Coaching baseball includes covering the techniques and fundamentals of many positions and teaching the correct way to hit the ball. Players need to decide what type of bat would be appropriate based on length and weight. A good way to determine the appropriate weight for younger players is to have them stand and hold the bat in one hand with their arm and bat extended parallel to the ground. If they are strong enough to do this, then the bat is probably not too heavy.
A player needs to know how to hold the bat. The bat should be held in the fingers rather than in the palm of the hand. There are a lot of different baseball stances, and it is important for a player to determine what stance is most comfortable. The most common stances are the regular stance, the open stance, and the closed stance.
In a regular stance for a right handed hitter, the player’s left foot is slightly nearer to home plate than his right foot. In an open stance, the player’s right foot is near home plate, while the left foot is a significant distance away. In a closed stance, the player’s left foot is near home plate, while the right foot is farther away. No matter which stance is chosen, a batter should step directly towards the pitcher with his front foot.
The positioning of a batter’s hands is one of the most important aspects of hitting the ball. Many coaches feel batters should limit unnecessary movement of their hands, body, and bat. The hands generally should start about shoulder high and in front of a batter’s shoulder. Many little league coaches and parents instruct their children to keep their back elbow up. However, they should be teaching them to keep their hands and back shoulder up. When a batter makes contact with the ball, the elbows are almost touching. If a batter has his elbow up to start with, that creates a lot of unnecessary movement.
Unnecessary movement can also involve footwork. A batter’s stride should not be very long. A good rule to follow is to make sure a batter’s stride isn’t any longer than the length of his bat. When a stride is too long, then balance is inhibited, and this can prevent players from hitting pitches of different speeds, especially a curve ball or change up.
Not only are the positioning of hands and feet essential to hitting the ball, but also swinging the bat correctly is very important. It is important to get the bat head into the hitting zone as quickly as possible. A batter can do this by swinging in a slightly downward motion following the lead of his hands. Besides this, the best way to improve a batter’s swing is to practice, practice, and practice.
Bunting is another important hitting technique. The bunt can be used as a sacrifice bunt, or a player may choose to try to bunt for a base hit. On a sacrifice bunt, the hitter should move up in the batter’s box (toward the pitcher). When the pitcher starts his windup, the batter should turn his hips so they are facing the pitcher. He should do this by pivoting his feet, not moving them. The batter should bend his knees, slide his bottom hand to the top of the rubber on the bat, and his top hand should be placed halfway up the barrel of the bat. The bat should be held over the plate about chest high, and if the ball is in the strike zone, the batter should try to hit the top of the ball.
If a batter is trying to bunt for a base hit, he needs to avoid squaring his body around as early as he did on a sacrifice bunt. A bunt for a hit should be angled down the first or third base lines. Along with these basic fundamentals, it is essential for a potential batter to practice regularly both in the batting cage and on the field in order to be successful. Baseball is the all-American sport, so…Let’s play ball!
