see all of his pitches. Also, you wear him down. So instead of 4 pitches, it now takes 7 pitches to get you and the rest of your team out. Assuming no one gets on base, the pitcher ends up throwing 21 pitches per inning or 147 per game. That is a very high pitch count for anyone, especially high school or collegiate pitchers.

Let's assume that most pitchers have an effectiveness ceiling of 80 pitches. You face a pitcher and get on base in 5 pitches. The next hitter flies out in 6. The number 3 hitter hits a ground ball through in 4 pitches. The cleanup hitter is out in 7. The last batter of the inning fights back from 1-2 only to ground out in 7 pitches. No runs score, but your team has made the pitcher throw 29 pitches in one inning. At that pace, the pitcher should lose his effectiveness in the third inning. If your team continues to wear him down, you will have created a window of opportunity to break the game wide open somewhere in the third or fourth inning.

How do you have a QAB? The answer depends on the situation present when you enter the batters box. For now, let's discuss your first at bat, no runners on, and no outs. You should have a good idea of where your "happy spot" is in the strike zone. A "happy spot" is your power zone. Normally, it is mid-thigh to belt high on the inner half of the plate. Where ever it is, this is the spot that you want to hit the ball for power and solid contact. When you are at the plate, you are looking for a fastball in that specific location. You will not swing at any pitch outside that zone even if it is a strike. Also, you will not swing at any off speed pitch. You will keep looking for a pitch in this zone until you have one strike on you.

With one strike, the zone you are hitting in expands slightly. Now you are looking fastball (or hanging off-speed) across the heart of the plate. Height-wise look just above knees to hip high. You must make a mental note to stay closed as you expand your zone. The odds of getting pitched outside increase dramatically when you have one or more strikes on you. Also, your mind-set should be to hit the ball up the middle. You should not swing at pitches outside of the zone or at off-speed pitches that are not mistakes. You will hit this zone until you have two strikes.

With two strikes, the zone is wide open, extending at least 2 in. on the corners and a ball width up and down the zone. Make note of what the ump is calling and adjust your zone accordingly. Your swing shortens slightly as you look to put the ball in play or foul it off. You are now looking for the ball away and will keep your front hip closed as you approach the ball. You are looking to hit opposite field as a majority of pitches will be thrown to the outer half of the plate with two strikes. You will react to the inside pitch.

Now with this mind-set, the pitcher must throw a minimum of 3 pitches to get you out or get a walk. So, a minimum of 3 pitches to get you out or 4 to walk you. You have that many pitches to find one that is in your hitting zone to hit for power. Expect to go at least 5 pitches as we can expect the pitcher to waste a pitch or miss the zone. It is very likely one of those five pitches will be the money pitch for you. Be ready. The big difference between amateur and professional hitters is that pros can hit the pitch when they get it a majority of the time.

With runners on, your zone will change depending upon where you want to hit the ball, but for the most part, those three zone situations will suffice. Also, should you face a pitcher who is throwing strikes and a lot of them; you will need to match his aggressiveness. Still looking for your pitch, your zone should expand larger after the 1st strike to incorporate the zone the pitcher is hitting. If he's not missing much, you have to step it up a notch and match him. Sure, you are not going to drive up the pitch count (unless you hit him a lot and keep him out there) but you will see pitches you can hit so go get them.

Working the count is extremely important when hitting against a pitcher you haven't seen before. A team effort is required to gain info on what the pitcher has in way of velocity, location, and pitch types. Done properly, batters can swing the advantage to their side of the plate while possibly increasing their batting averages. Will this work every time? Probably not, but it will make you a better hitter and increase the odds of your team winning.

Variations of this approach can be made by moving your initial zone to wherever you want to hit the ball. If I know I can hit the outside pitch away with power, I may want to go after the first fastball I see on the outer half of the plate (very likely the first pitch). It's up to you. The important part of all of this is to learn discipline at the plate and not go up there hacking at anything that moves. Have a plan and stick to it unless the conditions make you change.

Ultimately, QAB's will help raise your batting average, RBI count, and on-base percentage. In order to be effective, however, you must learn to recognize pitches as well as developing a short quick stroke to the ball. Putting it all together is what it's all about!

Fred Bonds is the Director of Research for Area51Sports, an innovative new wood baseball bat company, http://www.area51bats.com. He was director of the Central Michigan Sports Center, director of the BPR Nationals Baseball HS Prospect team, and a former associate scout for the Cincinnati Reds and Global Scouting Bureau. Be sure to visit the Area51Sports website and get on the email list for the latest advances in hitting, coaching, and great discounts on the hottest baseball bats in the game. For more info on wood baseball bats or to contact Fred, go to http://www.area51bats.com.

