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If you want to improve your batting technique and speed, you have to put in the time and effort.
But you don’t have to stick to practicing out on the field or in a cage. There are some baseball drills at home that are easy to do and will help you hone your skills.
What are baseball drills? Basically, a baseball drill is a routine players do that helps them work on the most important elements of being a better baseball player: how to field, how to bat, and how to throw the ball.
Since we’re talking about improving your batting, here are four easy batting drills at home that you can do whenever you feel the need to practice. The bonus is that you can do these by yourself and they’re also fun.
Why You Should Make Batting A Solo Sport
Hitting a ball during a baseball game can feel overwhelming: you have to react to the fast ball that’s coming your way, while having the right form and swing the bat (check the best baseball bats here) with the correct technique. It’s enough to zap your confidence.
That’s why practicing alone with batting drills at home can help you.
When you’re relaxed, you can improve your technique and hit more balls.
As time goes by, you’ll be achieving skills that you’ll be able to depend on when you step up to the plate. Here are four baseball drills at home that you can try.
Drill 1: Don’t Hit The Fence!
What you’ll need:
- Baseball bat
- Fence
You won’t be hitting a ball during this batting drill, but that’s the point. If you work on your form and technique when hitting the ball, you’ll also be increasing your confidence levels.
This is a drill focused on correcting mistakes in your form and becoming more comfortable with the movements of hitting the ball.
Here’s what you do: stand approximately one bat length away from a fence.
You want to be close to the fence but without hitting it when you swing your bat. You also don’t want your arms to be able to straighten completely.
Now, imagine that a ball’s been pitched to you, then swing the bat.
You should pull the bat’s head behind your hands until the ball is right in front of your body, then move the head outwards at the ball.
Tips for making the most of this drill:
- Keep your arms close to your body.
- Start with slow swings and increase your speed as you become more comfortable.
Drill 2: Stay In The Bucket
This hitting drill is a solid way to ensure you stay inside the box when hitting a ball so that you don’t appear afraid and let the pitcher take the outside part of the plate.
It’s also important to work on your balance so that you can hit the ball successfully, and this drill from The Season will help you on that front.
What you’ll need:
- Baseball bat
- Baseball
- Tee
- Tire
How to do this drill:
- You want to set up the tee in position, then put a baseball on top of it.
- Take a tire and place it a few inches away from you in front of your front foot.
- Swing the bat as you normally would, but concentrate on landing with your front foot inside the tire after you have completed your swing.
- To do this, step forward and avoid moving sideways.
Drill 3: The Ball Throw
This drill requires you to throw a ball instead of hit it. You might be wondering how that can be beneficial for improving your batting skills, but this drill will help you improve your hand-to-eye coordination, which is crucial when batting. You’ll also have to work on your timing so that you catch the ball, as well as improve your reflexes.
What you’ll need:
- A baseball
How to do it:
- Get into your batting position. If you’re left-handed, you want to take the ball with your right hand. If you’re right-handed, hold the ball in your left hand.
- Throw the ball up with your hand as if you’re going to swing it with a bat. Your other arm should be in the position you use when you hold a bat.
- Now, move through the motions with your hand and arm as if you were going to hit the ball. Focus on using the same amount of speed, but then instead of hitting the ball you should catch it.
- You can use this drill to help you get better with outside and inside pitches. For outside pitches, throw the ball a bit further away from you. For inside pitches, throw the ball in front of you. Now, move your arm over so that you can catch it.
Drill 4: The Walk-through Tee
If you want to be a good hitter, you have to have good rhythm. That’s a vital part of the game. This is a drill you can practice at home alone that will help you improve your timing and rhythm.
What you will need:
- Baseball
- Tee
- Bat
How to do it:
- Set up the baseball on a tee, making sure that if you stand with your feet more than shoulder-width apart, the tee is in line with your front instep.
- Now, take a few steps back so that you’re a few feet away from the tee.
- While holding the bat upright and towards your shoulder, you will take a step forward.
If you are right-handed, you want to step forward with your right leg. If you are left-handed, step forward with your left leg.
- Then take a step forward with your other leg as you swing the bat to hit the ball on the tee.
Cool Tools For Batting Practice
When doing baseball drills at home, sometimes you can’t help but feel like you need someone to pitch balls to you. That’s why it can be helpful to get your hands on a baseball swing trainer.
There are many baseball swing trainers on the market that offer you ways to improve your batting.
Some make use of sensors that you can easily attach to your bat so you can monitor your swing, while others are simple training stations that you can set up whenever you want to practice batting with a bat, ball, and rope that swings around a pole. (Read: Best Baseball Swing Trainers.)
Whether you’re a beginner or have some batting experience, a swing trainer can be a useful tool for helping you improve your skills. It’s especially great on practice days when you’re training alone or are tired of doing your usual drill exercises.
Do I need to warm up for batting?
Warming up helps you prepare for batting, while increasing your flexibility.
To warm up properly, you can make use of the above drills, which will put your body through the motions of what you will be doing when you bat.
You can also do some light jogging to increase blood flow to your muscles.
What does it mean to hit “through the baseball?”
When practicing baseball drills at home, you might’ve heard that you need to hit through the baseball.
This means that the speed with which you’re swinging your bat should be at its maximum just before you make contact with the ball. This drives the ball further.
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