10 Keys to Hitting a Baseball or Softball:
I hit .417 as a senior in high school, and really didn't even try. How did that happen? Well, it wasn't my intense dedication; it was who I thought was the best baseball coach I ever had. He taught us from the feet up how to hit a baseball and it really did wonders for us. Of course his teaching came from the greats like Charlie Lau and George Brett but the way he introduced us and taught us has stuck with me for 20+ years and I am still seeing the benefits of it with my own daughters.
1) 10 toes to the plate make you great- you need to have your feet about shoulder width apart and in a comfortable position with your toes facing the plate. They will never perfectly face the plate but the more they face the better. If anything you would want them pointed a little more in than out.
The closer your feet are to the plate the better in order to cover tough outside pitches, but you don't have too. Keep in mind that young kids don't have to be too close to the plate because they will get hit more and might get scared out of playing. Just get close enough to hit strikes from the middle to the outside of the plate. Bend your knees and be balanced. If you feel more comfortable in a wider stance then you can widen your stance. Don't shorten your stance too much after getting at shoulder width. If you want to bend your knees more, then do so. Whatever is comfortable to you is the key.
2) Grip it and rip it- Grab the bat at the bottom of the base close to the knob with your left hand if you are right handed. Hold the bat out in front of you with your left hand and point the end of the bat to the outfield. Bring the bat back down, across the plate, then up to your opposite right shoulder and rest it on your right shoulder. Now put your right hand on the bat above your left hand. IMPORTANT: Try you hardest to line your "door knocking" knuckles up on on the bat when you get your hands set. By lining up your door knocking knuckles, not fighting knuckles, you will create a swing that is a more level, line drive, high average swing. If you can hit for average, the homers will come later. You can tweak your swing as you get older and stronger too. When you are young you want to learn to "hit it through the fence, not over it" in order to create that line drive, high average swing. This will teach your kid to hit the ball right and gain confidence and have MORE fun and want to play MORE! Rest the bat on your right shoulder. When you get ready to hit, you will want to make sure the bat comes up off the shoulder about 1 to 5 inches, this gets you in a ready position. Your right elbow should be pointing close to the ground and your left elbow will be pointing more towards the field. You are ready to hit. I suggest that your left hand have a sure strong grip and that your right hand be a little more loose but keep those knuckles lined up for the smooth, level high average swing.
3) The stride and the load up- Now that you are in the ready position to hit you are now ready to stride and swing. When the pitcher is about to release the pitch, you need to step with your left foot toward the pitcher. This is not a big long step, but it is more of a smaller stride. If you step too far if can throw your balance off. As you practice more and more, you will get a good feel of how much you need to stride. Albert Pujols has such a wide stance he doesn't stride at all. Younger hitters need to learn to hit for average first then later in life tweak their hitting. Most of the teaching today says you need to stride with the left foot and try to land more on your left foot toes as you finish your stride. This gets your momentum going for the swing. As you stride forward, your hands while gripping the bat will move back to load up your swing. It is just a little bit but it is important. Your left foot goes forward and your hands shift back to load up some power as the pitch is on its way. So remember at the same time as you stride with your left foot, your hands move in the opposite direction to load up the swing. Now you are about ready for the swing.
4) Keep your eyes on the ball- We have heard that all our life. It is imperative that you do this. Try to focus and pick up the ball as soon as you can see it in the pitchers hand. I used to like to watch the ball the whole time the pitcher had it. From hand to glove back to hand and then to his release. NEVER take your eye off the ball until you have hit it. You MUST focus. Doing so generates everything to the ball. Your head will ALWAYS be down and on the ball. Failing to do so will result in missing the ball, popping it up, or fouling it off. You must keep your eyes and head down on the ball. I can't say it enough. Even after your swing your head ought to be more on the ball and plate than out to 3rd base or the dugout. You might have heard the quote "your head is flying out". Well that is because the hitter's head is flying out and not staying on the ball. Guaranteed for a low batting average.
4) Squish the bug and your hands follow your hips- Right after you take your stride with your left foot and your hands shift back a little, it is now time for the power shift. As the ball is coming to you, you will now rotate your hips toward the pitcher and open them up to him. Your back right foot will "squish the bug" and rotate toward the pitcher as a result of opening your hips. Your back right foot really NEEDS to stay planted. This is where MOST younger kids develop bad habits and poor swings. It is because they don't keep their weight back on that back foot, keep it planted, squish the bug as the rotate it and keep the power in the swing. If you don't open the hips you will be a singles and doubles hitter, trust me. Now you are ready to generate that high contact, high average swing. And don't worry the homers will come. This type of swing is a swing for guys and gals to learn how to hit right and gain confidence and learn to love to play. It is funner if you can make more contact and hit than to have a poor swing and strike out a lot.