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The Proper Baseball Swing - Swinging on the Pitch Plane

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By Todd Thomas

What should players, baseball and fastpitch alike, be focusing on improving going into a new season? I say it should be on the key element to the proper baseball swing and the proper fastpitch swing which is to match their swing plane with the plane of the pitch. Swing LEVEL...to the ball. The BALL, not to the ground. You know, like the best players in the game do?

If you swing down on the ball, then you are "intersecting" the path of the ball giving yourself a small window of timing for contact. A more productive swing would be to attempt to match the plane of your swing to the plane of the pitch. Having the bat on the same plane as the ball as long as possible opens up your window of timing for making contact. Why would any hitter consistently give themselves the smaller window of contact? It simply makes sense to swing on the pitch plane.

Swinging on plane IS the proper baseball swing. Albert Pujols, one of the games great hitters, has shown he is on plane on many of his swings for up to 5 and 1/2 feet. That's awesome. Being on plane that long gives Albert or any hitter a much larger window to make good contact with the incoming pitch.

Can you be on plane perfectly every time you try? No. That's why you see various types of hits. But attempting to swing level to the ball increases your line drive rate which in turn raises your batting average. Line drives equal a high batting average.

How do you teach players to swing on the pitch plane? You have to understand and show them how to put the bat on the pitch plane. Take a rope and secure one end. Stretch it out and teach players to put the bat on it in their swing and swing along the rope. You should hold the loose end slightly lower than the secured end in order to more closely simulate the high to low path of the ball. Take a 3 to 4 foot piece of PVC pipe and hold it where players can put their bat on it and swing along it. If you are holding the pipe, I don't recommend letting them swing at full speed.:-) It should be a slow practice swing. Get creative and teach your players the proper baseball swing and the proper fastpitch swing by teaching them to swing on the plane of the pitch.

Play Ball!

Todd Thomas is a Baseball Coach and Professional Hitting Instructor for Mike Epstein Hitting. Coach Todd's personal hitting website is http://www.HitItHere.net. Coach Todd also enthusiastically endorses http://PlayMyBestBaseball.com as a place where baseball and softball hitters can master the Confidence, Composure, Focus and Consistency of their game so they can reach their full potential.

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

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Baseball Coaching Digest - Can a Baseball Player Ruin His Baseball Swing by Playing Golf?

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By Nick Dixon

One question that I am frequently asked is whether a baseball swing can be ruined by playing golf. I have rather strong feeling concerning this topic. It is my opinion that playing golf can ruin a baseball swing in certain circumstances.

There are four circumstances that determine how harmful or detrimental playing golf is for a baseball swing. Those four different circumstances are:

1. How hard did the baseball player have to work to master his baseball swing? Was it difficult for the player to perfect his baseball swing?

The chances that the golf swing will harm the baseball swing are greater if the player is less skilled, a mechanical learner, or had a difficult time learning to swing the baseball bat properly. And if a young kid has not yet mastered the baseball swing, the last thing he needs to do is to go play a couple rounds of golf. If the player is a baseball player that has to work hard at keeping his swing tuned, I would recommend that the golf be played after he season is over.

2. What time of year is the golf being played?

Timing is everything! That certainly can be said for playing golf in the middle of baseball season. I would strongly try to discourage baseball players from taking to the links right before a big game, the league championships or just as the playoffs are beginning.

I do not see anything wrong with playing golf out of season. But I would not experiment with my golf game during baseball season. I have two reasons for this; 1) Muscle soreness may result from swinging the golf club. 2) The player may pick up a bad habit that may hurt his baseball swing at a crucial time of the season.

3. How much golf is being played?

The main reason I ask this question is that I want to know what is being neglected to get the time to play golf. If golf is becoming a daily activity, then what time sacrifices are being made? Has the player cut back on baseball practice time to play golf? Is the player taking his golf more serious than his baseball? I want my players eating, breathing and sleeping baseball. I do not mind if they play an occasional round of golf. But, if it is being taken to the extreme, I need to know. I want that player to stay focused on what he needs to do to help his baseball team. If he is considering playing golf over baseball, then that is an off season decision that he and his family must make. In the meantime, I need his full commitment and his "sense of urgency" should be in the sport of baseball.

4. How athletic is the player?

Some kids are such a gifted athlete that playing golf every day of the season does not affect their baseball swing. They know that both the golf and baseball swings are basically the same swing but the ball is just at a different level. They feel that playing golf helps them to learn to better focus their eyes on the baseball. These players are so talented and skilled they feel that that each swing type helps the other by relating back certain points to focus on.

Therefore, I feel that the more talented, more athletic, and more mentally confident a player in, the less the chances are that his swing will be harmed by playing golf.

Coaching Point: In all of these factors, there is a mental side to the controversy. You and I know that every player has heard or been told, more than once, "If you play golf, your baseball swing will suffer." If he does go to the course and plays a round of golf and his first couple at-bats are bad ones, there may be a beginning of a "mental slump" or the player may question, in his mind" "Is my swing as good as it was?"

