Baseball Tips on Hitting - How to Overcome Two Very Common Baseball Hitting Problems!

Baseball Tips on Hitting - How to Overcome Two Very Common Baseball Hitting Problems!
By Larry Cicchiello

Tension Is A Hitter's Worst Enemy!

I've heard this expression dozens of times and could not agree more. No, let's make that hundreds of times. If you have tension in your swing, it is next to impossible to hit the ball effectively. On the other hand, relaxing is a great asset to have.

An outstanding baseball coach I know has his hitters take a deep breath before every pitch and go into relax mode. Please note that I said outstanding coach and not good or very good. It is often referred to as "the calm before the storm." Hitting a baseball well on a consistent basis is NOT an easy chore. If you have tension before and during the swing, it makes it an almost impossible chore. A smooth and gracious swing is what you want to strive for and tension will make it very difficult.

Like I've mentioned before, sometimes a slight waggle at the plate will help you to relax. Or you can wiggle your fingers on the bat while waiting for the pitch. It's very difficult to have your body tense up if your body is moving. Learning how to relax at the plate should be very helpful to you!

You Must Be Short To The Ball!

1. You must go from point "A" where you are loaded up, to point "B" where you are making contact, in a straight line. The very beginning of the swing is NOT level at all. It is a DOWNWARD movement when going from A to B and NOT a horizontal movement. Way too many players level out their swing at the start. The reason it is such a common problem is because they have heard the words "level swing" hollered out to them since they were eight years old. I wish I had a dime for every time I've heard a coach, parent or teammate holler those two words out. Only at the point of contact should the swing level out and NOT before that. You can not lose a valuable fraction of a second if it takes a fast ball a fraction of a second to get to the catcher's mitt. Look at it as simple math.

2. Another possibility for your swing to be "long and looping" may be that you are dropping your hands at the beginning of the swing. This can cause you to be "long" to the ball and cause your bat to have a slight drag.

3. You may be pushing your hands out too far away from your body and that will create a longer swing. Remember the expression, "hands back and bat forward."

4. You must keep your front shoulder closed. If you open the front shoulder too early, it will cause your bat to drag through the hitting zone. This is often referred to as "casting" the bat and not swinging the bat. "Casting" is what you do when you go fishing and not when you swing at a baseball.

Let's face it. There are hundreds of baseball tips on hitting. Having a tension free swing, being "short to the ball" and keeping the front shoulder closed should be right near the top of your list! They are three things that are absolutely critical for successful baseball hitting.

Larry is the successful author of several very user friendly eBooks and CD's covering 320 topics on playing or coaching excellent baseball. ANY player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Check out some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips at LarryBaseball.com.

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Baseball Tips on Hitting - Two Common Baseball Hitting Problems

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Article Title:
Baseball Tips on Hitting - Two Common Baseball Hitting Problems

By Larry Cicchiello

Let's look at two baseball hitting problems:

Problem Balance Poor

First of all, make sure that you are very comfortable in your stance. A good starting point is to have the feet about shoulder width apart or slightly wider. Usually, the width is about the same as if you were guarding someone in basketball and want to be ready to move left or right very quickly.

Make sure you are standing on the balls of your feet and NOT standing there flat-footed or even worse yet, standing with your weight on your heels. Standing with the weight on your heels may very well have you spinning like a top and that is not a good, solid foundation for effective baseball hitting and will destroy your balance.

Make sure your front shoulder remains closed. Opening your front shoulder too early will cause your foundation and balance to be severely disrupted and you won't be steady on your feet.

Problem Uppercutting the Ball. Many good baseball hitters appear to be uppercutting the baseball. The only time you should be uppercutting is when you are into the follow through of your swing. Uppercutting is a sure way to lower your batting average. Let's look at some possible reasons for uppercutting the baseball.

Your stance may be too wide. This will encourage your actual swing to be going upward when making contact.

You may be lowering your back leg, back elbow or back shoulder. It's often referred to as "collapsing your back side." If the back side goes down or collapses, the hands and the bat will go down also and you will be swinging upward to the ball.

You may be holding your hands too low and when the actual baseball hitting takes place, they will have nowhere else to go except upward and causing an uppercutting of the baseball.

Larry is the the author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." If you are a baseball player or are involved in baseball coaching at any level of play or a parent who wants to help your child improve, you will be fully equipped! His baseball website offers several FREE baseball tips from his very informative and very fairly priced eBooks.

Larry's baseball website is http://www.larrybaseball.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Larry_Cicchiello

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