Hitting a baseball is widely considered one of the most difficult things to do in all of sports. In professional baseball, a hitter who bats .300 is widely considered to be a great success. Hitting .300 means getting a hit 3 times out of every 10 at bats. Conversely, it means failing 7 out of every 10 at bats. In order to help younger players hit the ball well, there are games you can play at practice that will make learning to hit a fun and enjoyable experience.
Strike Zone Drill
Many times, young players will have a hard time learning the strike zone. One of the keys to hitting is picking out good pitches to hit. Batters that attempt to swing at pitches that are out of the strike zone are defeated before they start. In this game, a batter take his spot in the batter's box and the coach pitches from about 40 feet away to another coach. The batter is not trying to hit the ball. He is just trying to follow the ball with his eyes. He gets three pitches and must follow the ball into the catcher's glove and then call whether it was a strike or a ball. This game will help the hitter become more selective when facing live pitching.
Painted Ball Drill
This is a game designed to help with the batter's ability to react at the plate. Paint several baseballs bright colors (yellow, orange and lime green, for example). Place the balls out of view of the batter. The pitcher will call out a color and the batter can only swing at the ball that matches the color that was just given. If the pitcher calls yellow and the batter swings at a blue ball, he is out. If he fails to swing at the color of the ball called, he is out.
Three-Player Teams
Divide your team up into teams of three. Send the first team of three to one of the dugouts. That team will bat. Each player will get three at bats. Every time a player gets a clean single, the team gets a point. If a player gets a double or more, the hit is worth three points. Put your other players the field. A player that makes a play to retire a batter gets a point. When that team comes up, they get points for their hits and the plays that were made in the field. After each player on each team has had three at bats, the team with the most points wins.
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