Baseball Hitting Instructional Videos - Straight Toss Drill

Hitting Advice:

Exercise tie-in: Squats (light weights, high repetitions only)

Benefit: Strengthens the muscles in your legs which are the most vital components to all athletes for all types of athletic movements.

Drill: You are viewing a basic straight toss 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. 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 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.

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