Getting the Right Grip and Body Positioning 1. Don’t stick out your butt or let your upper body lean too far forward. Start early learners right by teaching them "the" most important aspect of baseball, focus. Top Tips to Increase Your Bat Speed in Baseball When Hitting. You can reach all parts of the plate with the bat and you have a clear view of the pitcher and his release point. Coil/stride phase - added bullet point "the rear shoulder should not rotate beyond (behind) the rear hip. 2/19/2014 Swing to Hip Phase - reworded everything about hips and shoulders for clarity. Keeping the elbows up helps them load up a swing and come down at the right … The bat will shift in... 3. You’re holding your bat in a powerful grip. Baseball is a game of consistency. What Is The Bat's Speed After It Hits The Ball? No two are alike. You should hit through the baseball, meaning your bat speed should be at its peak just before contact. The transfer of energy from bat to ball creates Batted Ball Speed (BBS) which propels the baseball forward. Why? A 150 gram ball is moving at a speed of 40 m/s when it is struck by a bat that reverses its direction and gives the ball a speed of 60 m/s. Pick up your front leg and drive/fall forward. although I don't recommend above your shoulder in the stance (however it, Shoulders - your shoulders should not be "upside down" where the back shoulder is down and the front shoulder is up, One hand must have a loose grip on the bat (usually the top hand is loose), Weight 60% on the back foot, weight on the inside of the feet, Spread your feet out so that they are roughly XX to XX inches wider than your shoulders, Slight bend in both knees (the front knee is optional), Hands as close to the hitting position as possible. As you stride and shift your weight forward, study the way you swing through. Try this instead: go to … You’ll also be better able to drive through the baseball when you swing. Bat Drag; Baseball & Fast Pitch. Make sure both feet are parallel with one another. From this position, your power is released and will uncoil once the ball is within hitting distance. It's OK for the rear hip to rotate beyond the rear shoulder slightly during the stride. The more your move from your fingers to the palm of your hands, the more you will slow down your bat speed. Also, their hands are almost up to their shoulders so their front arms stay flexible. Hitting myths are created and promoted everywhere you look. A great hitter, on the other hand, is like a virtuoso pianist. Hitting uses a motion that is virtually … "primarily caused by a near vertical forearm at toe touch", 3/29/2015 Toe Touch - added hitting faults section and item "rear forearm is vertical", 3/29/2015 Stance - clarified 'open' and 'even' hips comments, 3/29/2015 Hip to Contact Phase - clarified "As your elbow hits your hip" and "Keep your back elbow at your hip" You should also work on getting the right grip by grasping the bat with your bottom hand right above the knob. Next, take your bottom hand and wrap it around the bat by your palm. and should not move faster than the shoulder, or push away from the shoulder', 1/18/2014 Swing to Hip - added 'Bat Drag' section to Hitting Faults, 1/18/2014 Hip to Contact Phase - added Hitting Faults section (shoulder pause and front arm disconnect), 1/5/2014 Stance - added 'not musts' section, 11/27/2013 Stance - added images of Bagwell, Youkilis, and Plantier, 10/29/2013 Swing forward/contact - clarified back elbow slotted position, 9/19/2013 Swing forward - clarified the back shoulder/elbow drive, 9/9/2013 Stride/coil - major change - changed the 'preferred method' to rear leg drive, and deleted 3rd option of torso drive (from 2011-2013 I believed that torso/gravity was the main force), 9/9/2013 Stride/coil - clarifications to various coil moves and positions, revised 'hips are closed' to more accurate 'hips are even' at toe touch, 9/9/2013 Swing to Hip - added specific line about moving the bat head backwards, 9/9/2013 Stance - Revised hand position from 'Hands near your shoulder or ear' to 'Hands can be almost anywhere', added box grip line, 9/9/2013 Hanson Principle - added this section (corrected 11/18/2013), 7/28/2013 Swing to Hip - Added comments on the 'chicken wing fault', 2/26/2013 Stride/coil - major change - Removed references to 'arm bar' as a bad thing, 11/30/2012 Stance - major change - added warning about 'stand on balls of feet' myth (will put together separate myth page on this later), 9/12/2011 Swing to Hip - clarify simultaneous events in 'Swing to Hip' phase, 6/30/2011 Stride/coil - added 'secret' stride drill in the 'Weight Shift' phase, 4/20/2011 Swing to Hip - added front hip rotation - myth exposed in 'Swing to Hip' phase, 2/15/2011 Stride/coil - added a 2002 SetPro lunging tip in the 'Weight Shift' phase, 2/9/11 Stride/coil - added stride timing points in the 'Weight Shift' phase, 2/1/11 Swing phase - separated swing forward phase into 'Swing to Hip' and 'Hip to Contact', 3/9/10 added Youth section, "cues to use", and various caveats. This logic has traction — if we look at Louisville Slugger they maintain the same standpoint as baseball monkey, and use that logic with the bats that they put into the marketplace. An easy mental note to enforce keeping your … Show them how to hold the bat with two hands near the base, so that the front of their fists are lined up, with their dominant hand on top. To get an effective grip, lay the handle of the bat across the fingers of both... 2. The masses of the ball and bat are 0.15 kg and 0.94 kg respectively. Are you waiting to see the pitch come in? In golf, the ball sits still and you have plenty of time to get set and make your swing. ', 5/28/2014 Swing to Hip Phase - clarified that the initial front hip rotation is aided by the opening of the front knee. To squarely hit a fastball, everything has to be