Central Blog

To serve you better, we have put all of our content in the blog "Youth Baseball Tips." With all of our great information in one location, we hope this makes it easier on you. 

Visit our complete online resource for instructional baseball videos and our free eBook at www.ToTheTopPerformance.com.

Get Your Feet Underneath of You

There is one simple mechanical issue you can make sure of to hit for more power. Be certain your front foot is planted on the ground before starting your swing. It may not sound like much, but you generate much of your power from your hips. 

Almost every hitter takes a small step towards the pitcher before starting the swing. You want to be certain your front foot is down before starting the rest of your swing. 

To maximize that power, your front foot has to be on the ground before your start to rotate your hips. You need to have two bases to rotate. 

Do me a favor and get out of your chair and stand up. 

Stand on one leg and try to rotate 90 degrees quickly. What happened? You probably didn’t go very fast, feel very powerful and you almost (or maybe did) lose your balance. Now stand on both legs and try the same thing. You felt quicker, more powerful and stayed in control. 

Try it two more times, but take a step laterally – to the side, not forward or backward. 

On the first try, rotate your hips before your foot hits the ground. You probably didn’t lose your balance because your foot landed and caught you. But I’m guessing you didn’t feel quick or powerful.

Take the same step, but this time, wait for your foot to hit the ground before rotating. You felt powerful, didn’t you? 

Your body had two bases to rotate on and you were able to generate more power because of that.

It is one of the easiest mechanical flaws to fix. And it is one that can lead to a big improvement.

Visit our complete online resource for instructional baseball videos and our free eBook at www.ToTheTopPerformance.com.

Hit the Ball Where It is Pitched

Let’s face it. Everyone that plays baseball want to hit home runs. Nike had a famous commercial in the 1990s that had Atlanta Braves’ pitchers Greg Maddox and Tom Glavine. It showed them training to become hitter after realizing that “chicks dig the long ball.”

And as a coach, it drives me crazy to watch guys only swing for the fence. Trying to hit home runs will mess up a swing. Your swing becomes one dimensional and pitches on the outer half of home plate or off-speed pitches become more difficult to hit. 

Once you have that reputation, you are less likely to see pitches on the inside part of the plate – where hitters can hit balls the farthest. You aren’t as productive and before you know it, you no longer help your team and may even find yourself on the bench. 

Or you can hit the ball where it is pitched, help your team, stay in the lineup and find yourself on base more often. 

Most coaches have the same philosophy, especially at the high school level and below – pitch to the outside part of the plate until a hitter can prove he can hit that pitch. Once a hitter proves he can hit the outside pitch, it is more likely he will see pitches on the inside part of the plate – the part he can hit for more power. 

Taking the approach of hitting where the ball is pitched also leads to more success with off-speed pitches. A hitter that is willing to hit the ball the other way is likely to stay more balanced. A more balanced hitter has a better chance of hitting a curveball or a changeup because he has kept his weight back. 

Hitters that are worried about hitting home runs allow their weight to move forward too soon, trying to time the pitch. But, in doing so, they leave themselves at risk of off-speed pitches. With their weight over their front foot, rather than balanced among both feet, they have no chance of hitting an off-speed pitch with any power.

Be prepared to hit pitches on the outside corner to the opposite field (a righty hitting to right field and a lefty hitting to left field). Stay balanced and hit the pitch where it is thrown. 

Home runs will happen, but only if you try to hit every ball hard, regardless of where it is pitched. Not if you try to hit every pitch over the fence.

Visit our complete online resource for instructional baseball videos and our free eBook at www.ToTheTopPerformance.com.

Practicing Down the Middle?

During a practice, an individual lesson or a camp, many times kids question why we do not do a majority of our hitting drills on pitches down the middle. That is the pitch that most can hit the best – hardest and farthest. So naturally, kids want to do what they do best. And that involves the middle of home plate. 

Let me start by giving you a brief overview of my hitting philosophy. 

Hitting isn’t nearly as complicated as most people try to make it out to be and you should spend more time hitting off of a batting tee than anything else. 

I am usually met with disappointment – again with 22-year old college players or 8-year old campers. Everyone wants to hit off the pitcher.  Tees are boring and most players tend to go through the motions, waiting for their time in the batting cage. 

But if you can’t execute a perfect swing while the ball is stationary on a tee, how can you hit a ball that is moving? 

The exercise scientist in me knows the power of the body and how important muscle memory when performing a skill repetitively. In order to achieve the muscles memory you need, you have to practice an action over and over again. This is why the tee plays such an important role. 

So you have read the above paragraphs, and I have already sold you on the importance of tee work. You plan on spending 30 minutes a day working on the tee because now know that that is the best way to become a better hitter. 

But now ask yourself, where do I position the ball? Some tees are adjustable and some aren’t. If you have one that is not, the tee is in the center of the plate. If you were to position yourself in relation to the attached home plate, you would only work on pitches down the middle. 

