Hitting a baseball has been called the most difficult task in sports. You are trying to hit a round ball with a round bat squarely. That baseball can approach speeds of 100 miles per hour and can also break sharply as it gets to the plate. In order to hit the ball well consistently, you must have excellent hand-eye coordination. There are drills you can do to help improve your coordination and help you hit better.
Step 1
Stand in the batter's box and take your normal stance. Your coach will stand to your right if you are a right-handed batter and to your left if you are a left-handed batter. He will have two baseballs in his hand. One will be white and the other will be painted bright orange. He will toss both balls up in the air into the hitting zone. He will call "white" or "orange." Try to hit the ball he calls.
Step 2
Hit the ball where it's pitched. The best hitters will hit the outside pitch to the opposite field, the pitch over the center of the plate to center field and pull the inside pitch. This takes patience and the ability to determine where the pitch is. Stand in the batter's box and take your normal stance. Your coach will throw three pitches over the outer part of the plate. Hit them hard to the opposite field. Hit three pitches over the middle to center field and pull the three inside pitches. This will help you recognize where pitches are in relation to the plate.
Step 3
Use smaller balls to improve your vision. When Chicago Cubs all-time great Billy Williams was a youngster, he and his friends would train to become better hitters by flipping bottle caps at each other and attempt to hit them with broom sticks. When Williams would step into the batter's box with a full-barreled bat in his hands trying to hit a baseball, it was easy compared to hitting the bottle caps. You don't have to use bottle caps, but small balls thrown at higher speeds will train your eye to hit a baseball better.
Member Comments