Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. Successful baseball players hit .300 for the season, meaning they get a hit 3 times out of every 10 at bat. Looking at that same statistic from a different point of view, very good hitters fail 7 times out of 10. In order to become a successful hitter, a player must develop a smooth, rhythmic swing with power and efficiency.
Chair Drill
In order to become a successful hitter, you must use your entire body in the process. However, you can isolate different areas of your swing, and it's important to realize that your hands and upper body are responsible for a good portion of a swing's success or failure. Place a folding chair in the batter's box. Sit in the chair and have a partner soft toss the ball to the hitter. As the ball comes toward the plate, the hitter must lean back in order to come through the ball with authority. The batter should try to time the ball so the bat comes through the hitting zone just in front of his body. He is doing this simply with his arms and upper body--the right hand (for a right-handed batter) should finish facing the sky and the bottom hand should face the ground. His hands should be shoulder height. Ask players to hit 10 soft-toss pitches this way to build the basics of good upper-body mechanics.
Power Bat Drill
Players who are developing their hitting skills will undoubtedly want to add power to their game. Hitting singles and doubles is great but hitting a few home runs makes anyone a more dangerous hitter. To do this, place a plunger upside down on a batting tee. Then place a soccer ball or basketball on top of the plunger. Have the batter hit the soccer ball off the tee. The idea is for the player to make contact with a full swing and follow through. At first, you may notice a "stutter" at the point of impact. The swing will slow down perceptibly as it is making contact and then speed up again. The more batters do this, the stutter will become less pronounced and they will be able to power through the ball without slowing down. Have the player do 10 swings like this, take a 30-second break and then repeat the set. This will add power to his swing when hitting a baseball.
All Fields Drill
One of the things a hitter can do is to learn how to hit the ball where it is pitched. A hitter will hit the ball sharply and with more authority when he pulls an inside pitch, hits a pitch over the middle to centerfield and take an outside pitch to the opposite field. Have your hitter come up for batting practice and give him 10 points for every inside pitch that is pulled, 10 points for taking a pitch over the middle to center and 10 points for taking an outside pitch to the opposite field. Give each hitter 10 pitches. The one who accumulates the most points wins the drill.
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