Batters are always trying to improve at their craft. Pitchers can throw fastballs that approach 100 miles per hour and they can also throw curves, sliders, change ups and screw balls. As a result, hitters always have something to work on when they get practice time.
Line Drive Drill
When in the batting cage, don’t try to hit for power. Try to to hit line drives. A line drive represents a clean hit with a solid swing. Batters who hit line drives demonstrate excellent timing when they come to the plate. Give each hitter 10 swings in the batting cage. The one who hits the most line drives wins the contest.
Move Up Drill
When in the batting cage, you can adjust the distance that you set up your pitching machine or you have a batting practice pitcher throw from. Normally, you want pitches to come from 60 feet, 6 inches from the plate, which is the same distance in an official game. In this drill, you throw five pitches at that distance to the hitter and then you move up 5 feet. Keep moving until you get to 40 feet. This will improve reaction time and give a hitter confidence when facing a tough fastball pitcher. The batting practice pitcher needs to throw with a protective screen in front of him in order to keep from getting hit by a line drive.
Work on the Breaking Ball
This will help all hitters when it comes to hitting the curve ball. Many players can hit a curve ball, but few can hit an excellent curve with a big break. This is a perfect drill when you have an experienced batting practice pitcher who can break off tough curve balls or you can use a pitching machine that has a curve ball option. The idea is to see how many curve balls your hitters can hit squarely. Each hitter gets 10 curve balls to hit and the one who makes solid contact most often wins the contest.
