Baseball Hitting Instructional Videos
- Side Toss Drill
Hitting
Advice:
Exercise tie-in: Shoulders
(light weights, medium repetitions only, no pressing movements)
Benefit:
Strengthens the muscles in your shoulders which assist overall upper body strength
and the athletic movement of the torque of a proper swing.
Drill:
You are viewing a basic side toss drill from a side angle perspective. This drill
is used when a full batting cage is not available and/or when an L-Screen is not
available for straight toss. This drill is primarily used to help a hitter get
loose and to get their body and their swing going in general. 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 net, wherever the ball is pitched. 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 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 hands throw the bat head to
the ball while keeping your swing path through the hitting zone, naturally pivoting
on your back foot. As you follow through with your swing, you can either hold
on with two hands or release your top hand, whichever feels most comfortable (this
is known as the "finish").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 into
the net. Repeat this drill for about 15 to 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.