Hitting a baseball consistently is considered to be one of the toughest achievements to do in all of sports. Hitting a round ball with a round bat squarely takes timing, coordination, strength and excellent vision. This is especially true when a pitcher can throw an array of pitches like a fastball, a curve, a slider and a change of pace. You can use tips and drills to improve your baseball hitting.
Wiffle Drill
One of the best drills to build timing and consistency in your swing is the wiffle ball drill. Stand about 6 feet in front of an 8-to-10 foot fence. Have a teammate or coach stand about 6 feet to your right if you are a right-handed batter and to your left if you are a lefty. Have him soft-toss wiffle balls into the hitting zone. Your job is to hit each one for a line drive. Since they are being soft-tossed, you have no danger of getting hurt, and you can easily hit them. However, it does take timing and coordination to hit them well. Concentrate on building a repeatable swing. Soon, you will hit nothing but line drives.
Power Surge
Learn to hit the ball for more power with this drill. Take a plunger and put it upside down in a batting tee. Put a small basketball or a soccer ball in the plunger. Stand at the tee and take practice swings. At first, you will notice that, after you make contact with the heavier ball, your swing will tend to stop, and your bat will shake. As you get used to swinging at the bigger ball, make up your mind to concentrate all the way through and finish your swing. You will soon come around with the bat and follow through all the way. This will add power to your swing.
Call the Field
The idea is to swing the bat with control when you hit and get the most out of every swing you take. You also want to learn to hit the ball where it is pitched. You will be more successful hitting an outside pitch to right field (right-handed batter) than you would if you tried to pull it to the left. During batting practice, make it a point to hit the inside pitch to left field, the pitch down the middle to center field and the outside pitch to the right field. As the batting practice pitcher releases the pitch, show your recognition by left, center or right as the pitch is coming. Do your best to send the ball to the field you are calling. This helps to make you a dangerous hitter.
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