Baseball hitting techniques are the starting point to becoming a great hitter! All great hitters have the ability to identify and respond to pitches, but without power to hit the ball properly, you might be playing a losing game. Baseball players only have a few seconds to see the ball, identify the pitch, its velocity, and position, and then produce the mechanics necessary to make hard contact. We want to put you at ease so you don’t show up at the first practice or tryout without an idea as to what’s going on. Yes, you want playing to be all about fun and learning a new sport, but you also want to be prepped with useful basic skills to excel!
One of the biggest challenges among baseball hitters is being able to hit a ball properly, especially a fast and rapidly approaching one. In a split second, the batter must decide his strategy, the best time to swing, the best angle to use, and the pace with which the bat should be swung. A baseball hitter should be agile in order to be successful. They also need to possess a sturdy upper body, powerful arm, fast reflexes, and excellent vision. If you’re a beginner baseball hitter who wants to hit the ball as efficiently as possible, you can learn these hitting strategies and then study them again!
Memorise Minimized Movement
The first baseball technique every beginning hitter should embrace is minimizing their movement. The logic behind this is that minimum movement equals minimizing room for error.This is valuable in terms of improving your game performance. Less movement simply means less mistakes could be made.Having a great stance is essential because it affects your hitting techniques and game performance. A pitcher’s main goal is to muddle with the hitter’s timing. Therefore, when the hitter minimizes his swing movement, it lessens the pitcher’s opportunity to mess with the hitter’s timing.
Properly Gripping The Bat
As the baseball bat is gripped, a must technique is the right and left hand should touch. The grip should be relaxed as the swing motion will naturally tighten it. The hitter should grip the baseball bat lightly because gripping it tightly will fatigue the fingers leading to having a weak swing. This is a must technique and will take practice and a need for constant adjustments until the hitter finds his/her strongest grip.Your dominant (top) hand should be closer to the top of the handle, and your other (bottom) hand should be closer to the bat blade. Putting your hands in the middle of the handle gives the best combination of power and control. A high grip (hands towards the end of the handle) will generate more power.
Keeping Your Eye on The Baseball
One of the vital skills to be a successful hitter is being able to track and trace the baseball. In this useful “eye on the ball” technique, the hitter has a relaxed stance to openly see the rapidly approaching baseball the second that it is out of the pitcher’s hand.Recognizing the timing and release stage of the baseball is important in quick, split-second decision making.
Hand Positioning
A useful tip for maintaining the consistency of a player’s swing, is the hands starting position should be as close to the locked in pose (close to the back) as possible. In order to achieve this, a player’s hands, front and back elbow should remain relaxed.The moment the baseball leaves the pitcher’s hand, the shifting of your weight forward, swinging and hitting the baseball with all your might, all need to take place. The top hand’s palm should face down and the bottom hand’s palm should face up.
The Lighter The Bat, The Better
New players need to familiarize themselves with their equipment, baseball, and their bat. There are many varieties of bats. They come in many different lengths, weight and sizes. The best way to determine which bat a player should buy is to simply ask their coach.
There are different leagues and each league is governed by rules. It is better to buy a legal and approved baseball bat. A useful tip is buying a lighter bat, as it is recommended for beginners due to them still being in the process of getting used to hitting the baseball.As the coach determines the different techniques of the player and what needs to be improved on, a different bat may be recommended. Choose a baseball bat that is comfortable to hold, making it easy to grip and whip.
Having the Right Equipment
Not only is it important to work on perfecting your batting skills but it is just as important having the right equipment to do so. For a batsman, a must tip is wearing protective gear like the Louisville Slugger American Crafted Evolution Series Ball Glove (11.5-Inch) and the Easton Boys Pro Plus Piped Knicker, Particularly when propelled at more than 140 kmph, a hard ball weighing about 160 grams may cause serious injury. Even when using the right equipment, bruises or bumps are regular for a batsman; however their use increases the safety level to a considerable proportion. Using any of the following equipment would contribute to acing your hitting and defending skills:
Options for equipment used for hitting and defense:
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PowerNet Baseball Practice Net
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MacGregor Infield Training Glove
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SKLZ Impact Training Balls
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Tanner Tee Batting Trainer
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Velocity Speed Gun
Batting Stance
The stance is the position in which a batting player stands to have the ball bowled to them. As the player becomes more comfortable with the sport, the player should be able to determine which stance will be more comfortable to use. It can either be an even, open or closed stance. A useful tip is to remember that the whole body should be balanced, meaning that the head, eyes and the whole body needs to remain steady.The key to keeping your body steady is keeping your eye on the ball, the pitcher and being comfortable with your position. With practice, the player will naturally determine which stance works for him.
Keeping Consistent Contact
The players should keep their eyes on the ball while locking their head in position as they swing. This is the most effective way to achieve consistent contact. A must technique to remember is that the head should remain still as the player swings the bat because the more that the head moves, the information sent to the brain will continuously change too, leading to potentially making huge errors during game play.
Swinging and Hitting Properly
Baseball can be a tricky game to win, and that’s why there is no better way to be sure that you are well equipped,and have the best chance of winning, than to practice one essential skill worth keeping in your arsenal. Swinging. Hitting the ball with power is probably one of the most important things to remember. A useful tip to remember is, when the ball is hit with power, it travels further, therefore the player would draw the baseball farther away from the fielders.Remind yourself that hand/ eye coordination and proper timing are vital in swinging properly. Eye on the baseball, head should be steady, put your trust in your hand and swing that baseball bat like your life depends on it.
Arm strength and perfect timing are the key to making this possible.Constantly practicing will help the player distinguish which position best suits him/her, while batting exercises and drills are made for strengthening arms, making powerful hitting possible. You get your power from your legs. The swing starts from the ground up and your legs start the power that creates torque to hit the long ball. The core controls your whole body. The stronger your core is, the stronger you are.
Conclusion
Summarizing all of these useful tips and techniques will potentially help new players become better hitters.The individual techniques mentioned in this article are helpful for new baseball players; specifically those who are aspiring to become better hitters. Baseball is not just about bat and ball. The stress of the game that players potentially go through is inevitable. There will be times that they will struggle and might give up but if there are family members who can encourage the player during rough times, they are more likely to succeed, leading to the world having a lot more ace hitters in the future.
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