perfect. Keep the tops of your fingers in one long row down the grip of the bat. So how close should you stand near the plate? Your center of gravity should be situated over your feet. Choosing a light bat should increase bathead speed. The batter hits a pop-up such that after hitting the bat, the baseball is moving at 55.0 $\mathrm{m} / \mathrm{s}$ straight up. Just before swinging, these hitters tip the bat out and away from their bodies in the half-second before they follow through and swing. to read 'Front shoulder MUST be lower than the back shoulder'. Make sure there’s a spring in your knees and your hips. Staying balanced from the beginning through the finish of the swing is critical to your ability to track the fast moving ball accurately as is approaches the plate. Make sure the big knuckles of your top hand line up with the small knuckles on the bottom hand close to the bat end. When learning proper swing mechanics, the word load is used to mean the point at which you shift your weight to your back foot, while your body compacts together just before the swing. Feet should be shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Media Guppy LLC also participates in affiliate programs with Bluehost, Clickbank, CJ, ShareASale, and other sites. They are not swinging "down" on the ball to get the ball to go up. There is a large amount of material which instructs how to swing a baseball bat. You now have a batting stance which is comfortable and. Playing baseball is not as easy as sportscasters on popular networks sometimes make is sound. Hold the baseball bat in your fingers, not in your hands. If your wrist feels weak, adjust your grip up toward the middle of the bat. How near the knob of the bat you grip depends on your own size and strength. Both your hands are now gripping the bat, but it’s important that the top hand grips the bat by your fingers and not in the palm. Now that you have decided to swing, your mind is suddenly completely clear. The load stops when the back knee and back shoulder are in line. This will result in your back heel staying down (longer) during the first half of the Swing to Hip Phase (see Trout), Keep your back elbow rotating with/near your rear hip, as you extend your forearm, Pull back on the knob with your front or lead hand to allow the bat head to swing in front of your hands to contact, Your back elbow should be 'slotted' - or roughly L-shaped and somewhat close to your body, The bat head must be just in front of, or at least even with, your hands - preferably near the ball of your front foot (or the back of your front foot for low and outside pitches), Notice, your shoulders should not be even - they are (gasp!) This exercise targets your finger extensions. Instead of thinking about swing level, up, or down, we want to swing angle at the trajectory of the pitch. Try a practice swing slowly just with your top hand. Swing the bat forward and rotate through. Back foot - the back toe is all that's touching, Extend your arms to contact (unless you fooled by an offspeed pitch), Hands to the ball, use your hands, knob to the ball, Roll your wrists, line up your door knocking knuckles, Hit the top of the ball to get it to go up (who came up with this one?). A good hitter with a .250 batting average, then, is a lot like a good musician. As pitchers improve, so must batters improve in order to compete and to do well. Keep your toes, hips, knees and shoulders aligned. Your body will know all the right moves, and perform all of them in the fraction of a second.eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'baseballboom_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',106,'0','0'])); Your feet, your hands and your head are keys to hitting success. Pitchers with age and experience have also have mastered a number of different pitches, and have had years of experience facing every kind of hitter. Hitters with high batting averages and high slugging percentages hold the bat at an acute angle to their head, and their back elbow is at shoulder height or a little bit below. Remember each hitter has his own unique stance. Line your feet up beneath your shoulders. "dipped" - the back shoulder is now down, Your back hand should be palm up and the wrists are not rolled over, Your back foot should be on the toe, not on the ball of the foot (called "bug squishing"), Back elbow is at the hip and bent (arms are not "extended"), Back shoulder has dropped significantly (they are not "level"), Weight has shifted to front leg (not lunging though - the head is even with the back knee). to "As your back elbow reaches the level of your rear hip" and "Keep your back elbow rotating with/near your rear hip", 3/29/2015 It will become second nature. 71, 1152 (2003) . Shoulders and hips should rotate around the spine (do not take a slower 'gate swing' around the back hip). Are you not sure if you’re going to swing the bat? People think nothing of hitting a baseball when the ball is moving, or a tennis ball when both the ball and the player are moving. Or the Bottom? As you make contact, your eyes should “see” the bat hit the ball. In baseball, hitting mechanics studies the biomechanical motion that governs the swing of a baseball player.The goal of biomechanics in hitting during baseball training is to study and improve upon the physics involved in hitting. Hitter's Parks - Parks with Most Home Runs, be up at the end of the coil phase, before you begin to swing forward, the Coil (aka weight shift and/or stride), Stand flat-footed on your back foot, knees bent (standing on the balls of your feet is a myth), Hands can be almost anywhere (yes, it's true). to read 'Shoulders and hips should rotate around the spine.'