Hitting can be taught.
This page is based on the recent on-field experience of two of WebBall's coaches. It's not the typical quick tips page which we offer elsewhere on the site. But based on recent surveys and feedback, there is a segment of our visitors that appreciates the broader picture of the skills of baseball. This is for them - and, we hope, you.


He went up to the plate thinking long ball every time. And took a huge stride on every pitch - from the first to the last, the last being the one that would send him back to the bench with another K. The long stride was completely taking him away from the ball - mostly because the long stride would lower his body, and his eyeline to the ball would shift down 6" or more right at the critical moment. (See Visual Perception for more on why this is a problem.)

To make it even worse, his stride would be away from the plate, and his head would turn away from the strike zone early - he was looking for where the hit was going before the pitch even reached the plate. He never had a chance on outside pitches and missed inside as well.

At first we were reluctant to do anything. After all the swing had power. But it became obvious that power without contact is pointless. The first effort was to shorten the stride, but he was still stepping in the bucket and still pulling his head off the pitch. So we suggested he start with a wide stance which would encourage him to step into the pitch. That worked somewhat - the result was a more contained swing. We then worked on the head - with dry swings and soft toss from the just 5' to the side and whiffle balls thrown from 20' in front. All of these were designed to get him to pattern a swing with a narrower focus closer to the plate.
The rest of the program was constructive encouragement - on the bench, in the on deck circle and as he stepped into the batter's box.

At all times the suggestions were NOT the usual platitudes to

• "keep your eye on the ball" or
• "just swing at good pitches".

The instructions were specific:

• "start out, step in"and
• "stay contained" and
• "head in" and
• "we need a single here, just get it to the outfield grass"

This hitter who would maybe get a hit once every couple of games has had a couple of games were he has gone 4 for 4 or better, and is consistently putting the ball in play and earning himself RBIs. He has also hit a couple of longer balls into the gaps - the power never went away because we didn't mess with his batspeed - we just contained his stride and improved his ability to track the pitch.

Among future projects - his ability and willingness to bunt, and his response to curveballs with less than 2 strikes. (He needs to go after some of the fat ones - always thinking fastball but ready to adjust to the break.) Still, we know now that when we have an opportunity to we work on these other skills, we should get reasonable results - he has had some success and he's willing to listen.