So in conclusion, you may ask, "Should I allow my Child to Play Golf"? My answer is simple, consider, the factors I have discussed and make the best decision for your child. However, if you child shows the potential to be a future prospect in baseball, keep him off the golf course, and in the batting cage instead.

I hope that you found this article to be informative and interesting. I really appreciate you taking the tile to read it. I wish you and your team the best of luck in the coming season. 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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Baseball Tips on Hitting - The Directness of the Swing!

By Larry Cicchiello

Along with keeping the front side closed when hitting, this should be at the top of your list as a baseball hitter who is striving to be successful.

The front elbow should be pointed DOWNWARD when you start the swing and not toward the pitcher.

Many baseball players were brought up constantly hearing to keep their swing level.

Too many players have heard this too many times and they erroneously level out their swing at the very beginning. This is not the proper baseball hitting concept.

Yes, you should strive to have a level swing. But it should level out ONLY at the point of contact!

Not being direct to the ball, is a very common baseball hitting problem for the majority of weak hitters.

If the front elbow is pointing toward the pitcher when you start your swing, it will create a slight loop making you a fraction of a second later to the ball.

If a fast ball takes less than a second to get to the catcher's mitt, you simply cannot afford to lose a valuable fraction of a second.

A fraction of a second is an eternity when it comes to successful baseball hitting.

This fraction of a second can very well be the difference between hitting a "seed" or being late and missing the pitch entirely.

The distance between two points is a straight line and this applies perfectly to the baseball swing.

Let's call these two points point A and B.

When hitting, you cannot go from to go from point A, where you are "loaded up," to point B, the point where you make contact, unless you do it in a straight line.

The only way this is possible is if you have the front elbow pointing downward at the start of the swing.

If the front elbow is pointing toward the pitcher at the very start of the swing, you are not going from A to B in a straight line.

The palms of the hands should be one up and one down only at the point of contact and not sooner!

If you are not being direct to the ball, start now as it is one of the best baseball tips on hitting you will ever learn. You will be "short to the ball" and your hitting will improve immediately.

Please keep the front elbow pointing down at the very beginning of your swing and you will benefit tremendously!

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. and also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

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

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How to Turn Good Practice Hitters Into Game Hitters

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By Jack Perconte

One of the most repeated comments from parents of my students was, "They kill the ball in practice, but not in games." There are a lot of "5 o'clock" (batting practice) hitters, as opposed to "7:30 " (game) hitters. This is one of the most perplexing situations of baseball for parents, players and coaches.

Hitters, who absolutely pound the ball in batting practice and then fail to hit during games, create much frustration and even drive some to give up playing baseball. There are a number of reasons why hitters hit in batting practice but not in games including the lack of fear or nervousness that may exist in games. Players often tense up in a game, which throws their focus off.

Usually however, there are two main reasons why hitters hit in practice but not in games.

1. Their swing fundamentals are not as good as they appear. Often, it appears to the untrained eye that hitters have great swings but in reality their swings have some fundamental flaws.

2. The hitters are not being challenged enough in practice. Coaches have good intentions in batting practice of building their hitters' confidence by laying the ball in the strike zone at hittable speeds. However, if the batting practice is not game like with different speeds and different pitches, it does not necessarily benefit hitters and they only gain false confidence.

What can be done to help hitters become good game hitters?

1. Coaches should continue to give players hitting drills that address their fundamental, problem areas. Once the season starts, hitters often stop the fundamental drill work that they did in preseason. Tee work and soft toss work keep players focused on contact points and mechanics and should be continues throughout the season. They are essential for hitters to stay sharp.
2. Coaches should have a trained hitting coach observe the struggling hitters and make suggestions how to help their fundamentals. Often, just one little fundamental tip can lead to much more success.
3. Putting hitters in game like situations as often as possible in practice is good. Hitters will begin to develop game confidence and the feeling like they "have been there before" when in actual games.

4. Coaches should challenge hitters in batting practice with game like speeds and with changing speeds (age appropriate, of course). Hitters often adjust on their own, without fundamental help, when they are challenged enough. Coaches should not allow total frustration to appear in hitters by over-challenging them, though.

5. Of course, patience and encouragement with struggling game hitters is always necessary. Coaching statements like "you can do it" and "I believe in you" are great confidence builders and confidence is very important for hitters.

Finally, coaches should not give up on struggling players because "any hitter willing to listen, learn and practice is not beyond hope." I have known many hitters who became very good game hitters after years of struggle because players stayed committed to practice and coaches remained positive and encouraging towards them.

