Baseball is a bat and ball game played between two teams of nine players each. This game is played on a large field of four bases arranged at the corners of a square or diamond shaped field. The two teams are the batting and fielding teams. The players on the batting team take turns to hit the ball against the pitcher of the fielding team. The fielding team tries to stop the hitter from scoring runs by getting the hitters out in several ways. The hitter of the batting team has to hit the ball hard and stop at one of the bases and later advance to other bases via a teammate’s hit.
You should be familiar with the mechanics of baseball swing if you are on the fielding team; your main goal should be to get the hitter strike out. I believe that the most important part of proper baseball swing mechanics is to have strong hands. You need to have that strength and weight to throw the ball hard.
- Prepare yourself to be able to throw many pitches every four to five days. This routine is called ‘stretched out’.
- If you want to have a strong throw; develop different types of pitches. Pitchers need a minimum of three different types of pitches. They face the same hitter multiple times in the practice and pitchers need to guess their hit.
- Always be familiar with the catcher; the catcher should know your pitching. You two need to be on the same page. Read more on how to play baseball
Proper Baseball Swing Mechanics:
- Never short arm the ball. The longer the stretch, the greater possibility it has to go with a strong force. Keep your arms straight throughout the swing with a relaxed elbow.
- Don’t be in a hurry to assume a fielding position. Your hips should be open until you release the ball.
- Always look at your right shoulder to see that the ball isn’t thrown too high.
- Throw the ball at maximum speed; it gives more chances that the hitter would miss the ball.
- Pitchers who are good with throwing the change-up don’t throw the change near the strike zone. It can be a hit. Get the strike by fooling the hitter and getting the ball to swing at the motion, not the pitch.
- Don’t lean too much on the glove worn side. You could lose control and throw a drop ball. Release your wrist and shoulders to create a spin. If you are pitching a fast curve ball your palm should be facing the sky.
Perfect baseball swing mechanics can be achieved if you practice these steps regularly.
Baseball Hitting Mechanics
- The weight of the hitter should be distributed equally on the balls of his/her feet. Then a drift in the hip towards the back leg. The weight of the hip should be 70% on the back leg and 30% on the front. There should be no movement in the front foot.
- There are many coaches who go haywire in teaching hitters how to hit. They believe that the hands make the swing happen, but this is false. The hips starts to open to allow the hands to hit with full force at a much higher speed.
- Hands have the most importance when it comes to hitting. The hips start to open, the hands get ready to shoot and the hips finish their rotation. The weight shifts forward into contact and all of these steps make a hard hitting swing. Read more on baseball batting tips and techniques
Baseball Swing Tips
People say, hitting the round baseball with a round bat is the hardest thing to do. But baseball hitting mechanics are not that difficult.
- Stay inside of your zone, so that you can hit to all fields.
- Avoid hitting at bad pitches; try to learn which pitch would be a good hit for you.
- Choose a bat that you can handle.
- When you are on a practice session, tell someone to watch over you so that he can see your flaws.
- It is advised to hold your bat at a 45 degree angle. Keep your back elbow close to your body
- Try to find out what your hitting strengths are. With practice, you will learn what pitches are within your strength zone.
- Have an erect posture, chin should be tucked in, hands should be at the back, eyes should be aimed on the pitcher and stay on the balls of your feet.
- Spread your feet lightly; this will help maintain balance.
