Baseball Hitting - The Basics to Success

By Chris Moheno

Baseball hitting is a lot more then just swinging a bat around and hoping to get lucky. When it comes to learning how to hit a baseball, you have to remember that there is a lot more skill, technique, and focus needed then meets the eye.

There has to be a lot of practice hours put in or you will never be able to swing the bat like some of the great names in baseball history. By practicing hard and keeping a few simple tips and hints in mind you will be able to swing like a pro in no time at all.

Remember though, besides hard-core technique, there is also a lot of room for the practice of visualization and positive thinking in your baseball training, which has proven to help many people.

If you have been swinging for a while but just want to learn to hit better the first thing you need to do is to avoid any major changes in your stance. Even though this seems a little bit backwards considering you are trying to hit better, it is an important move. Many players, even the not so great ones, naturally develop certain stances in order to make up for something such as a dominant right eye. Before you make any drastic changes make sure that you figure out why it is that you do what you do. If there is no reason for the stance, the grip, or the swing that you have other then laziness or lack of knowledge then it is time to get to work on that.

Time to get ready for the hit. If you do not have a lot of experience with this then make sure that you have a bat you are comfortable with and get up to bat. Get in a proper fitted stance. Keep your chin tucked in along with your front shoulder. Make sure that your head is completely turned so that you are able to clearly see the pitcher. Stay off of the heals of your feet by remaining on the balls of your feet. And most importantly, keep your head still. Even though you may find that over time your stance will change, it is extremely important to keep those simple things in line. Always stay on the balls of your feet and never take one eye off of the pitcher. These are the rules no matter what stance you adopt.

Time to select the right ball to hit. Even though you may be willing to swing at anything that comes at you it is important that you do not. Not every pitch is a good pitch. Be selective and be patient about it. There is no reason to go in overly aggressive. Just make sure that you are concentrating on putting the ball in play and use the entire field to do it. As you are waiting for the ball to come your direction you will want to carefully think through what it is that you are trying to do at the plate.

Imagine and envision yourself striking the bat against the ball. Picture complete batting success before you even have the chance to hit the ball in real life.

The last step would be to take all of the skills you have learned and hit the ball. Make sure that you swing with force and that you follow through with it. Imagine where in the field you are sending the ball and see what happens.

If you feel you need more help with your baseball hitting then you need to seek out some one on one help. Having someone right next to you through your baseball training is always a great thing to have. There are also many DVD's that are being sold in order to perfect your skill. Watching the exact technique played out is a great way to make sure that you are doing everything you should be doing.

Keep practicing and then one day everything will suddenly click and you will be hitting every ball that comes your way.

Chris Moheno has a long time passion for sports in general and for baseball coaching more specifically. His goal is to spread the word about effective non-fluff baseball training techniques for both more experienced and young baseball players, to help them perform better during the game.

Discover more about baseball training secrets on baseballtrainingsecrets.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Moheno

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Baseball Tips on Hitting - Are You Popping Up Or Grounding Out Too Often?

By Larry Cicchiello

No matter how high or how low your batting average is, you should pay close attention to how your outs are being made. We improve by working on any weaknesses we have. Even if you are hitting.350, if most of your outs are either on pop ups or grounders, you should be looking to make an adjustment. If you take your baseball hitting seriously, you must make adjustments. Here are some baseball tips on hitting that should help you.

Grounding Out Too Often and Topping the Ball

You may be getting your stride foot down too late. This will not give you enough time to get the bat to the hitting zone because your bat will still be too high when the moment of truth arrives, thus topping the ball.

You may be trying to pull the outside pitch instead of going with the pitch to the opposite field. Your bat will have a slight drag to it and you won't be swinging through the ball.

You may be hitting too much off the front foot and not keeping your weight on your back foot. This will cause you to be "top heavy" and most likely hit the top of the ball.

You may be opening your front shoulder and/or front hip too quickly, causing you to pull off the ball and not swing through the ball.

Popping Up Too Often and Hitting Under the Ball

Pay very close attention to what your back shoulder is doing. If it is collapsing and dropping down below the front shoulder, there is a very good chance this is the problem. Basically, you are lowering your entire swing and you almost have to swing underneath the ball. The same applies to your back leg. If it's dropping down and "collapsing" too much, that can very easily lead to "uppercutting" the ball and popping it up.

Make sure you are not dropping your hands too low when actually swinging. This obviously will increase the chances of you hitting the bottom of the baseball. If your hands are too low, your bat will be too low and there is a very good chance you will hit the bottom of the ball.

Make sure the back of your bottom hand is facing the pitcher when you start your swing. Remember, it should be one palm up and one palm down only at the point of contact and not before.

