Hitting the baseball is a quintessential aspect of the game for scoring, and the mastery of this function of the game is acquired by effective hitting drills. All the professionals understand the importance and the necessity of the drills, which in effect transformed to who they are.
Anyone who is deeply acquainted with this game will accept the importance of drills in order to increase the hitting power, and to get a stronger and harder contact with the baseball. The right technique plays a very important part, and this technique needs to be honed and developed over time, with the help of hitting aids and training for batting.
The professionals of this game venerate the consequences of not applying the adequate measure of practice needed, which is why they train hard and spend many hours a day building up their skill by doing the best drills. These drills teach players the mechanics of handling the bat and gives them hands-on experience about the right way to handle the bat, and how to achieve the best results possible. Baseball and softball hitting drills can be altered and created in many ways to suit the needs of a particular individual, or to focus on developing a certain aspect of that person's shot hitting ability.
Baseball Hitting Tips
Before we get started with drills, it's important to remember a few crucial hitting tips that can serve one well. Remember, following these tips can enable one to become a great batter.
- Always use a bat that you can handle comfortably.
- Stay within the strike zone, and don't swing at pitches that come outside it.
- Keep your eyes on the pitcher, and put your weight on the balls of your feet evenly.
- If you take a step while hitting, ensure that it is a small step, and not a very long one.
- Always try to stay on top of the ball. For this purpose, drop your outer shoulder when the ball is being pitched.
- Use your strength well, and don't just try to touch the ball with your bat. Attempt to make solid contact with it.
Hitting tips and drills are mostly created by the experts and the professionals of the game, but that does not mean that they are universal teachers. These drills may work for some and not for others, it all depends on the skill, strength, and capability of the batter.
Power Hitting Drills
The swing is the most important part of a batter's technique. Almost all the drills that you may adopt are focused at improving the swing. Without a good swing, most drills will be useless, and this is something that needs to be developed and practiced from a young age.
The Soft Tap
This is one of the simplest baseball or softball hitting drills that you can adopt. All you need is a bat, a softball, and a person to help you out. The partner that you have brought stands at a 45-degree angle from you and gently throws the ball towards you. Now you need to hit the ball with the knob of the bat, getting a correct downward hitting style. You can now figure out your footing position, your stance, and your hand movement as well. Get the other person to keep throwing the ball back at you, and pretty soon you will develop a good technique to strike the baseball.
The Chair Drill
Out of all the striking drills for the game, this one aims at improving your upper body movement. What you need to do is sit on a chair and wrap your legs around the chair, so that you cannot move them. Now, have a partner throw the ball to you in your hitting zone. Try to hit the ball without moving your legs. This will greatly help you for pitches that give you no room to shift your legs. Training needs to be specific and goal oriented like this particular drill.
The Vision Drill
A key component of batting is the ability to see clearly and constantly. This drill focuses on that quality alone. The baseballs must be colored in different colors on the inside seams, and the batter and the pitcher decide beforehand what kind of pitch will be thrown on which color. So, all the batsman has to do is identify the color and then predict the trajectory of the ball, and then strike it. The idea is to make the batter more aware and attentive to the details of the ball. It also helps the batter keep his eyes on the ball at all times.
At the end of the day, good technical ability to hit a baseball needs to be nurtured and built up. It cannot reach the next level on its own. With the right kind of tutelage and the best drills, one can go on to become a truly great batter.
