Unlock Your Swing: Top Baseball Hitting Tips for Players

Learning how to be a good baseball hitter is as much art as it is science. The best hitters experiment all the time with their stance, their position in the batter’s box, and what type of bat they’re using. There are some fundamentals that the best hitters master. Let’s look at 4 concepts you should understand to help you hit it out of the park.

How to Pick the Right Bat Size

Before you can actually work on your swing, you need a baseball bat. When young players start, they often just take a couple of swings with different bats that are part of the team equipment. They typically focus on the weight of the bat—whether it’s too heavy or too light—for them. Weight is important but so is the length of the bat.

There are 3 tips that can help you right-size the length of your bat and find the correct weight.

Finding Length by Height: The bottom or barrel of the bat should rest comfortably on the floor when you’re holding the bat in the palm of your hand by your side. If you have to stretch for it to reach the floor, it’s too short. It’s too long if you have to move your hand down the barrel.
Finding Length with Your Arm: Put the skinny end of the bat into your chest and grab the bat as far as your arm can stretch comfortably. If your hand reaches the barrel or fatter part of the bat, it’s a fit.
Bat Weight: Bat weight is a matter of comfort. Some players prefer a heavier bat and others prefer a lighter bat. If you’re a power hitter, a heavier bat might be preferable. If you’re a control hitter who likes to keep the ball in play, a lighter bat might work. Experiment with weights that are heavier or lighter. For beginners, it’s usually better to start with a lighter bat.

Where Should You Stand in the Batter's Box?

A general rule for finding the right spot in the batter’s box is you need to be able to cover the whole plate. That means you should stand close enough to the plate to reach the outside of it. To figure out if you can reach the outside of the plate, take your batting stance and drop the bat at a 45-degree angle while reaching out comfortably. You shouldn’t have to stretch to reach the outside of the plate. Using this method of finding the right spot is a good way for beginners to find their spot in the batter’s box. It’s important to always stand in the same spot in the batter’s box. Younger players who are smaller should stand closer to the plate. One way to experiment with your position is to hit practice pitches that travel across inside, middle, and outside portions of the plate. That can give you a good gauge of where you need to stand in the box.

Experienced players can sometimes adjust their position in the box slightly based on the type of pitches that are coming across the plate. If the balls are traveling on the outside of the plate, they might step 6 inches or a foot closer to the plate. Inside pitches could force them off the plate.

What Are the 3 Fundamentals for Hitting a Baseball?

Using your head, hands, and feet correctly are key components of making a good swing. Below are 3 fundamentals you should learn to be a good hitter.

Using Your Head: Your head should be stationary when the pitcher releases the ball. However, when you decide to swing at a pitch, your head will travel from your back shoulder to your front shoulder as you swing through the ball. Your head doesn’t stay still through the swing.
Using Your Hands: A common phrase that hitting instructors use is “take your hands to the ball.” Don’t push your hands toward the ball too early, though. Stay back and start to turn through the ball with your upper body when it comes across the plate. Your hands should sync up with your body at the point of contact with the baseball. This helps you generate the maximum amount of bat speed.
Using Your Feet: It’s important to stay centered during the baseball swing. You want to keep your balance. The position of your feet should be roughly shoulder length apart. Your lower body can generate much of the power for a home-run hitter. You should shift most of your weight to your back foot when taking a swing at a baseball. Then you step into the ball with your front foot. After you hit the ball, your weight should shift mostly to your front foot. Getting the footwork mastered is an important part of being a good hitter.

What Makes a Good Hitter in Baseball?

Learning how to deal with the ups anddowns that inevitably occur over a long baseball season is part of the process of becoming a good hitter. Below are 4 attributes all good hitters possess.

A Good Eye: In baseball, a good eye means that you need to understand the strike zone. You don’t want to swing at pitches that are outside the strike zone or are balls. Bad pitches are harder to hit. Look for pitches in your comfort zone. Some players like the outside part of the plate. Others prefer the inside part of it. The term players use is to “look for your pitch.”
Proper Hitting Form: This means finding the right spot in the batter’s box, learning how to square your bat to the ball, and driving through the ball with your legs and upper body.
Confidence: It’s easy to get down on yourself if you aren’t hitting well. Hitting a baseball successfully is more often than not a game of failure. Good hitters bat around .300, which means for every 10 at-bats, they get 3 hits and they fail 7 times. Even when the hits aren’t dropping, good hitters believe that every at-bat they’ll be successful. If self-doubt takes over, it makes it even harder to hit a baseball.
Hitting a baseball successfully is a craft. You constantly have to experiment with all the elements of your hitting style to improve. The earlier you start learning how to be a good hitter, the better chance you’ll have of becoming an expert in your craft. It takes time to be a good hitter. Don’t rush the process and remember to start with the fundamentals.