Baseball Swing Mechanics Hitting Guide
IMPROVE BASEBALL SWING MECHANICS WITH THIS STEP-BY-STEP BASEBALL HITTING GUIDE FOR CONSISTENT CONTACT AND POWER THROUGHOUT THE SWING
1.) BASEBALL HITTING STANCE + LOAD/GATHER
Solid baseball swing mechanics start with a strong and balanced stance. The goal is to find a comfortable baseball stance that works for you. One that allows you to get to a powerful hitting position with consistent rhythm and timing. To promote proper balance your stance should be relaxed, not stiff. Making small movements while waiting for the pitch can relieve tension and help reduce rigidity in your form. As you “load” or gather your energy back and prepare to make a forward move into the ball, your weight should shift to the inside of the back leg. To build momentum, you must go back before you go forward.
LDPT BASEBALL SWING MECHANICS PRO TIPS:
- Practice getting in-sync with the pitcher while on-deck, but, generally, the best time to “load” is just as the pitcher starts his leg lift.
- The load/gather stride should be early, slow and controlled.
- Keep hips square and make sure your head and knee are inside back foot for optimal balance. (1)
- Staying back will help prevent swinging with the upper body only, a flaw that reduces power and shortens the time the barrel is in the hitting zone. (2)
2.) BASEBALL HITTING MECHANICS FUNDAMENTALS
LOWER BODY ROTATION:
Once a portion of your weight is on your back foot, you will want to keep the lower half of your body square to home plate and inside the ball. The first move with the lower half should be a compression – a pinch of the back knee toward the inner thigh of the stride leg. As your front hip rotates firing at the ball, the back foot will pivot, allowing you to explode forward. You do not want to “squish the bug” with your back foot. You want to drive from the ball of the foot, up the leg, and into the hip to generate power from the bottom up. This is the foundation of proper baseball swing mechanics.
CONNECTED UPPER BODY:
Upper body motion should begin with the back elbow tucking into the rib cage, leading the hands toward the ball while remaining inside the front elbow. This gives you the ability to adjust to an outside pitch if needed. The hands should never work ahead of the back elbow or hip. If the back elbow, back hip, and hands don’t sync correctly then you’ll end up pushing the barrel of the bat rather than releasing through the ball.
MOMENTUM AND TIMING
Hips before hands – when the lower half rotates, the upper half will spin and the bat will work through the hitting zone. With proper baseball swing mechanics, the lower half (back knee) drives toward the pitcher. And the upper half (front shoulder) stays closed allowing weight transfer to occur naturally and the hands to work live and independent of the body.
LDPT BASEBALL SWING MECHANICS PRO TIPS:
- A slight compression or pinch of the back knee into the inner thigh of the stride leg will keep the lower half square and inside the ball. (1)
- The back elbow, back hip and hands should align perfectly. (2)
- Keep head inside knees and knees inside feet. (3)
- Don’t “squish the bug” during lower body rotation or stop forward momentum until the stride heel plants firmly into the ground. (4)
3.) BASEBALL CONTACT + BAT PATH
Contact is the moment of truth. The bat must meet the 3-inch spinning ball within an eighth of an inch of dead center and at precisely the right millisecond. This is why correct and calculated baseball swing mechanics are so important. During contact, the wrists should be straight and the hands should be in the “palm up/palm down” position. If you don’t have a strong grip, the bat will actually slow down or bounce off the ball. With proper hand position at contact, you should be able to drive through the baseball. This is an important element in proper baseball hitting mechanics.
Baseball Swing Mechanics For Proper Bat Path
Connecting with the ball is one of the toughest components of hitting mechanics to master. Developing a proper bat path through the strike zone allows for various points of contact, helping you to hit the ball more consistently. This can only be obtained through repetitive baseball hitting drills that form muscle memory. Identifying the right movements and activating the correct muscle groups using our patented baseball hitting trainer while swinging will instill the “feel” of proper baseball swing mechanics. With repetition, that “feel” will become second nature.
LDPT BASEBALL SWING MECHANICS PRO TIPS:
- Hands should be in the “palm up/palm down” position.
- Get in the zone as quickly as possible and keep the barrel in the hitting zone as long as possible for maximum points of contact.
- You should finish your baseball swing with both arms fully extended and the end of the bat pointed out towards center field.
KEEP IN MIND…
When our subconscious sends a message to our muscles, it travels 10 times faster than a message coming from our conscious mind. One of the best things you can do come game time is to practice and put in work before the game. This will allow you to free yourself up and be confident at the plate. The only decision you should make as a hitter is to swing or not to swing. When at bat you want to define your goal (get a hit) without any thought on “how” to accomplish it. The “how” is achieved during your baseball hitting drill routine.
Being faithful to a daily hitting routine that incorporates the use of baseball swing trainers during hitting drills will enhance your ability to correct flaws and get a “feel” for proper baseball swing mechanics. The simple but effective baseball hitting drill shown below can help improve any player’s baseball swing mechanics in no time.
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