Drills to drive the ball

Babe Ruth's Advice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKwmSfbpGNY

How Ted Williams did it

http://web.baseballhalloffame....mv&type=v_free&_mp=1

How DiMaggio Did it

http://web.baseballhalloffame....mv&type=v_free&_mp=1

Hit off the Tee until your arms fall off, then hold the bat in your mouth and hit off the Tee some more...

There could be all kinds of things wrong causing GB's. Early contact, late contact, poor bat path, etc, etc.

Like coach curt suggested start with a T. Then get some help. Remember practice makes permanent not perfect. You did not mention age also. Post a video and some of the guys here can help you get started in the right direction.

If your hitting mechanics are wrong continuing to practice those poor mechanics will only make you better at being wrong.

Thanks all. My son is a 16 year old sophomore. He is hitting for a very high average (.425) but not a lot of extra base hits. The issue looks to be he is rolling his top hand too early before extension.

Here is something he can try that is very simple and easy to do. Just have him start with his hands a little higher and see what happens with this. Without being able to actually see him hit thats about all I can offer. Sometimes by just raising the hands a little it help with this. Not the roller over part that is something entirely different. The next time he takes bp just tell him to take a few hacks with the hands a little higher. See what happens.

You might want to check what his coach's philosophy is first. My son is playing freshman ball and has a hit every game, hits in runs, only struck out maybe 3 times in 7 games, but has flown out to CF or RCF about once a game. His coach finally swapped him (2nd) and the 8th batter. I commend my son for waiting a game or two then politely asking his coach about the move during a practice. He told him that he "wants more ground balls at the top of the order... GBs have a better shot of getting through than fly balls, etc." Of course, they're also not as likely to turn into base-clearing doubles or triples. But I understand that he'd rather my 5'6" 120 lb. son hit hard line drives than fly balls that are easy to get under.

Just warning that if your son were to start lifting the ball more, that MIGHT not be what his coach is looking for.

YMMV. Good luck.

HS coaches want more GB's for one reason. At the high school level your chances of reaching on a GB are much greater than on ball that is driven unless it goes out of the park. Why? Errors at the hs level. #1 it has to be hit where someone can make a play on it. #2 they have to field it cleanly. #3 they have to make an accurate throw that is on time. #4 It has to be caught by the guy its thrown to before the runner reaches the bag. 4 things they must do properly in order to get you out IF it is hit where it can be fielded.

With a ball that is driven it has to be hit where someone can field it and then it has to be caught. 2 things vs 4 things.

I know HS coaches that clone their hitters in an attempt to get GB's on a routine basis in order to give their team the best chance to succeed. The problem with this is it hinders the development of the hitters. As they move up in competition those GB's that allowed them to reach are now routine outs. Those GB's that got through the infield no longer get through the infield. etc etc.

You want to learn to drive the ball no matter how young you are or how big or small you are in my opinion. You can be strong and small in stature. Pedroia doesnt make a living hitting GB's.

Line drives and some drives in the gaps along with some smoke GB's. And once in awhile a bomb.

Just my opinion but I want our guys to look to drive the baseball. Work on a swing path that allows them to drive the baseball not consistently hit ground balls. JMHO

quote:

Originally posted by Coach May:
If your hitting mechanics are wrong continuing to practice those poor mechanics will only make you better at being wrong.

Coach, that sounds like the baseball version of my einstein quote tag line below!

Gotta agree with Coach May on this one. Ground balls in HS mean that something bad has a greater likelihood of happening. The thing is, as you move up, you don't get to play SS, or third, or second too long if you don't catch your fair share (unless you are really raking =)). We even tell our pitchers to "throw a ground ball" because we have confidence in our infield.

Philosophies evolve as the players get bigger and stronger, but line drives and driving the ball are always gold.