Backyard Baseball Tips

Spring is just around the corner and baseball is in the air. Whether you are a Little Leaguer or weekend recreational player, there are several things you can do in your own backyard to improve your swing, improve your fielding accuracy and reduce your chance of injury.

Hitting off a Tee

ony Gwynn, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and baseball coach of San Diego State University, has said that the most effective way he knew to improve his swing was to hit Wiffle balls off a tee. When a Wiffle ball is hit squarely off a tee, you can hear the air flowing through the baseball. If you mis-hit the Wiffle ball, it will have spin on it and will not fly straight.
To improve your swing in your own backyard, get a bag of baseballs or Wiffle balls, a batting tee and a pop-up catch net. All of these items can be purchased at your local sporting goods store.

Backyard Ground Balls

An excellent way to improve your ground ball fielding skills by yourself is to throw a tennis ball off a fence or the side of a house and field it on the rebound. Start at a distance of 20 feet, and slowly move closer toward the fence or house as your fielding skills improve.

Stretching

It is important to warm up and stretch in order to reduce your risk of injury. A brisk walk around the block and can assist in circulation and warming up the muscles prior to stretching.
Lie flat on your back, let your knees bend and rotate your hips to one side. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Repeat with your hips rotated to the other side.
Extend one arm straight out in front of you with it parallel to the ground. With your other hand stretch your wrist so that your fingers point toward the ground. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then turn wrist so fingers are pointing toward the sky. Also stretch in this position for 30 seconds. Repeat this stretch for both arms.
Place your right hand behind your head and left hand behind your back, and try to touch the fingers from each hand. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then switch arms and stretch again for 30 seconds.
All of the stretches should be performed in a pain-free range.