Make sure that your front elbow is pointing downward at the very start of your swing.This is very possibly the most common baseball hitting problem you will ever see. The very beginning of the swing is a downward movement and is not level at all. Only at the point of contact should the front elbow be level and pointing toward the pitcher.

If you learn only this one thing out of all the baseball tips on hitting, you will see a major improvement in your baseball hitting immediately!

Larry is the president of Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc. and also the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.

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Baseball Fielding Tips - You Must Grip the Baseball Properly Before Throwing!

By Larry Cicchiello

Whenever possible, try to grip the ball with four seams before throwing the ball to one of your teammates. It's one of the most important baseball fielding tips that unfortunately, very few focus on. You want the closed part of the horseshoe formed by the seams on the baseball to be either facing inside toward you or outside and away from you. In other words, your index finger is on two seams and your middle finger is on two seams and thus the name four-seam. My preference is having the horseshoe facing inside because it feels better to me in my hand but this is strictly your call. The objective is to simply create a perfect backspin on the throw. It's not difficult at all.

If you are limited time wise and have to hurry on a play, you might not be able to have the choice as to which way the horseshoe faces but you still should strive to get the 4-seam grip.Think of it as a pitcher. A pitcher throws a 4-seamer, which is for the most part straight and fast. A pitcher throws a 2-seamer, which is not as fast and has movement. You don't want less speed and more movement when throwing to a teammate, do you? Fielders can be fooled by movement on a ball exactly like a batter can be fooled. Instead, you want more speed and less movement. The last thing you want is for your throw to have any extra movement when throwing to your first baseman or another teammate.

It is a little difficult to get your 4-seam grip on the "bare-handed play" on a very slow roller. As you are bringing the ball up with your bare hand, the tricky part is that you only a fraction of a second to move the ball in your hand and find your 4-seam grip. Resist the temptation to simply throw the ball before getting the 4-seam grip. This is definitely something that requires practice, but all serious fielders make it their business to learn it. And all serious coaches should include this in their baseball coaching drills. On this play, you don't want to have the ball sail and either go into the runner or have any extra movement to cause your throw to not be handled cleanly by your first baseman. The runner may very well end up on second base because of the improperly thrown ball when he should have been a fairly easy out. P.S. Some professional infielders actually practice getting their 4-seam grip when removing the ball from their glove when they are sitting in the dugout. Maybe that's one of the reasons they are professional infielders.

Getting the 4-seam grip on the baseball before throwing it is one of the more important baseball fielding tips. It requires some practice but I assure you that you will be able to execute it properly after some repetition. All smart coaches should include this fundamental in their baseball coaching tips.

Just remember, all the great infielders use the 4-seam grip when throwing the ball.

Larry Cicchiello is the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." His very user friendly eBooks cover 320 topics on playing or coaching excellent baseball. ANY players, coaches or parents who want to help their child improve will be fully equipped! Some FREE tips are available at http://www.LarryBaseball.com/product/all

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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Shop CoachesBest.com for your baseball coaching needs including baseball training aids, training videos, and other coaching supplies. Check out the Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting machine by SKLZ at HurricaneTrainer.com.

See the “Original” Rotational Hitting Machine at BatAction.com. Are you looking for the perfect trainer to teach proper timing and swing mechanics? You can stop looking and go to HandsBackHitter.com.

Hitting a Baseball - Which Stance is Best?

www.HurricaneMachine.com

By Nate Barnett

There are a lot of professional baseball hitters setting up with an open stance today. If you're not totally sure what an open stance is, it's when the front foot is back further away from home plate as compared to the back foot. Sometimes the front foot will also be pointed slightly toward the pitcher.

I've seen and heard quite a bit of discussion within baseball circles about the positioning of the stance as far as what works and what doesn't in preparing a hitter. The question I will answer is: Does a particular style of stance give a hitter a better chance at hitting a baseball hard versus the other?

The quick answer is no it doesn't make a difference on how a hitter stands when determining his eventual success in hitting a baseball. Having said that, here are a couple thoughts of caution to pay attention to if you work with a hitter who chooses to stand with an open stance.

1. An open stance will take a little bit more time to move into the preparation or load position when a hitter shifts his weight to his back leg. Because of this extra time, the hitter must make sure his timing is right and he generates movement sooner than he would if he was in a regular stance position (with both feet parallel and facing home plate).

2. An open stance often times provides the hitter with a better and more clear view of the pitcher as the eyes of the hitter are facing the pitcher more equally. Because the front part of the hitter's body is opened slightly, he will need to make certain as he moves into the load position that he closes his front side off to the pitcher.

*** I realize that I'm using terminology (load position) that may not be familiar to you. There are other articles I've written on that topic if you find yourself confused.***

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball designed to improve the mental game of baseball in athletes. Learn how to help your game by improving the skill of mental baseball

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett

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