Hitting

When talking about hitting there are four basic elements: the grip, stance, approach and the swing.

1. GRIP

• Hold the bat in the base of your fingers and not in your palm.
• The batter does not have to “line up the knuckles” when gripping the bat, but if he/she decides to do this, the knuckles that should be lined up are the knocking knuckles (the knuckles that a player would use to knock on a door). Lining up the knuckles is a personal preference and should not be insisted on by the coach.
• The bat should be held in a relaxed and tension free position in an area near the back shoulder.
• The player’s elbows should be relaxed and down. If a player’s elbows are up it will cause the hitter to have a slow and upper cut swing thus making it almost impossible to hit the ball.
• Make sure the batter is not using too heavy or too long of a bat. To check this, have your batter swing the bat first with his/her top hand keeping the elbow at 90 degrees against his/her body. Then check the bottom hand, again keeping the elbow close to the body. If he/she can’t keep the bat level when swinging one handed like this then the bat is too heavy.

2. STANCE

• Both feet should be in the batters box. The feet should be comfortably spread apart with good body balance. The feet should be pointed toward home plate.
• To ensure good plate coverage with the swing, have the player reach across the plate with their bat. There should be at least two inches of the bat extended over the plate.
• The knees should be slightly bent and the player’s weight should be on the balls of both feet.
• The shoulders should be level and parallel to home plate and the head should be facing the pitcher.
• The player’s elbows should be relaxed and pointing downward. If a player’s elbows are up it will cause the hitter to have a slow and upper cut swing thus making it almost impossible to hit the ball.
• The bat should be held in a relaxed and tension free position near the back shoulder.
• The wrists should be cocked.

Photo by f:11 photographic design

3. THE SWING
The movement of the body during the swing is as follows:

• The initial movements in hitting are the gather or coil of the hands in a slight backward motion (staying in-line with the starting point of the hands) and a small stride step toward the pitcher.
• The backside hip starts to rotate as the hands come forward. The backside rotates the front side – the front side DOES NOT open first or the player will open up too soon and have poor plate coverage and poor power.
• The hands are kept relaxed and should bring the bat into the hitting area in the fastest and most direct route. This will happen by the hitter pulling the bat across his/her chest with his/her bottom hand and the top hand driving the bat forward. The player’s arms DO NOT extend outward at this point or it’s called casting or barring out and the hitter will lose power. The handle of the bat should stay out of the strike zone.
• Contact with the ball is made near the front of the plate, unless it’s an outside pitch and then the ball is contacted in line with the player’s back hip.
• As the bat comes through the hitting zone the backside hip starts to rotate. As this rotation starts, the rear heel must leave the ground. The heel leaving the ground is called a pivot or turn. This back foot pivot has to happen in order for the rear hip to finish its turn and give the player maximum power in the swing.
• When the swing is completed, the player’s belly button should be facing in the direction of where the ball was hit.
• The player’s eyes should never leave the ball. He/she should track the ball from the pitcher to the bat and try and see the ball at contact.
• The hitter’s chin goes from the front shoulder to the rear shoulder during the swing by the movement of the arms and shoulders and not by rotating the head.
• The player should swing through the ball and finish high. The bat should finish across near the hitter’s back shoulder – this is called the follow-through.

GENERAL HITTING TIPS

• Know the strike zone and make the pitcher throw strikes.
• Make sure the hitter has full plate coverage.
• Prepare for the pitcher’s fastest pitch.
• Be ready to hit every pitch and be aggressive.
• Don’t be afraid to fail or strikeout – even the best hitters only get base hits three out of ten at-bats.
• Try and hit moving pitches (curveballs, dropballs, and riseballs) either before or after they break.
• Prepare to hit in the on-deck circle. Visualize yourself hitting the ball hard up the middle.
• Relax and learn to control your feelings, especially after you’ve swung at a bad pitch.
• Try and hit the ball hard somewhere on every swing.
• Relax and tell yourself, “see the ball – hit the ball”.