Discover Baseball Hitting Tips That Will Make You a Confident Hitter

For the perfect baseball swing it doesn’t matter where the ball is pitched or where you want to hit the ball, the one thing that should remain the same is a consistent, mechanical swing.

Former Boston Red Sox player and current Hall of Famer Wade Boggs taught that the “slightly-up” swing smoothly through the strike zone is the swing you want to have. Boggs says that your swing should never vary.

You should find the swing that brings you the most success and keep it consistent from there on out.

The Perfect Baseball Swing Doesn’t Have To Be Level Literally

Pretty insightful information and it makes a lot of sense to me. You may hear a coach tell you to have a “level swing.” He probably doesn’t mean to have a swing completely level literally. A lot of coaches say that because some ballplayers have a tendency to dip their shoulder and swing up at the ball, or the opposite where players swing with a chopping motion. The “slightly-up” swing that Boggs talks about makes total sense.

Practice your swing now. Be as natural as you can be. Not too hard but not too soft either. When you take your practice swings I want you to try something. Practice facing towards the pitcher like you would in a normal game and when you make contact your head will tilt slightly down.

You should practice this almost every day. You always want to be trained to have that head down looking at your bat with arms extended. Basically, you want to be focused on the ball at all times. From the pitcher’s hand to your bat and finally following where the ball is hit. Then, of course, look straight at your first base coach for base running instructions.

The Perfect Baseball Swing Should Be Smooth

Everything about the swinging process should be done in a smooth motion. You get your swing started by triggering back and then forward with the full power of your body to hit the ball. The trigger is what gets you going.

The trigger shifts weight to your back leg/foot as the pitcher is about to hurl the ball towards home plate. As the weight is transferred back you will notice that your shoulders and hips almost follow that weight transfer. They close just a bit. Even your hands go back a little, ready to launch the bat in a smooth motion towards the ball.

As the pitcher is about to throw the ball, your back leg should start to transfer that weight evenly, which involves your front foot and hands, and you have to decide in that very moment whether or not you are going to swing.

If you decide to swing you know that your hands will go forward and the full amount of weight completely transfers to your front leg and your shoulders and hips open up once you hit the ball.

This whole process should be consistent for each at bat no matter what. Once you find success and rinse and repeat every day then you can claim you have the perfect baseball swing.

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’m going to share with you the best batting stance for beginners. I guarantee you it will give you more hits if you start this way in the beginning.

Let’s take a closer look at the batter’s box and how to set up. It’s good to have your feet shoulder width apart so that you have as much balance as possible. Try to have your front foot even with the plate.

Basically, starting out you should be in the middle of the box (see photo). I used to touch my bat in the middle of the plate and then settle my feet.

Why Is This The Best Batting Stance?

The reason I like setting up right in the middle of the box is because curve balls, sliders, and sinkers break right in front of you and you still have time to catch up to a speedy fastball.

Some people like to set up in the back to buy more time, but when I tried that the curveballs were harder to hit. That’s me, though. Maybe you’ve found more success in the back.

As far as distance between you and the plate, I would also avoid crowding the plate. The pitcher can then throw on the inside corner and it’s harder to hit. Don’t be worried about not being able to hit the outside corner pitches.

Your arms will extend automatically when you swing at the pitch. The key is to be as comfortable as you can. Once you’ve found the right spot in the box for you, stick with it and master your hitting from that spot.

After your feet are set, bend forward at the waist and bend your knees so that you are in a slight crouch and make sure your weight is even on the balls of both feet.

When I say crouch I’m not talking about a crouch like a catcher or even the crouch you take in the field. Jeff Bagwell had a massive crouch and it worked for him but most players have just a slight crouch.

Maybe You’ve Tried The Best Batting Stance Ever – Try These Too

There are a few stance options you can use, each having its own style with strengths and weaknesses. Choose the one that is most comfortable for you. The open stance protects hitters against inside pitches and most pull hitters use that stance.

An open stance is when you point your foot 45 percent toward the pull side of the field (bottom left photo). That means for a right-handed hitter it would point more towards the shortstop area rather than the pitcher’s mound. Your hips open sooner and you have more power on the middle to inside part of the plate.

Now, the trouble with the open stance is with the outer-middle to outside part of the plate. The closed stance protects you from pitches on the outside part of the plate. It’s basically the opposite of the open stance.

You move your front foot more towards the direction of third base. Your front foot is slightly over your back leg by maybe one to three inches. People who might want to try this stance are those who pull their hips, head or hands too early.

Maybe you pull every ball no matter where it’s pitched. Try the closed stance and see if that helps you out. The problem with the closed stance is the possibility of problems with pitches inside.

The stance I use and recommend especially to beginners is the square stance because it can better enable you to get the maximum coverage of the whole strike zone.

Like we talked about earlier, you line your feet up shoulder width apart and even in the box. It’s a feeling of complete balance.

You have equal availability to hit the inside or outside pitch. So, test out these stances and find out which one is more comfortable to you. Once you find one that works for you, stick with it.

If you tried something that seems to be the best batting stance for you please share it with us by leaving a comment below.

Part of hitting preparation is how to grip a bat. You want to make sure that you have a firm grip on the bat handle and if I were you I would acquire some decent batting gloves to help you with that grip.

In my opinion, you’re not a tough guy if you hit with no batting gloves. You will find that most major leaguers use batting gloves and they do it for better grip. Depending on what your league will allow, you can even apply rosin or pine tar to the area where you grip the bat for an extra strong feeling.

Step One In How To Grip a Bat

You’ve just got to make sure that you firmly hold the bat. Have you ever held a bat loosely and then hit the ball? Have you experienced that jolting, ringing feeling and pain in your hand for the rest of the night?

I have and what a horrible feeling it is. That is all the more reason to hold onto that bat firmly. The key is to make sure you’re comfortable. You don’t want to hold onto the bat too tightly and you don’t want to hold onto it too loosely.

Your knuckles on your hands should line up between one another with your bottom hand pinky just touching or actually around the knob of the bat if that’s your preference.

Now, if you’re not careful you’ll get blisters. At the beginning of the season, pace yourself with batting practice, even if you use gloves. Don’t spend an hour or more in batting practice every day. Thirty minutes is probably the maximum in the beginning. Over time calluses will develop and will help prevent your hands from tearing up.

How To Grip a Bat For More Control

There is a time when you will need to adjust your grip and that is when you choke up for better bat control. You usually choke up when you have two strikes on you.

This is smart because it shortens and lightens the bat. You can actually guide your bat to the ball easier which is something you need to do sometimes with two strikes, especially if the fastball is coming.

No matter what you think of these two players personally, Ty Cobb and Pete Rose were two awesome hitters and they choked up on the bat often and had thousands of hits. Their stats speak for themselves.

Knowing how to grip a bat is a key component of baseball hitting preparation we need to pay attention to whether we are a player, coach or parent.