. Afterward, The Ball Is Returned To The Right At Speed 36 M/s. As you get ready to swing, keep your body in a straight line. 2/7/2014 Coil/Stride Phase - clarified 'Front hip and shoulder should turn in slightly', MLB hitters turn their shoulder inward from 10-40 degrees - typically around 30 degrees. Even the best hitters in professional baseball will break a bat from time-to-time, we’ve all see highlights or been to a game where a broken bat goes flying. When moving your hands toward the ball, don’t immediately extend your arms or push your hands forward. to read 'Don't move your hands away from your shoulder (they should not go back, The truth about hitting the baseball is it’s easier to get a hit if you don’t think about the kind of pitch that will be thrown. Your bat speed will become quicker, and your body relaxes. Hitting the low pitch requires the hitter to drop or take the barrel of the bat to the ball as opposed to bending over at the waist. They stride forward to the pitcher. However, most hitters are successful that way. If you can move them properly and in concert, you’ll start expecting to hit better. The Number 1 Resource for Baseball Tips and Drills. Should I Squish the bug with the back foot? You’re standing in the right spot if the bat touches the opposite side. Take hold of a dinner plate and hold it around the edge with both hands. The rear shoulder should not be significantly behind the rear hip (I see this in many tee swings). Start walking about half the length of a football field, or 50 yards. You only have time to react. Swing the baseball bat down to the point over the plate where you will be making contact with the ball. Remove your lower hand, holding it now with your top hand only. So how do we get optimal BBS? The rear shoulder should not be significantly behind the rear hip (I see this in many tee swings). How to Hit Home Runs: Optimum Baseball Bat Swing Parameters for Maximum Range Trajectories. How you distribute your weight is important. The rear shoulder should not rotate beyond (behind) the rear hip. The Proper Way to Hit a Golf Ball. With a few tips and making contact on the right side of the bat, your hitters can get great work done with the wood bat and really start to feel the sweet spot when making contact. No stride with a leg kick (fall forward) (see Note 1 below). mechanically correct. Point your chin in the direction of the pitcher’s mound sp you can keep your eye on the ball from the moment it’s released. For right now the middle of the batter box is good. Simulate a piston movement with your forearms, moving them up and down about 45 degrees as you walk. A batting tee is an excellent way to improve your bat tilt. Forearm and wrist workouts have been created that help strengthen your wrists and your gripping ability. Check your hands to see that your top hand holds the bat only in your fingers. Increasing the bathead velocity is the most important factor to imparting force to the ball as illustrated in the kinetic energy formula (energy of a moving object due to its mass and velocity) KE=1/2 mV2 . - otherwise you have a slower 'gate' swing). You move slowly and come to a stop just before you release the bat and swing. Every aspect of the game, from fielding a position, to throwing the baseball accurately, to swinging a piece of wood or composite material to connect with a small object, is studied with an aim towards perfection. Sweet spots on a baseball bat are the locations best suited for hitting pitched baseballs. You can use your unique flair here, but generally you must follow these basic rules: When the ball is halfway (30 feet, or 2/10 of a second) and you determine the ball is going to end up in the strike zone, A. Don’t crouch or stoop too low. Success! Front leg underbody and rear leg behind you. Then from the bat to the ball. If any part of your body deviates from this stance, be aware that you will be sacrificing speed, power and control.eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'baseballboom_com-banner-1','ezslot_7',109,'0','0'])); We’ve talked about how and where to place your feet, bending your knees and gripping the bat properly. The best way to hit this ball is to use a 10 degree uppercut swing path with the bat. Hold the baseball bat in your fingers, not in your hands. If you are like most golfers, you make hitting a golf ball much harder than it really is. This site is owned and operated by Media Guppy LLC. Keep adjusting until your grip is strong and your swing has power up over the plate. Front shoulder MUST be lower than the back shoulder, Driving your back shoulder and back elbow down as a unit as you rotate/tilt, The downward drive of the back shoulder, and the rotation caused by your front knee opening just before toe touch, This includes optimizing a player's swing for either maximizing their "bat speed" or time for plate coverage. The head of the bat is going up when it hits the ball. In truth, fastballs coming in at 80 miles an hour at high school level aren’t easy at all to follow. 3/6/2014 Stance - clarified that even hips are not required. start driving your back shoulder and back elbow down toward your hip. Simple physics description of hitting a baseball: It’s the transferred energy from a batters body to his bat. or push away from the shoulder - yet), Keep your back knee straight ahead as long as possible - Your back hip, however, stays even with your back shoulder during this phase (this is not a typo - the torso twists to make this happen), Your hips rotate around your torso/spine (not around either leg, which again would be a 'gate' swing), Don't move your hands away from your shoulder (they should not go back, and should not move faster than the shoulder, 3-Ball Drill. If the bat doesn’t whip, adjust your grip so that the fingers of your top hand are gripping the bat instead of the palm of your hand. ", 3/29/2015 This is a huge step in having a better hitting technique and driving the ball. Due to vibrational physics, each baseball bat has a “sweet spot.”