Whether you pitch or not, the answer to my next question is simple. How many pitchers plan on throwing a pitch down the middle of the plate? Not many. So if the goal of the pitcher is to throw pitches on the inside and outside corner, why would you spend an extended period of time working on pitches down the middle?

Start by practicing with pitches down the middle of the plate. It is good way to warm up and get into a rhythm. But after the first five minutes, start to move the tee around to other areas of the plate. 

How do I work on pitches in other areas of the strike zone? Positioning the tee isn’t as simple as moving the tee closer to you or farther away. There are different places that you should work on the respective pitches.

To work on an inside pitch, position the tee in front of the plate. Line the ball up on the inside corner about three inches in front of the plate.  For an outside pitch, adjust the tee so the ball is lined up over the back outside corner of the plate (The plate runs with the lines of the batter’s box, then angles towards the catcher. You want to be where the plate starts to angle).

Realize that pitches should be hit to the side of the field the ball is placed on the tee. Right handed hitters hit inside pitches to left field and outside pitches to right. Lefties hit inside pitches to right field and outside pitches to left. When you do work on pitches down the middle, they should be hit back up the middle, towards center field. 

I understand that working off the tee and practicing pitches on the corners can be boring and frustrating. But if you want to become the best player you can, you have to focus on your weaknesses and improve. 

Visit our complete online resource for instructional baseball videos and eBooks at www.ToTheTopPerformance.com.

Hitting with the Infield In

In certain situations, usually later in the game, your opponent may pull their infield in when you are at bat. Infielders are pulled in when there are less than two outs and a runner is at third base. Any ball hit to an infielder will be thrown to the catcher if the runner at third base tries to advance and score. This is done to try to get the base runner out at home and prevent the run from scoring.

As a hitter, you have to think about this situation when you are making your plan. 

There are two schools of thought about this scenario. The first is that the batter must hit a fly ball to the outfield. A fly ball to the outfield will give the runner at third base a chance to tag up and score a run.

The second is to simply swing at a pitch you can hit hard, whether the ball ends up in the air or on the ground. The infield is playing in and this gives the hitter two advantages. 

The first advantage is that the infielder will not be able to field as many ground balls hit to the side. When an infielder is playing at normal depth, he can read a hit ball and move side to side in order to cover more ground. But when he is playing in, more than likely he will not be able to field a hard ground ball more than a step or two away from him.

The second advantage is a hard hit ground ball to an infielder playing in will increase the chances of the infielder making an error. The infielder has less reaction time, even on a ball hit directly to him, and is only concerned about keeping the ball in front and not about fielding it cleanly. 

As a coach, I think the number of outs dictates which philosophy you take into the batter’s box with you. If you are hitting with no outs and a runner at third base and the infield in, I think you should take the approach of hitting any pitch as hard as you can and taking your chances it will get through. The run will score and you can safely reach base. With one out, you should try and get a pitch you can drive to the outfield and score the run. If the ball falls in for a hit, that is a bonus, but scoring the run is more important.

Visit our complete online resource for instructional baseball videos and eBooks at www.ToTheTopPerformance.com.

Hitting Approach with a Runner on Third Base

When you are in the batter’s box and there is a runner on third base, it is up to you to drive him in. If there are two outs, your task can be a little harder. The only way you can score him (he can still score on mistakes by the other team) is with a base hit. Getting your teammate home is a lot easier with less than two outs. 

There are three things to avoid that hurt your chances when your team has less than two outs – not counting striking out, which you should always stay away from. They include hitting a ground ball to the third baseman, hitting a ground ball back to the pitcher or popping out to any infielder.  All three of these will keep the runner at third. 

These situations can become similar to a sacrifice bunt. You are sacrificing yourself to score the run. You should be willing to hit a ground ball to the second baseman or a fly ball to the left fielder. This will help your team score and that is what matters in baseball.

Now, it is easier for me to write this than for it to actually happen every time you are up in this situation, but that is why it is important for you to have a plan when you step in the batter’s box. 

If you are a left handed hitter, you should be looking for a pitch down the middle or inside. A left hander should be able to hit this pitch up the middle or to the right side of the field and allow the runner to score. 

If you are a right handed hitter, you should be looking for a pitch down the middle or away. As a righty, you are also looking to hit the pitch up the middle or to the right side of the field and these are the pitches to swing at. 

A third type of pitch, no matter if you are left or right handed, is a pitch you can hit to the outfield.  With less than two outs, a pitch hit to the outfield will give the runner at third an opportunity to try to score after the out is recorded. 

The most important stat in baseball is runs scored and you have to try and add to your total whenever possible. As a hitter, driving runs home, even when you get out, makes you a better player and a better teammate.

Visit our complete online resource for instructional baseball videos and eBooks at www.ToTheTopPerformance.com.