Consider the days of hard work in the practice field. After all the hard work, patience, and playing. Something which is always missing from your gameplay can make you the best. You always go for a good hit, but can not become the better version of yourself. But no worries. In this article, I will give you some tips on “How to be a better Baseball Hitter”.
Do you know, when you incorporate techniques in your hard work – it amplifies? Well, from my experience it really does. For example, you can play for a long time. Now, if you can calm yourself in your play. Then you can play in a more structured way.
In this article, I will attempt to cover the steps that will assist you in becoming a better baseball hitter.
Buy Good Quality Game Kits
As a Hitter, you must have a good alloy material Bat and a comfortable uniform if you want to give your best in the game. You can also use gripping tape, gloves, a batting cap or helmet, and other accessories to gain an extra advantage.
To choose the best kit for you, look for the one that provides the most comfort. Do not concentrate solely on style.
If you want to know more about baseball accessories, we have an excellent article on Baseball Equipment and Accessories
The Basic Rules of Hitting a Baseball
It would be best to learn the fundamental rules of hitting a baseball to improve your skills. Then you need to practice and adopt techniques to be able to change the rules to your advantage.
So, let’s start with the fundamentals to answer how to be a better baseball hitter:
- Taking a proper stance
You must take a proper stance if you want to swing a baseball. And this is the first step to become a better baseball hitter.
First, take a shoulder size distance between your two feet or more. Try to place them directly under your shoulder and parallel to one another. If you are right-handed, your left side will face the pitcher. Or if you are a left-handed batter your right will face him.
Try to stand on the clump of your feet. That will help you to react quickly and feel comfortable. And be focused on distributing your weight evenly on both feet.
Have your body aligned from top to bottom in a straight line. Please don’t place your entire body too forward or backward, as it will throw off your balance.
- Bend Your Back
Now, focus on bending your knees and descending to your feet with proper balance. After that, try to create aspiration between your knees and hips. Don’t lean your upper body too far. Or else you will lose your balance.
Just create a low center of gravity. And later, during the swing, spring out of your stance using your hips and knees.
The underrated thing you should know about your bat || Baseball Bat Drop
- Plan Your Back Foot Firmly
To be a better baseball hitter, you must know how to hold the position of your feet. Until you make the swing, try to keep the position of both your feet. Here your back foot will be the power generator of your whole body. And your front foot will be the power carrier.
When you start to swing your bat, take a small step forward with the front foot. And keep your back foot rooted to the ground to push the strength forward and have balance.
Make sure to hold your position with maximum flexibility. Otherwise, you won’t be able to take a solid and quick fluid motion.
- Getting the Right Grip
To get the best possible outcome during a swing, you must hold the bat with proper gripping. If you are one of the right-handed batters, then place your right hand on the top. And then there will be your left hand on the bottom side of the handle or vice versa.
The end of the handle should be in front of the front foot. Hold the bat at an angle across your rear shoulder. This will allow you to apply more force.
Wrap your fingers around the handle, and don’t leave any space between your knuckles. Line up all your fingers in a comfortable position. Because it is essential to have a successful swing. Before encountering any pitch, deliver some practice swing with the lightest swing weight.
- Taking a good swing with Light Grip
When you begin to swing, maintain your grip as light as possible. And by doing so, your grip will start to tighten the further your swing goes.
Make sure your grip is light when you start to swing. It is necessary to make good contact with the ball. This is crucial for the relaxation and comfort of your upper body.
Once the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand, take a small step (4 to 5 inches) only with the front foot. Be careful not to lose your alignment and balance.
With the quick motion, you must rotate your hip for the swing. If you are on of the lefty hitters
(in a game of Baseball they get a huge advantage), turn your hip clockwise or vice versa. But make sure you don’t break the alignment with the rest of your body.
The best way to become a better baseball hitter is that your line of vision should be on the baseball all the time.
To align your head with the rest of your body, try to lower your chin a bit. Just try not to tilt your head too much.
When you start to swing and rotate your hips, bring your shoulder to follow the same parallel path as your hips. Try your level best to be relaxed until the strike.
In short, holding a baseball bat is simple at first but to sustain the position naturally, you need practice. By practicing more and more, you will understand what is necessary to become a better baseball hitter.
Don’t force your swing. Try to bring it automatically. After the gripping part angling, your bat to the right point is necessary. Because the angle will determine where the ball will go and how much force.
Finally, try to hold the bat as perpendicular as possible before the strike. As it is crucial to generate the proper swing velocity for a powerful swing.
Vision Drills
Consider a situation in which you put in a lot of practice time to improve your baseball hitting. But you can’t hit the ball in the next game because it’s coming at you too fast.
So, you can not hit the ball even though you have done a lot of practice.
To avoid this problem, I help my students increase their vision, which allows them to see at high speed and in clear sight. And for your vision, I will suggest the same drills I offer my students.
- You can use a fast pitching machine and small balls for your practice.
- Use Bullpens to practice at a close distance.
- If you need to use contact lenses, use them without hesitation because it will help you raise your sight to 20/15.
