The Batting Drill You Must Add to Your Baseball Training
In my research where I look for batting drill resources I’ve come across many baseball websites that give some great information on batting drills and some that didn’t.
In this article I’m going to go over the #1 batting drill called the 1, 2, 3 drill. The 1, 2, 3 batting drill will allow you to see a measurable difference in being able to hit for a higher average and with more power.
In the 1, 2, 3 batting drill instead of swinging all at one time you break the baseball swing down into 3 steps and perform each step of the baseball swing one at a time. Here’s how it goes:
Step 1: Get into your batting stance and step/stride with your front foot like you’re going to swing and go back 2-3 inches with your hands to load. When you get to this point in your swing you stop and just hold the position.
Step2: Pivot your back leg a little less than half of what you would normally pivot your back leg/foot for a full swing. This allows your back leg to starting pivoting so you can easily open up your hips as you begin to start to make contact with the baseball. And then once you get to this position and paused for a couple of seconds we go to Step 3.
Step 3: Finish your swing by swinging the bat through the ball, holding on to the bat with two hands right to the end of your swing, while finishing pivoting your back foot and opening up your hips all the way.
Note: You can perform this batting drill with a real baseball, tennis ball or wiffle ball. And you can perform this drill hitting off a batting tee or having someone flip the ball to you from the side in soft toss. I would not recommend using this hitting drill during batting practice, as it is a little tough to try to perform these 3 steps while hitting a baseball during live batting practice. This batting drill works best when used to slow the swing down by breaking the baseball swing into 3 parts and really being able to focus in on what you are trying to do on each step of the swing, hence why using this batting drill while hitting off the batting tee or during soft toss is the ideal way to perform this batting drill.
What this batting drill does for you is it:
1) Teaches and conditions a nice soft stride with your front foot which allows you to keep your weight back and not lunge and be out in front of off speed pitches such as change ups and curveballs.
2) Conditions your body to go back with your hands 2-3 inches properly while you step/stride with your front foot without having to think about it during a game. (You don’t want to windup when you go back with your hands, but you do want to go back a little to get your body in motion.)
3) Helps teach and condition the proper hitting techniques of how to pivot your back foot and open up your hips properly. (If you don’t pivot your back foot and open up your hips you will lose a lot of power, that’s why this hitting drill is so important.)
4) Teaches you to hit through the ball and hold on to the bat through contact all the way to the end of the swing. (If you let go of the bat too early you will lose power, so this will help ensure you hold on to the bat so you maximize your power)