Baseball Batting

Question
Dear Expert,
 

     My name is Joel Silvius, I live in Boise, Idaho and am in the fifth grade Gifted class. We are doing a research project and I chose baseball. My question is. How can my hitting in baseball improve? Some questions to break that down are.

How do I know which stance is better for me?


How do I swing the correct way?


How do I hold the bat?


How can I choose where my hits go?


How do I improve my arm strength?


Also what are the best books?

What are the best experts experts?  

What are the different opinions?

I may have some follow up questions. Thank you.
              
                                                                Sincerely,
                                                                         Joel Silvius


Answer
Hello Joel,

based on your objective " How can my hitting in baseball improve ", here are my answers to your questions:

Q: How do I know which stance is better for me?

A: For younger players, the basic stance is most important to master before trying any other stance.  Centering to the plate and being comfortable is how you know the basic stance is working.  In the early years, the question is "are you hitting the ball most of the time or not"?

Q: How do I swing the correct way?

A: With the proper stance and grip, the swing should come naturally.  It must be emphasized that stance and grip are the two most important steps to a solid swing.  Keep the elbows up and away from the body, with the bat at 10 o'clock!  You'll have to imagine a large clock and that straight up is 12 and straight down is 6 o'clock.  When the pitcher starts his 'motion' you can start to shift your weight to rear foot/leg/hip.  If you decide to swing, you should be transfering your weight with your swing to the forward foot/leg/hip.  Some coaches say that the swing begins with the hips.  I say it begins with the forward arm and the shifting weight from rear to forward.

Q: How do I hold the bat?

A: Take your stance at the plate, place the tip of bat at the center of the plate and then begin your grip sequence.  Lie the handle of the bat in the folds of your fingers NOT in the palm of your hands.  Curl the fingers around the bat handle AND then draw the bat handle into the palm of the hand.  When he have a good grip, all the knuckles on both your fingers should line up straight.  The knuckles I am talking about are between the tips of your fingers and the base of your hand.  Some call them the mid-knuckles.  You don't punch ballons with these nuckles!

Q: How can I choose where my hits go?

A:  Place hitting can only come with mastering the basic stance, grip and swing.  Once the 'mechanics' of the swing are mastered, you can start to tweak your stance and swing to hit the ball in opposite fields.  It depends on your size and your flexibility.  I am tall, so I open my stance more and when I swing to cross-field, I cut the swing into my body more just before I connect to the ball.  Some others I know move their rear foot away from the plate and sort of point their feet in the direction of the hit.  IF you take a line and connect the toes of both shoes, this is the indicated direction of the ball.  Again, the swing becomes important and you have to practice with the the correct follow-through on the swing.

Q: How do I improve my arm strength?

A: I suggest you just keep practicing and allow nature to take its time.  I don't like the idea of children lifting weights to develop muscles.  Did you know that throwing a ball is NOT an natural action of the arm?  It is a developed action.  SO, if you want more strength, don't miss batting practice.  Don't use heavier bats, it will affect your timing.  I've seen skinny boys hit the ball farther than stronger boys.  Its mostly timing, stance, grip and swing.  For adults, that is anohter matter.

Q: Also what are the best books?

A:  There are so many books on developing your swing.  I would suggest you read books written by coaches instead of MLB DH's.  Not every "Designated Hitter" can coach and it is very hard to teach someone how to swing by words and pictures.  One of my favourites is "Making Little League Baseball More Fun for Kids: 30 Games and Drills Guaranteed to Improve Skills and Attitudes" by Randy Voorhees.  Well written and it matches my idea of sportmanship for younger players.

Q: What are the best experts experts?

A:  Coaching associations are usually the best experts on the subject of the sport.  They have invested a great deal of time and money in knowing what to teach, how to teach and when to teach it.

Q: What are the different opinions?

A: Some coaches prefer raw power when it comes to batting.  Other coaches prefer just natural contact and allowing the slow development of 'feeling' the hit to take place.  Still others believe in bat selection, weight of the bat, wood versus aluminum, nitro-gas filled bats.  I believe that batting is a question of balance and confidence with a smooth and fluid swing.  A good batter can feel when he has hit the ball well as soon as the ball has left the bat.   

I hope this helps you, Joel.  Good luck in your research project.

Coach JohnMc