Baseball players have to get comfortable in the batter's box if they are going to hit successfully. While many hitting coaches prefer that their hitters spread themselves out in the batter's box and take just a small stride when hitting, there is no one particular way to set up. Both feet must be in the batter's box when you start your swing if you are going to have a legal at bat.
Size of Batter's Box
Before the start of the game, the groundskeeper will draw the official batter's box next to both sides of the plate. The batter's box is 4 feet wide and 6 feet long. The batter's box starts 6 inches from the plate. The batter must stand within the batter's box throughout the swing. However, umpires will not call any infraction on the batter for stepping in front of the box when he finishes his swing. The batter cannot step on the plate when he swing. Stepping on the plate while swinging will result in the batter being called out by the umpire.
Inside Corner
Some batters like to position themselves on the inside edge of the batter's box. This is fine, but if the batter allows his arms or any other part of his body to hang in the strike zone, that pitch will still be called a strike even if the ball hits him. However, the umpire will not make the strike call unless he is sure the pitch is in the strike zone.
No Attempt to Evade
Most batters will try to get out of the way when the pitch is coming at them. If a batter makes a move to evade a pitch thrown directly at him and he gets hit, he will be awarded first base for being hit by the pitch. If the batter makes no move to get out of the way of the pitch, the umpire will not give the batter first base and will call the pitch a ball as long as the pitch was not in the strike zone.
Switching Batter's Boxes
Switch hitters commonly bat right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. However, batters can switch from one batter's box to the other within an at bat. The batter can go from the right-handed box after swinging and missing to the left-handed box. He can also go back again. However, he cannot do this after the pitcher has started his windup and he must be within the batter's box during the process.
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