The Major League Hitting Philosophy

Hitting is all about timing and balance. It is very important that a young hitter realize this. He must master the balance part, in order to get his timing down properly. If one is off, the other will suffer.

Most hitting instructors who have never hit at the higher levels of baseball teach improper techniques. Granted, every hitter is different, but all who are successful do a few basic mechanics the same. The number one thing to realize is that hitters must use their hands to hit the baseball. Their legs do the dirty work, and the hands put the bat to the ball. The quicker the hands are to the ball, the more time a hitter has to react to the pitch. Guessing is not a good method for a hitter's approach. Reacting to the pitch is what is best, and the more time one has, the better the hitter. Quick hands give the hitter ample time to react. Being quiet with one's swing is the key to having quick hands. Any sudden movements with the lower half to try to generate more power will be detrimental. The hands do the work.

One very important thing to teach is that the the top hand holds the bat, and the bottom hand swings the bat. A lot of young hitters try to hit with their top hand, and it causes a slow bat with tension throughout the forearms. If the bottom hand swings the bat, the knob will be prone to go directly to the ball, creating a short, compact, and powerful swing that utilizes the hands properly. This is the major league swing. The bat should be up in the fingers, with the knuckles lined up properly.

The rest of the swing will vary from hitter to hitter. There are five major phases to look for in a swing. All of these should follow basic rules. Every good hitter exhibits these mechanics in one form or another when hitting the baseball properly. Understand, however, that BLE is not trying to clone everyone, but give them a basic overall view on how to approach and attack a pitch.

The Stance

The hitter should have a balanced stance. His weight should not be entirely on his back leg, because he needs to load before he swings. 60/40 split on the weight distribution is ideal.

The hitter's feet should be wider than the shoulders, with his knees inside the feet. This ensures that the knees are not bowed, causing major problems. The knees should be slightly bent, with a straightened upper body. The further bent over the plate the upper body is, the more trouble a hitter is going to have with inside pitches and seeing the pitch properly. In order to see pitches properly, the hitter should close his front eye. If he still has a good view of the pitcher, then he is lined up properly. If not, he must correct his stance, and that usually means straightening up his upper body.

Placement of the arms does not matter too much. Just make sure that the arms are not bowed out, which will bar the swing. The arms should be held closer to the body, with relaxed shoulders, elbows, and hands.

Things to remember:

-Bent knees with weight evenly distributed (60/40 is okay).
-Both eyes should be able to properly see the pitcher
-Arms should not be bowed out, which causes the swing to be barred.

The Load

Nothing can happen until the hitter gets his front foot down. This is the most important part of the load phase. In order to do anything, the front foot MUST come down FIRST. Therefore, the hitter has to give himself ample time to get his front foot down.

From the stance, the hitter will load himself, meaning that he must shift his weight to his backside, before striding and planting. His hands must follow his weight transfer to the backside. If he tries to hit directly from his stance, this will speed the ball up, and cause major problems.  His hands need to move slightly back before they can go forward.

Once the weight and hands start their "loading" process, the hitter should pick his front foot up about three inches and stride. The stride should be QUICK AND SHORT. No more than six inches is recommended. The longer and higher the stride, the longer the hitter needs to get his front foot down in order to start his swing. A long stride will cause the hitter to lean and sway, resulting in too many problems to list. Therefore, quick feet mean quick hands!!!! No weight transfer should occur during the load and stride, except to the backside. The front foot needs to be planted lightly. A "strong" or "heavy" front foot usually results in bad timing and a tensioned swing, which causes a slow swing. A good position to be in once the front foot is planted is to have the weight and hands still back, but ready to explode to the baseball.

              
Since the hitter must load and stride before starting his swing, it is imperative that he give himself ample time to let this phase of his approach develop without being rushed. This is the number one thing to remember when loading and striding, because nothing can happen until the front foot is planted.

Things to remember:

- Front foot must be down before the swing starts
- Hands and weight must "load" before going forward
- Stride should be quick and short
- Quick feet mean quick hands
- Hands need to stay back
- No leaning or swaying during this phase
- Give ample time for this phase of the approach to develop
- The front foot must be planted lightly- soft feet

 The Swing

Hitters' swings vary from hitter type to body type. Every swing is different, but all approaches should exhibit a few of the same mechanics.

A hitter swings with his hands. The legs supply the power, but the hands take the bat to the ball. It is recommended that any unnecessary movements be eliminated. Once the front foot is planted, the hitter has two parts of his body to worry about, the upper and lower halves.

First the lower half. The back knee will start to press and turn inward once the swing is started. Many young hitters try to extend the back knee, which is wrong. "Squash the bug" is a good saying, because is makes the hitter use his back knee to transfer the power and weight to the hands. A hitter never wants to be out on his front foot. He wants to have his weight balanced throughout his swing.

The front side should stay stiff, and stay closed until contact. If the front hip and front side open too early, the swing will be slow and loopy. The front side needs to be able to withstand and accommodate all the force and energy that the hitter is producing. Any "leakage" of his hips will cause problems. That is why a hitter must hit off his front side.

The hips should never fully open up to first base. They should be squared up to the pitcher. If the hips fly open towards first, the hitter will be off balance. Outside pitches will have the hips squarer, and middle and inside pitches will have the hips opened directly at the pitcher. All of the opening of the hips should occur at the point of contact, no sooner.

Now for the upper half, meaning the hands. The path swing should be down, emulating a "chopping" action. The hands need to stay above and inside the baseball at all times. If the hands drop below the baseball, the swing will be loopy. The "knob to the ball" saying will help young hitters realize this mechanic of staying on top of the ball.

The hands need to be short to the baseball, and long through the baseball. This means taking the knob to the ball, and staying long through the hitting zone. In order to do this properly, the hitter must keep his elbows close to his belly. If the elbows are far from his belly during his swing, he will have a barred swing. At the point of impact, the elbows should be slightly bent, which will allow the hitter's swing to stay through the hitting zone longer. Once the swing gets to the hitting zone, the hitter can drive through the zone.

The head should be down at all times. It must never fly open. If this occurs, the upper body will follow. The hitter should keep his head over the hitting zone for as long as possible. A good rule of thumb is to keep the head over the crotch. If the head leans too far forward, the hitter will be on his front foot.

Things to Remember:

- Hands short to ball, and long through ball
- Elbows should be close to the belly
- Hands above and inside baseball
- Hips should square to pitcher, no more
- Head over the crotch, and should never fly open