Ten Fun Baseball Drills That Improve Hitting
Coaches use baseball drills to improve skills on the field. Players need to learn how the game is played and improve their skill level to be successful. Baseball is a game of practice, so if you want to get better at this sport, drills are a surefire way. These baseball drills will help develop your hitting skills and help you hit more home runs! These are simple drills, which means they won’t take up hours of your day in the gym, but they still do a good job of developing your hitting skills. Below are Ten fun baseball drills that improve hitting.
1) Two-strike approach
The two-strike approach aims to get your body into a position that allows you to hit for a home run. It starts with you standing in the batter’s box, with your hip slightly turned out, and your elbow bent at 90 degrees. Then you will bring your bat up to head level and make contact with the ball with your top hand. You want to make contact around this drill’s point of impact (POI). Next, you will step down into the batter’s box with one foot after making contact. Next, you will bring your bat down to your hip and put it into a more traditional batting position. Finally, you will repeat this process by making contact with the ball around POI.
2) Hack Drill
This drill improves players’ ability to make hard contact with baseball. This drill aims to ensure you’re hitting the ball consistently above and below where you’re aiming. Instead of hitting balls high or low on the plate without swinging, you’ve been given a bit more leeway and experience with being able to hit balls in that particular area. First, you will stand at the plate with your body still and get into a good base position. Then you will take a step back, with your toe-tapping on the plate, and then you’ll swing your bat as far back as possible. At this point, you want to make contact with the ball in the area where you want to hit it. It doesn’t matter which way up that batter is hitting the ball because it’s more about making contact on top of it. You can make contact with either hand, but if you’re uncomfortable doing so, try using your top hand to hit balls out of the zone.
3) The Deception Drill
This drill is ideal for forcing you to make contact with the ball without all the practice swings and taking time before each hit. The idea behind this practice session is to make it harder for a pitcher to get you out and make it easier for you to hit a home run. First, stand on the plate and turn your rear foot slightly outwards, so your knee is pointed towards the first base. Next, with your bat resting on your shoulder at about waist height, position yourself so that you’re facing where ever pitcher is throwing from. Then release the bat as if you were making contact with the ball and take two steps forwards. After taking these two steps, you should be facing where the pitcher is once again.
4) The on-deck Drill
This drill will help a player get more comfortable in the batter’s box and help a player adjust to the speed of pitches. This drill can also help with players’ timing and when they receive pitches. First, take at least ten practice swings with your bat or your bat tee, whatever you prefer. Then wait for your turn at bat to come around and step into the box ready to receive pitches. When a pitch is thrown out to you, it’s your job to hit it as hard as possible without swinging too early or too late. If you only want to hit one pitch, then you need to wait until the pitcher throws a ground ball so that he is no longer in the same position as him being able to throw a fastball or curveball.
5) The Hitter’s Drill
This drill can help with a player’s swing speed and hitting for home runs. This drill is also helpful for improving your stance on the plate and makes it easier for players to be more consistent at making contact with pitches in either count. First, stand at the plate with your legs slightly apart and your bat resting on your shoulder at around waist height. Then take a few practice swings while keeping your hands relaxed and taking three steps towards home plate. After taking these three steps, you want to make contact with the ball in the direction you want to hit it. After making contact, take a step back and repeat this process until you’re out of balls.
6) The Up-and-Back Drill
In this drill, you want to make contact with pitches on your way back to the dugout after getting out at the home plate. If you’re in a sandlot or some other type of area where there isn’t a fence behind home plate, don’t worry about making contact with the ball; focus on trying to get back safely.
7) The Fielding Drill
This drill is great for improving your defensive skills and being always there for your team. The first step this drill takes is to take a sign from the coach or some other player next to you and then run to the base that your coach pointed out. After you have made it safely to the first base, you can start the drill again.
8) Kneeling good
This drill can be done in a variety of different ways. The first method is to grip the bat with your hands and then have your legs bend. The second method is to place one foot on the ground while gripping the bat with your hands and then have your other leg rest on top of it, also gripping the bat. Either way, get into a good position so that you’re in a position to receive pitches from pitchers. Then put pressure down onto the ball so it comes off the bat with enough force to stay in front of you. If you need to relax some muscle groups, such as arms or legs, then do so for a couple of seconds before performing this drill again.
9) Soft toss slugging
This drill hones a player’s swing when making contact with the ball. You want to stand between the infield and home plate and then take three practice swings with your bat or bat tee. After that, stand still while your pitcher throws the ball at you, and then step back into the batter’s box. After two steps back, as you receive a throw from your pitcher, you want to swing heavily at this pitch by bringing your hips back before swinging powerfully towards home plate. The goal is to hit this pitch on the same path that it came off of so that you make contact with it in a similar location as where the pitch was thrown from.
10) Line Drive Derby
You want to get two people to stand facing one another on the opposite ends of home plate and line up with them. Then each player will take turns hitting line drives toward the other person. The object is to hit that catcher in the chest while they stand where they are, or if they’re moving, it’ll be in their chest area. Whatever comes off the bat must be a hard hit and not just a soft grounder. That way, you’re practicing how to make contact with high-pitched pitches. One player must hit into this catcher’s chest as often as possible before time runs out for that drill session.