78th Precinct Youth Council                 
 

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BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL
***  PRACTICE DRILLS  ***
    BATTING 

Mirror Swings (& The Basics) Bottom Hand Swings Top Hand Swings

MIRROR SWINGS:

The Drill:  Take 12 swings in front of a mirror.  Imagine there is a pitcher and you begin your swing when the pitcher lifts his or her front leg to start the delivery.

The Goal – Hit hard line drives and ground balls by swinging in a slightly downward path as if chopping a tree.  To achieve this:

1.  Grip the bat at the base of the fingers, not in the palms

2.  Transfer the weight to the back foot when the pitcher begins the delivery – as John Ottavino says on our instructional video tape – "rock the pocket" – when the pitcher shows you his or her pocket, show your back pocket to the pitcher.  This is also called loading up on the back foot.

3.  Wait as long as you can, then pivot off the ball of the back foot (John calls it squishing the bug) and throw the handle of the bat at the ball.  The idea is to get the maximum amount of concentrated effort at the point of contact, which is when the ball reaches the front of home plate. 

 

 4.  To add torque, angle your back foot towards the 2nd baseman if you are a right handed batter or the shortstop if you are a left handed batter.

 

5.  The eyes should stay fixed on the ball.  That will result in the head almost resting on the front shoulder and finishing on the back shoulder.

Tips:
How to avoid an upward swing: Keep the back elbow up, and not only push through with the back arm, but also pull through with the front arm.

What should you be looking at during the pitcher’s delivery?  According to Dusty Baker, San Francisco Giants Manager and author of You Can Teach Hitting , your eyes should be fixed on the eye of the pitcher that is on the side of the pitching arm.  Then, when the ball appears near the side of the pitcher’s head, move your eyes to it.  The theory is that if you are following the ball in the hand of the pitcher, your eyes are moving too much and it will take you longer to pick up the ball once it is released.

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BOTTOM HAND SWINGS

Hold the bat with your bottom hand only. Then take 6 swings.  Then do 3 more sets of 6 swings, each time with your eyes closed imagining that the ball is located at a different spot in the strike zone.

 

 

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TOP HAND SWINGS

Hold the bat with your top hand only. Then take 6 swings.  Then do 3 more sets of 6 swings, each time with your eyes closed imagining that the ball is located at a different spot in the strike zone.

Many thanks to the Berkeley Carroll Varsity Baseball Team and their coach, Walter Paller, for providing these instructional tips.

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