Are you a novice in the game of baseball? Then the tips here regarding how to hit a baseball will be of great help to you. Have a look...
Every baseball team needs good hitters lined up in their squad. Hitting the ball squarely is not as easy and it seems, and takes a lot of practice and hard work to develop.
Holding the Bat: The grip of the bat is an important point to be considered. One should hold the bat in his fingers, instead of the palms. With this kind of grip, one is able to swing the bat freely. The range of motion that one can use to swing the bat thus, increases.
Stance and Stride: A comfortable stance with shoulder-width distance between the legs needs to be maintained before taking the stride. The knees remain slightly bent in this stance. The bat should be held comfortably, and the hands maintained at shoulder height. A forward stride taken by the batter should be about 2 - 3 inches in distance. The head has to be kept level in order to view the ball properly. For those who don't keep their head steady and leveled, the ball appears to bounce around.
Backward Swing: It is the most important move in the process of baseball training. This action serves two main purposes, i.e., generating enough power and timing the ball correctly. Coiling back of the shoulders is the basic movement in this action of swinging. The hands, while swinging the bat, are slightly raised or drop downwards. However, one shouldn't overdo it, and also avoid the temptation of going for any dramatic movement.
Forward Swing: The action of forward swing should start with the rotation of the hips. The hips need to rotate in the direction towards the pitcher. Hand movement (bat swing) should be initiated after this action is completed. The bat should be moved directly towards the ball without any kind of uppercut or loop. The purpose of making any hand swing after hip rotation is that, the batter gets options to hit the ball in different directions. It also becomes easy to play the ball depending on its pitch.
Follow-through: It is the last step in the activity of hitting a baseball. The bat, after hitting the ball should be allowed to traverse the natural path (swing). Completing the follow-through allows free movement of the hands.
Apart from these basics, one should keep in mind that a shot played with a 45-degree angle helps in covering maximum distance. Increasing the power behind shots is of course the most important thing in getting home runs. The speed with which the bat is swung should be increased, but by being steady.
