Hitting Drills for Baseball When not Making Contact

Hitting Drills for Baseball that Produce Contact

The following hitting drills for baseball may seem drastic, but when batters fail to make contact continually, drastic measures are necessary. There is no mistaking that the hips play a big part in the baseball swing. The explosive hip turn provides much of the bat speed, resulting in ultimate power. Along with the use of the batter's arms, shoulders, and hand muscles, the hips are crucial for batting. However, that hip rotation often causes some players to pull their front shoulder and swing off the ball, resulting in no contact. Of course, that is a timing issue also, as batters may not let the ball get deep enough in the hitting zone, so they pull away from balls that are not on the inside portion of the plate. Whatever the case, when making contact is the problem, simplifying the process with hitting drills for baseball that eliminates the hip rotation, or drills that curtail the hip use, is a good start to making contact. Once contact comes, hitters can add the hip rotation back into their swing.

No Hip Turn Hitting Drills for Baseball

1. Have hitter begin on their back knee with their front leg extended at the pitcher and with safety balls, or from a shorter distance, pitch, or flip balls to batters. Without the hip turn, players will use their hands more and upper body, making them less likely to pull off the ball.
2. Have batters stand with their feet together, standing tall with no knee bend and no stride. Taking batting practice in this manner until contact comes is good, as this is another of the reduced hip turn hitting drills for baseball.

Other Reduced Hip Turn Hitting Drills for Baseball

1. Have batters swing with a smaller bat or by choking up on their regular bat, and have them only have the bat pointing at the pitcher at the completion of the swing. This also takes away most of the hip rotation away and keeps the front shoulder on the ball.
2. Have batters swing normally but pick their back foot up off the ground as they swing. This hitting method also forces the front shoulder to stay on the ball, as the picked up back leg forces a complete weight transfer with greater use of the upper front side of the batter.

Generally, these hitting drills for baseball that keep the front side on the ball longer without the hip rotation is the start of contact and better timing. Once contact begins, adding the hip rotation back is the next step.