Keys to Better Hitting

FPUSA Staff Report

Hitting is a difficult skill to master. Lots of live practice is required to stay sharp and on top of your game. Good hitting requires body control, body balance, and an experienced batter's eye for the ball as it's thrown. Here are some tips that may help hitters.

1. Tension is a hitting hazard. Hands and other body parts will tighten up on a hitter in the box anticipating the pitch. Developing a relaxation routine while in the box, keeping hands, arms, and shoulders as loose as possible to facilitate smooth, quick swings.

2. Most good hitters know that for a good view of the strike zone, keep the plate in the middle of the stance or parallel to it. Move deeper in the box when facing speed, and up in the box for a pitcher who uses a lot of ball movement. Being deep gives you more time to react and being up in the box give the ball less time to drop, rise, curve ect.....

3. Keeping your head level is important to seeing the ball. Seeing the ball all the way in is the key to consistent ball contact. This is all part of maintaining the body control necessary to be a good hitter. You can't hit what you can't see, so watch the ball through your hitting zone. This also helps maintain good balance for power generation.

4. Learn where your personal strike zone is. Learn to know the pitches you can hit and where they go. When you get behind with one or two strikes and no balls ect.. it's important to make contact so choking up on the bat, looking to swing at pitches beyond your normal strike zone, and swinging to make contact protecting the plate are critical skills to learn.

5. A shorter stride allows you to keep your balance better than lunging or over striding as a result of stepping out. This is all part of body control. Just as with pitching, keeping your balance helps you generate more impact power. Swinging through the ball and accelerating your bat through the hitting zone so your bat is moving at full speed when it hits the ball maximizes the power going into the ball. To be able to maximize accelerating you have to be balanced as a result of that shorter stride be in contact with the ground with both feet , ie leverage factor.

6. Get out of the batter's box and get to the base as fast as you can. Loafing at the plate watching your hit roll across the infield or bounce to the outfield can cost you split-seconds needed to make it safely to the bag.

7. Attitude is everything. If you believe you can you can.