Your coach probably has a bunch of tips for you already, but just in case he missed a few, we have you covered. If you are just starting out, or if you have been playing for a while now but would love to add a bit more zing to your game, go through the few pointers we have for you below.
The Sweet Spot
Every batter knows how important it is to hit the pitch in the sweet spot, but it’s important to first realize where that sweet spot is exactly. Every baseball bat is different, but bats from the same make and model share similarities. Practice with your bat on your own and figure out exactly where that sweet spot is and then try to hit as many pitches with that sweet spot as possible.
The Not-So-Sweet Spots
In addition to the sweet spot, you will also need to figure out the kind of effect each area on your bat causes, because although we would all like to, hitting home runs on every pitch is not a likely scenario! To hit for average, you will also have to know which parts of your bat are ideal for hitting the balls at what pace and where.
Practice Alone with a Good Pitcher Machine
Baseball players can see lightning fast pitches and react to them even faster due to two main reasons:
- Natural reflexes
- Countless hours of practice
Invest in one of the more popular pitching machines like the Spinball Wizard 2 and practice as often as you can. Always practice at a higher speed setting than what your team’s best pitcher can possibly throw at you. Don’t just try to hit every pitch out of the park either. Instead, try to practice all the tricks in your arsenal to have a more practical practice session on your own. The idea is to gain control over your technique and the game.
This is the best way to improve your game because it motivates you to think on your feet, and helps you hone your skills as a batter. The right baseball pitching machine can help you achieve both. When using these machines, make it a habit to follow the ball all the way into your bat. This will improve your hand-eye coordination and enable you to handle faster pitches with ease.
Exercise with Intent
You can neither pitch hard, nor can you strike the ball sweetly out of the park, unless you are strong enough. Professional baseball players are, in fact, significantly stronger than the average fit man because they have to be. If you wish to improve your game, you will need to be fitter and stronger than most as well, but this cannot be gained from blindly exercising at the gym.
It’s not about big muscles, but about functional muscles in sports, which is why a bodybuilder will end up tearing his biceps if he tries to pitch too hard for too long! We have the following exercises listed for you, as they are each superb strength builders for baseball players in particular, but will not cause you to lose muscle flexibility; an essential attribute for all athletes.
- Dead lifts with a hex bar; the complete strength builder for every athlete
- Medium weight squats and side lunges to build a good base for generating power from
- Pull-ups and pulldowns are both great core and back builders, which is where most of a baseball player’s strength originates
- Barbell hip thrusts for generating rotational power
- Blackburn for the strengthening of the scapula and avoiding common baseball injuries
- Pallof press for anti rotational strength
- Military lifts for explosive strength
The age old saying about practice makes perfect is applicable in baseball too, but what it doesn’t say is that unless you are practicing in the right way, you are only perfecting your faults! Hopefully these tips will help you to catch on to some of those faults early on and improve your game in the process.
