How to Bat Properly

Batting stance

While there is no one "right" way to become a successful baseball hitter, there are guidelines you can follow to learn how to bat properly. Once you are comfortable with your swing and stance, you can tinker with the mechanics until you find what gives you the most success.

Things You'll Need

• Batting Tee

Instructions

Adopt a batting stance

1. Stand about six to 12 inches from home plate, with your back foot even with the plate's point. Keep your feet shoulder-length apart. Grip the bat a half-inch to an inch above the knob, with your back hand on top (right-handed batters should put their right hand on top, and lefties vice versa). Bring the bat back, keeping your back elbow cocked to your shoulder. Keep your weight on your back foot. Be sure you can clearly see over your front shoulder to the pitcher.

2. Hone your swing. This isn't something that can be completed overnight; it takes hundreds and hundreds of swings.
   Take a small step forward, toward the pitcher, with your front foot. Shift your weight from your back foot to your front. Generate power through your hips. Drop your hands as you swing the bat through, keeping your head down (where the ball will be). The swing will pull your hands across your body, and you want to follow through so the bat makes a nice, clean arc. Don't end with a big "uppercut" swing, as if you are trying to hit the ball in the air. You want a nice, compact swing, with the objective of hitting the ball as squarely as possible, in order to produce line drives.

3. Step up to the batting tee. No matter how old you are, this helps refine swings immensely. Position the tee toward a batting cage or fence. Get into your stance and slowly swing at the ball. Keep your eye on the ball until after the bat makes contact. Keep your swing slow until you are making pure, consistent contact. Then, speed up your swing. Try to consciously keep in mind all of the elements of your swing in the beginning (hands, feet, hips, head); once you have everything down pat, you will be able to swing quickly without thinking.

4. 

   Practice at a batting cage with a pitching machine. Start out on the slowest speed possible. Here is where you may tinker a bit with your stance, including how close or far away you'd prefer to stand to the plate. Again, remain conscious of all of the elements in your swing. Stay at the slowest speed until you are making solid, line-drive contact. Then, move up to the faster speeds.

5. Practice with a live pitcher. This is much more important than practicing at the batting cages, and more difficult, too. While a pitching machine will usually throw nothing but strikes, a live pitcher will offer balls that are high, low, inside, outside and at several different speeds. Keep the mechanics of your swing the same, though you will have some adjustments to make depending on the pitch.

Tips & Warnings

• A lot of baseball players say, "Swing hard, in case you hit something." Keep your eye on the ball until it leaves the bat. Whether you're swinging a wooden, aluminum or wiffle ball bat, you need to find the one that is most comfortable for you. Try to only swing at strikes.

• Don't fall in love with the home run. Batting instructors believe that the best swings are compact, line-drive swings. Home runs will follow, but go for solid, line-drive contact. Remember: the best hitters in the majors fail seven out of 10 times, so you won't strike the ball cleanly every time. Be patient in every at-bat.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish