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The Baseball Swing - Rotational Hitting Explained

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By Nate Barnett

It seems like baseball instruction in the area of hitting mechanics is splitting into two different camps. Rotational hitting vs. Linear hitting. If you're new to the baseball world, or are just unfamiliar with the new exciting terminology, let me offer some explanation.

Rotational Hitting

The purpose of the baseball swing is to transfer the most energy into the baseball as possible. In order to get the most energy created, there are specific parts of the body that need to move at the correct time in order for this energy to occur.

A rotational approach offers that the energy used in creating a powerful baseball swing stems from the back side of the body, and more specifically the lower half of the back side. The controlled chain reaction that happens when the back side is moved at precisely the correct time toward the pitch is quite powerful. On the flip side, incorrect timing of the back knee and hip will produce a sluggish bat.

A rotational approach to hitting uses the follow steps to a good baseball swing:

1. A good weight shift to the back leg from the stance position as a hitter is preparing to hit. Make sure that this weight shift is not purely horizontal in motion, since this will create an imbalance.

2. The next step is the trigger. This is the most important movement that separates a rotational hitter from a linear hitter. The triggering process should begin with the back knee turning and moving towards the pitcher (as apposed to simply spinning in place). The back hip will quickly follow the back knee in the rotation process. Lastly, the hands will begin to enter into the hitting zone. It's important that the hands do not begin the swing since the power is stemming from the back knee and hip. Early hand movement would negate any effort to use energy from the back side of the hitter's body.

3. As the bat enters the zone, one will begin to see signs that a rotational approach has been utilized. The common tell tale signs are the balance points. The easiest to explain in writing is that upon contact with the pitch there will be vertical alignment with the inside shoulder joint, the back hip, and the back knee joint. This alignment shows that balance is retained and no weight has shifted forward onto the front foot (more of a linear style).

As an aside, rotational hitting is used by most major colleges and a vast majority of Major League hitters. It provide balance and power to the baseball swing.

Nate Barnett is owner of BMI Baseball designed to improve the mental game of baseball in athletes. Learn how to help your game by improving the skill of mental baseball

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Barnett

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Visit the Baseball Coaching Digest for daily post and articles on every aspect of coaching baseball. The Baseball Coaching Digest Blog. Check out the Bat Action Hitting Machine baseball pitching simulator. This high speed training machine is 100% Guaranteed to raise Batting Averages and has a full year warranty. Check out Baseball2u.com/Coachesbest.com for all of your coaching and training equipment needs. Visit the Baseball Dealz Ebay Super Store to purchase top quality baseball training equipment at discount prices.

5 Core Mechanics to a Good Baseball and Softball Swing

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By Todd Thomas

In hitting there are 5 core principles that as a hitter you hope to execute on every swing. No thanks to pitchers constantly attempting to mess up a hitter's timing and balance, these core movements aren't always present in every swing. These core mechanics are dependent upon each other for a player to really execute their best swing. In order to successfully execute one's best swing, these "parts" need to work together to maximize the hitting process. These five core principles are the "blueprint" of a hitters basic mechanics. They are:

1. Weight Transfer
2. Hips lead the hands
3. Matching the swing plane to the pitch plane or "leveling"*
*(this involves the shoulder dip, tilting, & getting the bat level to the ball)
4. Ideal contact
5. Staying inside the ball

These principles of hitting are the foundation and are present in every good swing but they are not all always present in EVERY swing from the same player. A player cannot, and will not, be consistently successful if they are regularly lacking in any one of these areas in the hitting process. This is why Ted William's said that hitting a baseball is the single most difficult thing to do in any sport. Although, I tend to disagree with Ted on this thought. Hitting a baseball(or softball) may be the second most difficult thing. I believe TEACHING someone to hit a baseball/softball may be the most difficult thing to do in sports!

Do great hitters always look great or even good at the plate? The simple obvious answer is NO. If the pitcher is successful as they often are, their pitch will take one of the core elements away from the hitter. When this happens take a look at what happens to their swing. The result are often less than favorable in these cases.

Oftentimes, a player who has excellent core hitting mechanics can be struggling at the plate and even look awkward. If you regularly watch a lot of games and hitters as I do, you will clearly recognize when a hitter gets into advantageous hitting positions and when they obviously did not. In the situations when their swing looked "bad", that doesn't mean that the hitter has poor hitting mechanics. Rather, something in the process was slightly off. One(or more) of the core mechanics was out of whack for whatever reason. A lot of times it's a hitter's rhythm, timing and tempo that are off and they are "chasing" a pitch the pitcher fooled them with. Whatever the pitcher has done, it has worked in that the hitters core mechanics are thrown off. As well all know, this doesn't always mean the hitter doesn't get a hit. We've all seen the crazy off-balance swing where the hitter drops one in for a base hit. As well as, we have all seen the "perfect" swing where the hitter smokes the ball only to have it fielded for an out by the defense.

One thing to add here is two-strike situation. A hitter should be less concerned with staying perfect with their mechanics and should be simply focusing on doing whatever it takes to make contact and put the ball in play. There is typically not much a hitter can do when they have two strikes on them except let the ball travel as deep as possible and simply put the bat in the path of the ball. Any thoughts of putting the perfect swing on a pitch when a hitter has two strikes must be out the window and he/she should focus on making the adjustments necessary to put the ball in play.

What is the perfect swing anyway? It's the adjustments a hitter makes appropriate to the pitch they get. This is the reason why a lot of times no two swings look very similar. It all starts with the core mechanics and then expands from there. Every element is necessary to maximize the swing process to a consistently high level. When a player is taught improper core mechanics or if core mechanics are not firmly established, hitting problems are exacerbated greatly and hitting frustration is escalated. Learning the core mechanics and learning them correctly while continually working on them is crucial to all hitters.

Todd Thomas is a Baseball Coach and Professional Hitting Instructor for Mike Epstein Hitting. Coach Todd's personal hitting website is http://www.HitItHere.net. Coach Todd also enthusiastically endorses http://PlayMyBestBaseball.com as a place where baseball and softball hitters can master the Confidence, Composure, Focus and Consistency of their game so they can reach their full potential.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Todd_Thomas

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It is Not Too Late to Develop Your Baseball Arm Strength!

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By Mike Lynch

One of the most overlooked attributes is a person's baseball arm strength. Now believe it or not, this isn't just relevant to pitchers, but just about all position players. How many times have you watched your favorite big league team play and they lose the game because someone didn't have the gusto on their throw to get someone out? It happens quite a bit.

Think about that for a moment. Every person on baseball field has many opportunities to field the ball. Anytime there is an opportunity to field the ball, there is also an opportunity showcase their how strong of an arm they have. Let us go through some of the examples of why having baseball arm strength is important:

1. Pitcher - This is a given
2. Catcher - Throwing runners out stealing
3. First Base - This is probably the least relevant to the discussion, but still important. what about turning a 3/6/3 double play?
4. Second Base - Quick throws to first on a swinging bunt
5. Third Base - Long pegs from the rim of the outfield
6. Shortstop - Bouncing ball that leaves little time to throw a runner out
7. Left Field - Runner on third that is trying to tag and score on a fly ball
8. Center Field - Runner trying to score on a single up the middle
9. Right Field - Runner trying to advance to second a long single down the line

Now these are just simple examples from each position that demonstrate the importance of having good baseball arm strength. The issue here is that this is often overlooked when you are a young, developing player. Most players focus on speed and power while neglecting the ever-important baseball arm strength.

The good thing here is that you CAN develop the baseball arm strength needed to be a good ball player. It really is in the matter of training properly. Yes, there are people that have a natural baseball arm strength, but they too need to continue to develop it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Lynch

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Baseball Pitching Tips - Be Yourself With Men on Base

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By Larry Cicchiello

Too many pitchers have a tendency to get "off track" when they have runners on base.

They try to have perfect control. They overthrow the ball instead of just throwing it in a natural manner. Basically what they are doing is they are getting away from what made them successful in the first place and are no longer themselves on the mound.

If you start to press too much, the odds increase that the other team will have a big inning and a good part of the reason is you may have brought it on yourself because you stopped being yourself and tried to do "too much."

It is simply not the end of the world if the other team scores a couple of runs.

Your best chance at damage control is by staying within yourself.

Some excellent pitchers actually pretend that there are NO runners on base. Of course they are aware of the runners and have to pitch from the stretch, etc. But their primary focus is on making their regular good quality pitches and let the chips fall where they may. It's almost an "I don't care" attitude.

Quality pitches are quality pitches whether nobody is on base or if the bases are loaded so don't let the baserunners stop you from making those quality pitches.

Relax and focus ONLY on the next pitch and not the tough situation you may be in.

In a very important playoff game, here is what a fabulous pitcher once did. The opposing team had the tying run on third base with two outs in the last inning and a very good hitter at the plate. The pitcher visualized the worse possible scenario that could take place. The worst scenario was that the hitter got the game tying hit off him and then his team scored an additional run to win the game. The pitcher reminded himself that even if that happened, the following day he would be vacationing at one of his favorite spots. This totally relaxed the pitcher and he retired the very good hitter on a popup to end the game and win the playoff game.

Larry Cicchiello is the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." His site offers many FREE baseball tips on hitting, baseball pitching tips, baseball coaching drills, etc. You will be FULLY EQUIPPED!

You can visit his website at http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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Baseball Tips on Hitting - Bat Speed Often Determines Your Success

www.BatAction.com

By Larry Cicchiello

Let's keep this very basic and simple. Forget all other baseball tips on hitting. Very simply, the faster the head of the bat is going when it hits the ball, the harder a hitter will hit the baseball.

There are hundreds of baseball tips on hitting but don't the hitters with the quickest bat speed hit the baseball the hardest?

You can talk about many things that are required to be a successful hitter and right near the top of your list should be bat speed.

It's very enjoyable to watch a very big, strong hitter clobber the baseball.

It's possibly even more enjoyable watching a smaller hitter who is not exceptionally strong clobber the baseball.

The only way for the smaller player to be competitive with the bigger and stronger hitters is with his very quick bat speed.

There are several things you can do to improve your bat speed:


Practice your swing every day. Some professionals will take as many as 500 swings a day in the off season. That's very possibly one of the reasons why they are now professional hitters. I'm not saying it's feasible to take that many swings every day but practice your swing as often as possible. Remember to take your practice swings exactly like you are swinging the bat in a game. You're cheating yourself if you do otherwise. If you are willing to spend the time practicing your swing, you deserve to benefit from the time you are putting in. What can possibly be better to improve your strength and quickness as a baseball hitter than practicing the swing itself?
Avoid gripping the bat too tightly, which is a common problem especially with younger players. They often have the mind set that "I'm going to grip this bat real tight and really clobber this ball." Nothing can be further from the truth. It actually will slow down the speed of your bat. It's identical to a pitcher who holds the ball tighter to slow down a pitch and a baseball hitter gripping the bat tightly will slow down his bat speed also.
Make sure you swing directly to the ball. The very beginning of the swing is NOT level at all. It is a DOWNWARD movement and only levels out at the point of contact! You absolutely must be "quick to the ball." Short and quick to the ball is far better than long and strong.

Larry Cicchiello is the author of several very informative baseball coaching books. All of his editions are included in "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." Larry is unique in that his site offers visitors several FREE TIPS that are straight from his books. Baseball tips on hitting, baseball pitching tips, baseball fielding tips, baseball base running tips, baseball coaching drills and more. Your baseball coaching "help desk" will be open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. Larry invites you to check out his FREE TIPS. You will be FULLY EQUIPPED as a manager, coach, player at any level or a parent who wants to help their child improve or overcome any baseball struggles.

You can visit his website at http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

How to Use the Batting Cage For Better Hitting

By Jack D. Elliott

Your baseball hitting can be improved by using batting cages and batting practice to develop your timing. One thing to keep in mind while hitting in BP or the cage is to know when you are getting in good hitting. This is important b/c hitting the ball hard is only a starting place for good hitting. One way to improve your hitting is to focus on hitting line drives and hitting the ball on the ground. Over time, this will result in a higher hitting average because there is less of a chance for the ball getting caught in the air.

A technique to help adjust your swing in the batting cages is to score your rounds at BP and batting cage sessions. This is very easy to do as you just need someone to do the scoring while you hit. This can even be done by yourself in your head with a little practice. Here, are a few tips on how to do the scoring:

1. Hit using a three point system. 3 points are given for line drives, 2 points for grounders or low line drives, and 1 point for fly balls.

2. Make three scoring zones. You will need to make some arbitrary zones whether in the BP or the batting cage. The goal should be to make them about even and each zone should be about 6 yards in length. For example, the grounders or low hitting zone would be a horizontal range from the ground to 6 yards up. Line drives would be in the next zone (6 to 12 yards up) and fly balls would be any the final zone for everything 12 yards high up to 18 yards in the air. Anything over this height should not be scored.

3. Use Landmarks at Batting Cages For Zones. If you are hitting in the cages, use any landmarks that exist to help make the zones. For example, you could say the top of the pitching machine begins the middle zone. Bottom line: don't get too caught up in the exactness of the zones. Instead, use the landmarks as a guideline and being scoring your rounds.

4. Score each session. Habitually, score and record each session. This will give you a target to shoot at for your next round and encourage you to out-do your last performance. By making each session a competition, you will get more out of it as you try to get a higher score each time.

5. Scoring Rounds By Yourself. If keeping up with the scoring in your head gets to be too challenging during your hitting. One trick you can do is simply the scoring. By only scoring how many times you hit the ball in the middle range, you can get a pretty good measurement to test your hitting. Once you get your score, you would use this in much the same way as other scoring, you would try to top it on your next round. The focus during all these sessions would be to develop consistency in hitting this middle zone.

Be sure to let your team and coach know about this strategy. If adopted by your team, the whole team could benefit by using it in there regular BP. The scores of each session could even be posted in the locker room to add a little competition and more interesting into your team's batting practice sessions. Just think with a little time your team could be getting more hits and runs by using one simple technique.

Jack Elliott, is a former player and fan of the game. To read more tips and techniques like the ones in this article, please click here: http://www.baseballtrainingtechniques.com/Baseball-Hitting or Baseball Hitting Tips.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_D._Elliott

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