1: Preparing to Hit

OVERVIEW

Even before he has a turn at the plate, the heater must understand many important elements. Unless the Hitter has properly practice and performed his free swing preparation, he is ill equipped for an at bat. Coaches often overlooked and failed to teach these skills in a systematic and thorough manner.

You should address the following key points, one preparing hitters for the return at bat. After forming a clear picture of the techniques shown, exam in the parts that go into finding a good stands and getting ready to hit. Keep in mind that each player is unique and may have an alternative approach that works for him..

KEY POINTS

The most important components of preparing to hit are:

• Correct bat choice.
• Strike zone knowledge.
• Repeatable pre-swing routine.
• Good contact position.
• Comfortable batting stance.

CORRECT BAT CHOICE

Bats come in all sizes and shapes. Most youth and high school leagues today have rules that govern the weight of aluminum bats in comparison with their length. These rules were instituted for the sake of safety. Wooden bats do not have restrictions.

Players should choose a bat because it is the right weight and the correct balance, and feel for them. When choosing a bat players should consider the balance and feel rather than the color and design schemes.

The wrong bat can seriously diminish a hitter’s capacity in the batter’s box. If a player seems to be having problems, swinging a bat, you may be too heavy or too long. If the barrel the backdrop slower than the player’s hands during the swing, especially if the player is experimenting with a wooden bat, it is usually a sign that the player cannot handle bat. You should suggest that player use a shorter bat. Recent changes in that specifications rules have eliminated much of the weight variations common in the past. Today, all that bats must conform to specifications created by the National Federation of State High School Association, the national governing body of high school sports. Coaches should check their state association rule, book or the NFHS website for bat rules before recommending or buying bats.

STRIKE ZONE KNOWLEDGE

The rules of baseball defined the strike zone as a 17xinch space over Homeplate, the top of which is halfway between the batters shoulders and the waistline and the bottom of which is the knees, when the batter assumes his natural batting stance.  This area is typically found from the top of the batter’s knees to the letters on the uniform.  The rules also state that any part of a baseball going through this imaginary area is a strike.  Sounds ppl simple, right?  Well, not exactly.

Keep in mind that a baseball is about 3 inches in diameter.  If any part of it crosses the strike zone , the pitch is a strike.  The strike zone, then, is not 17 inches wide but more like 23 inches wide.  The way that a batter takes his stance affects the size of his individual strike zone.  Technically, it would seem that the strike zone , when you take into account variations in a batter’s stance, should be the same for everyone.  But it is not.

Many players forget to keep in mind that each has a personal strike zone geared exclusively to his stance, the kind of s2ing he has and the type of pitches he tends to hit. He should not swing at any pitch not in that personal zone, unless special circumstances dictate that he do so—-such as a hit and run or a two-strike count.  Ted Williams, whom many consider the best hitter ever to play the game, developed a color-coded “personal strike zone,” which he used to guide his decision of whether or not to swing.  In his book The Science of Hitting, Williams filled a strike zone with circles to represent the ones that he could hit well (red for his “hot zone”) and the ones that he couldn’t hit well (blue for gis “cold” zones). Hitters should follow Williams’s lead and create their own home zone, a color-coded strike zone for use at home. They can do this by measuring the distance between their knees and the midpoint of the area between the tops of their shoulders and their waist. They could then draw a rectangle of that height, and 17 inches wide. Players can hang this rectangle on their bedroom or garage wall and visualize their home zone, making it easier for them to identify hot and cold opportunities went out on the field. Players were practicing their personal zones are better prepared—-visually and mentally—-for a trip to the plate.

REPEATABLE PRE-SWING ROUTINE

Have you ever watched Derek Jeter when he stepped into the batters box? If you have, you might notice that he goes through a routine, or ritual, every time he gets ready to hit. This routine helps him visualize what he is going to do before he hits the ball and prepares the body for the actual swing. All baseball players need to develop a pre-swing routine, which will help them get and keep your bodies relax and balanced in preparation for the upcoming pitch. All professional players go through the same phases emotions each time the Steppin to the bad his box, and before every pitch to get their bodies to feel the same balance while the mentally go through pre-swing, check this. A player may go through thought process while rocking forward and backward on his feet. He coming free swing mental check this might be “weight on balls of feet, knees, bent, lean forward, loose and relaxed” and so on.

The good news is that a player’s routine doesn’t have to be long; and just has to be the same each time he steps into the box. Remember, repeatable actions lead to reputable results. A routine might look something like this:

1. Place the right foot in the batter’s box.
2. Look at the picture while keeping the fat on the shoulder.
3. Place the left foot in the batter’s box.
4. Extend the arms away from the body with the bat and touch the far corner of home plate.
5. Ship the weight from the back foot to the front foot and vice versa several times while taking several slow, controlled practice swings.
6. Stare at the pitcher all the time when doing this routine.

