How To Hit a Baseball Better


how to hit a baseball betterWe have and will provide for you many different ways to learn how to hit a baseball better, but today we’re going to focus on a tip that seems very simple, yet is overlooked time and again. That tip is to be more selective.

Coaches tell us to keep our eyes on the ball, follow through and hit the ball hard somewhere. I actually got tired of hearing, "hit the ball hard somewhere, Jeff!" After all my years of playing baseball, watching baseball and studying baseball, I think players should hear something else from their coaches.

"Be selective and swing at strikes." Bingo! That is a guaranteed way to hit a baseball better. So many times I see ball players swinging at bad pitches. They swing at balls clearly out of the strike zone. It’s not that they’re getting fooled by a good pitch. They swing at pitches not even over the plate.

Now, what about the balls pitched in the strike zone? Do you need to swing at everything with less than two strikes on you? What about pitches in the far, upper-left corner of the strike zone? If you have no strikes on you, do you really want to swing at that pitch? Where do you expect to hit such a pitch? Or how about that low and inside pitch that looks tempting but you know you’re just going to ground out? I will continue to instruct you to be selective and hit the right pitch for you.

Most, if not all of the time the main reason people strike out is because they are swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. Be selective and swing at the right pitch. You will need to be selective if you want to excel in hitting. You will need that skill especially in certain hitting situations. If your mission is to move a runner over, which may require you to hit to the opposite field, then you might need to wait for a pitch on the outside part of the plate if you’re a right-handed hitter. If that means you have to take that first strike on the inside corner then so be it.

This same rule of being selective also applies to bunting situations. Trust me, you will be called upon to bunt and you want to be able to get the job done right. If you’re a left-handed hitter and need to bunt the ball down the third base line then it’s usually easier to bunt a ball down the middle of the plate or the outside part of the plate. I’ve tried bunting inside pitches down the third base line as a left-handed hitter and it’s a touch more difficult. I know what you’re asking yourself right now. What if my coach gives me the sign for a bunt? Should I bunt the ball the next pitch no matter what? The answer in most cases is no. Unless it’s a suicide squeeze, I’m sure your coach just wants you to get the job done and if that mean taking a strike first then do it.

Let me stress again that being selective and hitting the right pitch is the direction you want to go as you are learning how to hit a baseball better. In all my years of playing baseball and watching baseball, I’ve seen top hitters maintain a calm approach to their hitting by waiting for the right pitch. You see it in the Major Leagues all the time. The really great hitters like Ichiro or Jeter can take the first two strikes and still get a hit because they were just waiting for the right pitch to hit. My advice for you is to be patient, be selective and when you know the pitch is right for you in the strike zone … attack the ball.

My years of experience playing and teaching baseball hitting will help you with the challenge of learning how to hit a baseball correctly.  Articles such as the one you just read will inform and motivate you to a better understanding of proper baseball hitting whether you are a coach, parent or ballplayer.  Check back here for upcoming
baseball hitting tips articles and e-mail us any questions or comments.

Jeff Wise

info@baseballhittingtipsonline.com