In other words, before thinking of how to be a better baseball hitter in technical terms, consider asking can you see the ball? Because if you can’t see the ball, you won’t be able to hit it. As a result, you must train your brain with these vision drills to improve your vision. This will assist you in becoming a better baseball hitter.
14 Pro Tips for How to be a better Baseball Hitter
In the previous section, you learned the fundamentals of baseball hitting. Now I’ll give you some professional advice for becoming a better baseball hitter.
- Stay Calm
Try to be calm during playtime. Which will help you to increase your focus. And that will help you to recall your muscle memory of every swing path in time.
- Comfort Zone
Make the batting box your area of comfort. Stand in the position that makes you feel most at ease. Build up your confidence. Grow and show the attitude that you are the best.
- Master One Move
Try to practice one pitch style more and more till it is saved in your muscle memory and comes naturally. In short, execute the specific skills every time you enter the cage to practice.
- Focus
Don’t think of multiple things in mind when you get into the field. Just focus on one thing, and that is your game. If you lose it, you can even miss bad pitches.
- Understanding
The best way to become a better baseball hitter is to understand good habits. Do practice and learn from them to avoid your mistakes. Correct your hitting mechanics as much as possible to maintain the swing speed and know the pitch type.
- Stay in Present
A popular opinion is, you don’t have to analyze what the pitcher is throwing at you. To do so, simply avoid making assumptions about the future. Keep calm and go with the flow. Focus on the pitcher’s hand, and you can tell what is coming to you.
- Pump Up
Before entering the field, try to do something to pump up your confidence and self-belief. Then you can use a proper swing mechanics
- Control
Make sure your body, hands, and hips are ready to follow your command.
- Weight Balance
Try to put most of your body weight behind you and then start to swing. Begin placing your weight on both of your feet at 50/50, and during the swing, place 60% weights on your back. Your back knee, back hip, and head should be in a straight line.
- Vision
Don’t use one eye to see the ball. That will not help you to understand the depth. Use both eyes to get every information. Try vision drills to train your brain to see more in speed. You can use a fast pitching machine to practice.
- Power Transfer
Try to have a stride to transfer the core power from your hips and legs to your hands. Don’t take a long stride. That will just backfire rather than making a balanced swing weight. And during the swing, have your back foot on its toe.
- Time Management
When you determine the timing and know where your hands should be and where the contact will happen, you can understand you are going to use both hands or just one to swing.
- Weight Lifting
Lift weights regularly if you are older than 15 years (Not School Players) old and your coach allows you. And don’t use overweight and get injured.
- Practice
Last but not least, Do practice as much as you can.
Lets know about Slow pitch Softball Hitting || How to Become a Better Slowpitch Softball Hitter
Some Successful Hitters of Baseball
- From the History
- Pete Rose: This 17 times Major League Baseball ALL-STAR winner is baseball’s greatest hitter with upStanding batting average. Pete Rose has a record of 4256 hits. He played a total of 24 seasons from 1963 to 1986.
- Ty Cobb: In his career, he played 27 seasons and got 4189 hits. He was 12 times American League Batting Champion. His playing style and the intensive home runs made me one of his biggest fans.
- Henry Aaron: He played for 23 seasons and got the MLB ALL-STAR 25 times. He has a total of 3771 hits.
- From the Recent
- Tim Anderson: In his 6 years of career, he made 163 hits. He won the Silver Slugger Award in 2020.
- Yuli Gurriel: In his 6 years career, he got 168 hits. In 2021 he won the Golden Glove Award. In this short time, his progress is praise worthy.
- Paul Goldschmidt: During his 11 years old career, he made dramatic progress and became a valuable elite hitter. During his career, he made 1179 hits.
Want to know more about great baseball players? We created a list of 100 Greatest Baseball players of All time.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Where should I hit the ball?
Before I answer this question, I’m assuming you try to hit the ball in areas of the field that are generally unoccupied or have little defense. As a former baseball player, I recommend hitting the ball to the opposite field.
- What should I do if I get nervous and miss or freeze up?
Don’t remember your past performance. Just take a deep breath and focus on the pitcher.
- What position do the best hitters play in baseball?
- First baseman, the one who is listed with number three on the field chart. They are usually the most powerful hitter. Consequently, they are bigger and slower than others.
- How to help a struggling baseball hitter?
- Dealing With Hitting Struggles · Don’t: Overwhelm them with Mechanical Advice · What to do Instead: Let them Cool Down, then Ask Questions about their pain points.
Final Thoughts
From time to time, I developed these techniques for my students. And got a positive outcome from them. Therefore, I believe these tips will help you very well.
It will become complicated and messy if you overthink how to be a better baseball hitter. There is no need to read many books or watch many videos. Know your weaknesses better than anyone and convert them to your advantage. And that is the best way to become a better baseball hitter and build a high career batting average.
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Hello everyone. My name is Jason Butler, and I live in California, America. I was a professional AAA Minor League Baseball player. I lost my chance of playing MLB for injury issues, but I did not lose my love for baseball. I attended the coaching training program and am now working as a coach in a small school in San Diego.
I always love to share my experience and knowledge if that can help you. Play baseball, and stay fit.