GOOD CONTACT POSITION

It has been said that if a person doesn’t know where he’s going, he won’t have the faintest idea how to get there. The same as true of hitters. Unless they have a firm concept in their heads of what their swing should look like when they make contact with the ball, they won’t have any way of understanding how they should get there. The following image shows a batter in what most would consider good contact With this position in mind note the following:

• The bat is making contact with the ball out in front of the body
• The head is centered, and the eyes are on the path of the wall.
• The front leg is straight.
• The hands are in the classic pump up pump down, top pump up pump down position.
• The hips have rotated toward the pitch.
• The back foot has rotated and the back knee has been driven toward the front knee.

To achieve perfect contact position, hitters must assume a comfortable stand with a strong base, as shown in the image below. This stance allows them to see a pitch well and swinging comfortably.

Although batting stance will vary, the successful batter will observe certain. Following are the key checkpoints that you should watch to be certain that hitters have a strong base:

Position in the Batter’s Box

A common misconception of amateur players is that they have to stand in the batters box to be effective. This positioning might help batters when facing pictures were throwing 90 mph, but amateur hitters have no need to take this position routinely because few high school pictures can throw that fast. Instead, to be ready to hit all pitches, hitters should assume he stance with the front foot, even with the front of home. They should also stand somewhat away from the plate so their hands are not in the strike zone.

Feet

The hitter should place defeat a little more than shoulder with a part to provide a wide base from which he can feel balance. The toes should be facing the plate, and the weight should be on the front half of the foot.

Ankles

The ankles should be flexible. Batters should be able to roll to either side with their ankles. If they can do this, they can be certain that their knees will be flexible and not locked in place.

Knees

The knees should be slightly bent. Over bending can lead to misdistribution of weight, which can inhibit a quick hip turn or make the batter “sit down”, forcing the weight away from the plate. The hitter should also bend the knees so that they are positioned inside the feet.

Waist

The batter should bend forward slightly at the waist. Without bending the waist, the hitter will have a stiff upper body and a less fluid swing.

Shoulders

The shoulders should be level and in line with the hips and knees. Leaving the shoulders on an angle, slanted either way, promotes either an upper cutting or a chopping motion in the swing. The batter should avoid both extremes of swinging.

Hands and Arms

The hitter should hold the bat in the fingers and not grip it too tightly.  Many high school players hold the bat too far back in their hands when they grip it.  A good way to help players understand this is to stress that they are stronger with the bat in their fingers that they are with the bat in the palms of their hands. You can illustrate this by having players put the index finger of the throwing hand inside the palm of the other hand as shown in the images below and have them close the hands around the fingers tightly. While gripping the throwing hand finger as tightly as I can with the offhand, have them try to pull the finger out of the palm. They should be able to accomplish this task easily. Next, have players put the throwing hand index finger inside the fingers of the other hand as shown in the image below and repeat the same steps, tightening the office fingers around the throwing hand finger and pulling. If they have held tightly and pulled as hard as he can, they will not be able to pull their finger out. This demonstration should prove that a grip is stronger in the fingers than it is in the palms.

A good way to get the arms in the correct position is to put the bat in the hands in the center of the body, lay the barrel of the bat on the back shoulder and then slowly move the bed off the shoulder and bring the hands horizontally back towards the back foot about 3 to 4 inches and away from the body about the same distance. When done in this manner, the arms and hands should be about leather high at the top of the strike zone and in a good launching position for a swing, as shown in the images below.

Head

The hitter’s head should be turned toward the picture with the eyes level. The chin can even rest slightly on the front shoulder as a reminder to keep the head forward. The ball is easier to see when the eyes are level. If players don’t understand the reason for this, ask them if they read books, watch TV or drive their cars with their heads tilted. They quickly find the answer.

Bat Angle

The bath should be held at a 45° angle to the ground to allow for an easy swing. Holding the bat to straight up or down or slanted over the rear shoulder takes the bat away from the swing plane that the bat will follow when the batter decides to swing. The batter who holds the bat in either of those positions will have to make an additional judgment to get the bat into the right track. Some variation of this angle will occur in individual hitters, but you should make certain the variation is not too extreme. The more the batting stance varies from the norm, the better the player will be.

Overall Balance

When a hitter observes the previous points, the weight should be evenly distributed over the center of the body horizontally and vertically.

COMMON ERRORS

You may run into several common errors when teaching players how to prepare to hit.

Error	Correction
The player grips the bat tightly.	The player should keep the bat in the fingers, not in the palms.
The player uses a rigid stance.	To relax and stay balanced, the player should rock from the front foot to the back foot before the pitcher begins his motion. After the pitcher begins the motion, the player assumes a balanced stance. Players should go through the stance absolutes in their heads each time they step into the batters box.
The players knees are outside the feet.	This generally happens when the feet are not pointed forward. The feet must be facing the plate.

AT A GLANCE [ADDITIONAL RESOURCES]

The following parts of the text offer additional information on the bent-leg slide.

• Swing and Follow Through.
• Bunting Basics.
• Sacrifice Bunting.
• Drag Bunting.
• Hit and Run.
• Situational Hitting.