Practice Tips for Hitting Drills

By: Coach Bob McCreary

Originally Published in The Time to Hit eBook

Provided by: Baseball By The Yard

Batting Tees

The batting tee is probably the best piece of hitting equipment known to man. It allows players to practice all by themselves in many different settings. To get the most out of one (or two depending on the drill!) be sure the follow these tips:

• Make sure you move the ball around the strike zone and even outside it once in a while (ex. Bonus Drill #7). You will have to hit pitches all over the zone in games so all possible locations need to be practiced.
• For pitches down the middle, be sure to place the tee so that contact with the ball is made slightly in front of home plate AND just inside the front foot after the stride.
• For inside pitches, place the ball a couple inches in front of the plate AND slightly outside the front foot after the stride.
• For outside pitches, place the ball a couple inches behind the front edge of home plate AND well inside the front foot after the stride.
• To replicate high pitches, placing the tee on top of a bucket or chair works best. Raising the tee to its highest position often negatively effects the tee’s stability.
• Practice lots of low pitches! As a player gets older, the pitchers get better. As a result, they will see more pitches down in the zone. Practice hitting the pitch at AND below the knees.

Soft Toss

Next up is soft-toss. Soft-toss increases the complexity a little because it either uses the help of another person or machine. Like batting tees, there are some things that will increase the productivity if adhered to by the batter and the person doing the tossing. Here are several:

• Always hit towards a safe area or into a net to prevent damage and/or injury.
• The person doing the tossing should always be in a position where he/she will never get hit by either the swinging bat or by a batted ball. Different drills call for different thrower positioning in relation to the batter. Do not perform the drill if either the batter or the thrower is not located in a safe position.
• In a basic soft-toss drill, the thrower will usually be free of harm if he is far enough away and the toss is made towards a spot slightly in front of the batter’s lead hip.
• The process of tossing the ball should be one continuous movement that includes these three stages: 1) show the ball to the batter, 2) swing the arm down and back up towards the release point, and 3) release the ball with a small arc to the area where contact should be made.
• Tosses should not be too hard and should not have a big arc unless they are components related to specific drills.
• Enough time should be given between tosses to allow the batter to reset properly for the next swing. No rapid fire unless the drill specifically calls for it!
• If players are serving as the partner doing the tossing, it is recommended that they wear a helmet.

Short Toss

This type of drill is my personal favorite when working with hitters. I like it because I think it does a better job of mimicking the natural batting process more closely than the others. This is because the toss comes from in front of the batter and does not involve the stress and difficulty of throwing normal distances. However, like the other methods, it does require some logistics to get it right. Here are some:

• Both the batter and the thrower should wear helmets.
• Never do a short-toss drill unless the thrower is behind a safety screen or net that is totally secure.
• If in a batting cage, be aware that batted balls can ricochet off poles and/or nets and hit the thrower. Be careful and wear a helmet.
• Be sure the thrower’s entire body is behind the screen BEFORE the ball is hit.
• Usually the screen and thrower are positioned about 10-15 feet in front of the batter. The thrower can stand and toss or sit and toss depending on their ability to toss and comfort level.
• Tosses can be made underhanded around the screen. They can also be done overhand from the side or above the screen.
• Tosses should be firm without much arc unless the specific drill calls for it.
• Enough time should be given between tosses to allow the batter to reset properly for the next swing. No rapid fire unless the drill specifically calls for it!