Baseball Hitting Instructional Videos - Front Hand Drill
Hitting
Advice:
Exercise tie-in: Biceps
(light weights, high repetitions only)
Benefit:
Strengthens the muscles in your upper arms, complementing your triceps, which
assist in swing extension and bat speed.
Drill:
The "front-hand" drill is used to help develop proper swing mechanics
and assists in fine tuning hand/eye coordination.You are viewing this drill from
a side angle perspective. Although you cannot see the person tossing the ball
in this video clip, they are firmly tossing the ball underhanded to the batter.
The person tossing the ball is standing about 15 feet away from the batter and
is also standing behind a protective net, known as an "L- Screen" (ALWAYS
utilize an L-Screen when performing batting practice or any hitting drill where
a pitcher/tosser is utilized). This drill simulates the timing of an actual pitched
ball and is a great drill to develop proper swing mechanics and muscle memory.
The main objective of all hitting drills is to develop consistent mechanical hitting
fundamentals. Doing these drills properly on a daily basis gets your body and
mind into a state known as "muscle memory." Since successfully hitting
a baseball is such a repetitive technique, it is imperative to execute these drills
consistently and properly. In this particular clip, the objective is to hit line
drives to the middle of the field, wherever the ball is pitched, using only your
front hand. You want to be sure that your feet are at least shoulder width apart.
As you get into your stance you want to keep your hands back (remember that you
are only using one hand in this drill!) as well as your weight shifted slightly
to your backside. Mentally, visualize hitting the ball hard wherever it is pitched
IMPORTANT: ONLY SWING AT GOOD PITCHES TO HIT. If the pitch is not a good pitch,
TAKE IT (i.e., let it go). As you begin to address the ball, slightly shift your
weight back toward your backside (this is known as a "take-away"). The
whole time your eyes are focused on the ball. Once your weight is back, you will
next make a small stride with your front foot (no stride is ok as well) toward
the ball while your hands simultaneously load to the hitting position (this is
known as "stride separation"). Finally, let your front hand throw the
bat head to the ball while keeping your swing path through the hitting zone, naturally
pivoting on your back foot.You will be able to tell if you took a proper swing
path during this drill if you are able to hit line drives consistently to all
fields/areas of the batting cage. Repeat this drill for about 25 swings or until
you feel that you have established a nice, consistent rhythm. Remember: your objective
is to get yourself into a nice rhythm and mindset prior to your actual game.