5) Start high and finish high- another great quote for a young hitter to remember. You have already started with the bat high up on your shoulder. The end of the bat should be pointing a little up and toward the pitcher or outfield. This is the high part of the "starting high" quote. Now you are ready to swing. Your hands have shifted back and have loaded up in step 3, now start the swing of the bat with your left, bottom hand driving the bat and swing the bat at the ball as it comes through the zone. You will have to adjust your height to the height of the ball. That is why it is good to bend at the knees a little in order react quicker. Move the bat forward with your hands and arms from the shoulder down and out to the ball. Your hands and arms MUST extend out over the plate and must form a triangle as you hit the ball. Failing to do this will decrease your hit dramatically. So when you swing the bat your hands will come out in front of you and from your hands up to your shoulders you should see a triangle and your arms will be fully extended. You must extend your arms to get a powerful line drive swing. If you are not getting your hands and arms extended and not making a great triangle then you are swinging late and need to swing earlier. *NOTE: If anything, you want to hit the ball out in front of the plate. This almost guarantees that you get a powerful swing.
After you get the hands and arms extended over the plate and make contact we come to another important quote in hitting. It is "rolling the wrists over". Right as you make contact you are going to do is roll your wrists for the ultimate power. You hit the ball then as your arms are extended you roll your right wrist up over your left wrist and then finish with the bat up on your left shoulder. Try it and you will see how easy it is. Swing, hit, roll the wrists and "finish high" up on your left shoulder. Don't finish low, A good swing starts high, gets through the zone, then finishes high up on the left shoulder. Watch all the good hitters. They all do it.
6) Know the pitcher you are facing- Is he a power pitcher?, what is her strikeout pitch?, What pitch does he like to start a batter out with?, what pitch does she like to use when down in the count, up in the count?, does she rely on her fastball? These are all very important questions to ask about the opposing pitcher. Knowing these things can help you hit for a lot higher average. But you have focus and do that. It helped me hit .417 rather than .317 as a senior. It is HUGE.
7) Get yourself into a hitters count- I think this is probably the most important key to high average hitting. You need to work the count into your favor so you know that you are getting a fastball then tag it. That is how I made my hay as a senior. I would try to get into a 3-1 or 2-0 count and then destroy the fastball. If you can do that I guarantee you will see good pitches and you will drive the ball. It is the difference in hitting .400 and .300. Also take the guessing out of pitching. Try to figure out what you are going to see and then hammer it.
8) Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS)- It's pretty simple most of the time, when you are up in the count expect a fastball somewhere close the strike zone, when you are down in the count expect something off-speed and out of the zone. After each pitch think about the count and what kind of pitch you will probably see. Try to think about what that pitcher relies on in that count. I'M TELLING YOU THIS IS ANOTHER HUGE PART OF HITTING. For example, if the count was 1-2 in the pitchers favor and I knew that pitcher was a curve ball pitcher, then I expected a curve ball near the zone. If it was in the zone, I busted it. I was a great 2 strike hitter a lot due in part to just being focused on just that. I would think heavily before every pitch. If the count was 2-1, I looked for a fastball near the zone.
9) Think fastball first every time, stay back for the off-speed stuff (breaking ball, changeup, slider, etc.)- If you don't have any idea what you might get it is always a good rule of thumb to be ready for the fast ball but stay back and adjust to the curve, breaking, sliding, etc.. ball. This way, nothing gets by you. I really liked to use that mentality when I was down 2 strikes and less than 3 balls. So like in a 0-2 count, 1-2, or 2-2. You have to make sure the fast ball doesn't get buy you but you must also be ready to stay back and adjust for the curve ball. This helps you find a middle ground when you are not sure. There will be a lot of times this will be the case. A good pitcher will mix things up and not get rooted in a pattern.
10) Practice, practice, and then you need to practice- There is NO substitute for hard work. It is the difference in being pro or being college, being college or being high school, being high school or riding the bench. The more you put into it, the better you will get. Perfect practice is even better. The more live game action you can get the better. Get in the batting cage and hit, hit, hit. Learn to roll those wrists, hit the ball out in front of the plate and finish high. You will get better and better. Remember you need to learn to hit the ball through the fence not over the fence. In doing so, you will create a high average, high contact, line drive swing. The homers will follow. Just be patient and learn to hit the ball right.
* A great drill to do to make sure you are swinging the all level is to put a chair in front of a hitting tee. Make the chair as high as the tee or as level as it. You need to hit off the tee and NOT hit the chair. It makes you swing level. If you line your door knocking knuckles up you will have a great chance at doing that.
* Put your left hand anywhere on the bat, but preferably lower than higher. Practice pointing the bat to the outfield, drawing through and up to your resting right shoulder and practice swinging a good swing with one hand.
To sum up the hitters motion again, quite simply remember when you climb into the box 1) 10 toes to the plate make you great 2) Stride with your left foot toward the pitcher 3) Force your hands shift back a little to load up some power 4) Start with the bat high on and then above your right shoulder 5) Keep you eyes on the ball and NEVER take them off no matter what happens 5) Swing the bat forward and to the ball with both hands and arms. 6) Fully extend your arms and hands and form a triangle before you make contact with the ball 7) Hit the ball and then roll your wrists 8) Follow though with the bat finishing high up on your left shoulder.
If you have never tried to hit like the above steps, I am sure that if you do follow those steps you will become a better hitter. But it takes a lot of work too.