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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How to Hit a Curveball

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By C Randolph

The curveball has been a universally feared pitch in baseball for more than a century, and with good reason. If you've never seen a good curveball from the batter's box, it can be difficult to appreciate its effects on the hitter, but be assured that it brings a whole new challenge to striking that small round ball approaching between 70 and 100 MPH, with a round bat ---- you literally have less than a second to decide to swing the bat.

The challenge is especially intimidating if you haven't yet had much experience with curveballs and other "junk" or "breaking" pitches. Watching even professional hitters, check that, watching even the very best professional hitters, buckle at the knees and turn into jelly at the mercy of a nasty curveball is really pretty astonishing.

With all that said, the curveball can be hit, and you can improve your ability to hit the curveball with some thought and some practice. Let's break it down.

Being Prepared

While not specific to curveballs, the first thing a hitter needs to do to be successful with the curve is to be prepared. What do I mean by that? Well, there are many factors to preparedness, but the basics are:

· Knowing the pitcher and what kind of "stuff" or pitches he has, and how he uses them (i.e. in what situations). This is why it's important to watch the pitcher closely from the dugout as he's pitching to other batters.

· Understanding which counts you're likely to see which pitches so that you can properly anticipate the curve or breaking ball. For example, you will rarely get a curveball on a 3 ball count unless the pitcher would prefer to walk you than throw you a fastball. Hitting strategies related to pitch count are a topic worthy of discussion by themselves, but suffice to say several factors go into this art, including the score, the inning, whether there are runners on base, the pitcher's command on that particular day, and so on.

Recognizing the Pitch
In order to hit the curveball you need to recognize that the pitch is a curveball, and you need to do that in milliseconds. Seems simple, right? It's not, but it's an absolute requirement if you want to consistently hit curveballs. There are a couple of key things to watch for:

· Pitcher's tell - every pitcher is different; however many give away clues while positioning their hand prior to the pitch, or they slow their arm speed during delivery, and/or their arm angle changes during delivery. This is yet another reason it's important to watch the pitcher from the dugout as he's pitching to other batters.

· Rotation - there are different types of curves and they all behave a bit differently; however they all require ball rotation that's pretty discernable, although again, you've less than a second to pick that up AND decide to swing.

Hitting Mechanics

The key with the curveball is to resist the urge to act too quickly. The pitch speed tends to be slower than most other pitches, certainly slower than a fastball, and most hitters have a difficulty "staying back". Once they've committed themselves they attempt to adjust themselves during swing execution which often results in a swing that's severely flawed mechanically. So even if you make contact with the curve you don't hit it well. If you feel yourself out of sorts, particularly if your weight is forward, its best not to swing unless you must (i.e. you're protecting the plate).
The curveball, when used effectively can be a wicked pitch to hit, but it is in fact hittable. Many hitters love the curve if they've anticipated it, or if it's hung in the strike-zone. Many a hanging breaking ball finds itself planted in the bleachers for a round-tripper.

When it comes to hitting curveballs, like most things, a thoughtful approach, practice and experience are the keys to success.
Pillows
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=C_Randolph

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Baseball Pitching Tips - Checkpoints Are Mandatory For All Pitchers!

By Larry Cicchiello

Checkpoints are something that every baseball pitcher should do before every pitch in order for him to be the most effective!

Usually, baseball pitchers have about three or four. They will vary from pitcher to pitcher. Checkpoints are very simply mental reminders that a pitcher gives to himself before every pitch.

Some Common Checkpoints That Pitchers Use:


Step toward your catcher's target.
Keep the front shoulder closed when driving toward the plate so you don't "fly open."
Throw the ball and don't overthrow the ball.
Don't rock left and right and keep everything straight during the windup and delivery of the pitch.
Remember not to tilt the head and to keep it straight.
Remember to "stay back on the rubber" if you have a tendency to get your body ahead of your throwing arm and it causes you to rush when throwing.
Keep the windup slow if you have a tendency to rush and it causes pitching problems for you.
Get the legs involved in the pitch to share the work load.
Stay "on top" of your pitches or they will flatten out and be much more hittable.
Turn the hip enough when pivoting.
Raise the throwing elbow up to shoulder height or you will "push" the ball and not throw it.
Break the hands apart early so you don't have to rush the throwing arm.
Raise the front knee to at least waist height.
The list can go on and on. (And it almost did.)

As an individual baseball pitcher, you have to decide what the three or four things are that should be your personal checkpoints. Only you will know what these things are that you should do, or should not do to pitch the most effectively.

Think of them before you throw every pitch!

It's not nearly as complicated as one might think. Simply think of an abbreviated form because it is not like you have to think of thirty, forty or fifty words before every pitch.

A typical checkpoint list may be staying back on the rubber, front shoulder closed and point the landing foot to the catcher's target. A more logical and abbreviated version would be "stay back, closed and foot." It takes about one second at the most.

Spending this valuable one second will help you tremendously as a baseball pitcher!

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. He is also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or baseball coach at any level of play, or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

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