Dear Expert, My name...

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
Hi Joel,

Unfortunately, your question is very broad, and much too involved to answer in depth via email. Entire books and videos have been made on the subject! But, I'll try to answer each of your questions as briefly as I can:

> How do I know which stance is better for me?

It's basically a personal preference -- there is no right or wrong way. If you look at major league players, you'll see a variety of stances -- and they all work fine. I recommend starting with neither a closed nor open stance (although you can close it up a bit with your front foot if you'd like which sometimes helps keep your front shoulder from flying out too soon). Then you can adjust later to what works for you.

> How do I swing the correct way?

Trying to describe a 3-dimensional activity such as a baseball swing in an email is almost impossible. That's something you should get a coach to show you how to do. As mentioned above, there are a variety of different approaches to batting.

> How do I hold the bat?

Same answer as above. Perhaps a teaching video might be helpful (although I still prefer having some personal coaching). See below.

> How can I choose where my hits go?

The short answer is that you really can't. The best hitters can "go with the pitch"...that is, taking an outside pitch to right field, and vice-versa. But that takes years of practice -- and even with that, some can't do it. Your goal right now should be to make solid contact, and let the ball go where it wants to. Later you can refine skills further.

> How do I improve my arm strength?

Light weights, with lots of reps might help -- but NOT at your age. The very best thing you can do to improve arm strength is simply by throwing the baseball. Play long toss, and do it religiously (3 - 4 times a week) using the proper mechanics. You'll notice improvement over time. One caution: If your arm, elbow, or shoulder begins to ache, STOP. That would indicate too much throwing, poor mechanics, or both.

> Also what are the best books?

Naturally, there are TONS of books and videos on hitting, and each author has its own opinion. However, I can recommend some areas to check out if you're interested in rotational hitting techniques, which is the new buzz word floating around which I happen to believe in. The one instructor that comes to mind is Mike Epstein -- he is a true believer in that, and has written some good articles on it. I'm sure he must have a web site out there -- just do a Google internet search of his name and you'll find it. He also teaches core conditioning which is another interesting topic relating to fitness for baseball players.

> What are the best experts experts?

You might want to check the web site batspeed.com which has some good info. The book by Ted Williams is another good one -- although to me, he's a much better hitter than he is a teacher on hitting. But I can't overemphasize that what may work for one player, may not work for someone else. For instance, I've always hit for average, with the goal just to get on base as often as possible. Power hitters do not approach hitting the same way, and have very different swings. So, a lot depends on the player, his abilities, and his goals.

> What are the different opinions?

There are a gazillion of them!!!! Even the so-called experts can't agree on what's best!

Hope some of this helps.

Mike Fortunato