Baseball Batting Practice Tip - Do Not Swing at This Pitch

When teaching someone to hit a baseball, the most important, yet hardest aspect to teach is watching the ball hit the bat. In order to hit a baseball, the batter must see the ball. The following tip is a great way to have the batter practice watching the ball as it comes through the strike zone, where the bat will be making contact when actually swinging.

Place a sheet of plywood (or other suitable material) behind the batter where the catcher would normally be located. On this plywood should be four squares painted in the location of where the strike zone is located. Two squares should be painted next to one another at the top of the strike zone and two squares directly below at the bottom of the strike zone. Then either label each square with numbers, one through four, or paint them each a different color.

The batter should stand in the batter's box as if they are ready to take batting practice. Instruct the batter that they are not going to swing at the pitches, but need to watch the ball all the way through the strike zone and see where on the sheet of plywood the ball hits. Then, the batter has to tell the coach where the ball hit by identifying the square the ball hit. The pitcher should pitch the balls nice and easy to give the batter a chance to see the ball all the way through the strike zone and hit the plywood.

Keep in mind that often the reason a batter is not watching the ball make contact with the bat, especially in younger children, is because they are timid or downright scared of getting hit by the baseball. So, practice this drill cautiously as this drill can also be used to build up a batter's confidence that they will not be hit by the baseball.

Another point to keep in mind with younger children is that this drill can become boring very quickly. Mixing this drill with other drills such as base running can reduce boredom and eliminate the batter from losing concentration on the task at hand.

This drill cannot be practiced for only a few pitches. It needs to sink in quite well with the batter the importance of watching the ball all the way through the strike zone. Even during normal batting practice or game situations, every batter should watch every pitch all the way to the catcher's mitt whether they intend to swing or not. This level of concentration will transfer to when the batter actually takes a swing and the batter will better be able to watch the ball hit the bat.