THE 5 AREAS OF HITTING by Barton's Youth Baseball

THE 5 AREAS OF HITTING by Barton's Youth Baseball


STANCE: BALANCED. Legs should be a little wider than shoulder-width apart, feet slightly pigeon-toed. You want the knees flexed with the weight centered on the insides of the feet. The knees will slightly bend in toward each other, actually knock-kneed. GOOD ATHLETIC BALANCE is the primary objective.


GRIP: "Standard" grip recommended with middle (knocking) knuckles of both hands aligned on bat. Lay the bat down in the fingers across the callus line, not back in the palms. The goal of the standard grip is to achieve greater quickness and bat speed, thus "throwing the head of the bat at the ball."


HAND PLACEMENT & BAT ANGLE: Hands should be aligned so that the top hand on the bat sits at the same height as the rear shoulder, approximately 3-6 inches from same rear shoulder. Rear elbow should be down at a natural 45-degree angle**. The front elbow should also be down, pretty much even with the back elbow. The bat should sit at a 45-degree angle also, with the knob of the bat pointing at the opposite batter's box. This is where all proper swings originate from (launch position) regardless of their starting position, with the bat lying in the same plane as the pitched ball. Starting here eliminates unnecessary movement needed to get here during the swing.
** NOTE: ELBOWS SHOULD NOT BE UP!!! When the rear elbow starts up, it must come down in order to hit the ball, creating an uppercut. The swing then tends to get underneath the ball, creating a pop-up or complete miss. When a hitter has an uppercut, the bat is not in the strike zone for very long.


INWARD TURN & STRIDE: Begin the swing by actually moving back, gaining strength walking away from the hands), before going forward. Tuck the front shoulder, hip and knee in, about 3 inches. Hitter gains strength, speed and quickness, along with the opportunity to time the pitch. This also forces the hitter to keep the front shoulder "tucked" for a longer period of time while coiling; seeing the ball better before uncoiling through the ball. Stride should be only about 3-6 inches, at a 45-degree angle toward the plate, with the batter landing lightly on the inside of the big toe, with body weight still balanced through the middle of the body, not leaning forward or backward. Overstriding is very undesirable. "Slow feet create fast hands, while quick feet disrupt balance and slow the hands down!"


THE SWING: Head completely turned toward pitcher, square to the ground with both eyes level and focused on the release point of the pitcher. The swing begins from the waist down. After completion of stride, the heel of the front foot touches the ground, officially starting the swing. The hips begin their release with the hitter rolling up onto the ball of the back foot and rotating the back foot toward the pitcher ("squishing the bug"). The back hip rotates toward the ball so that eventually the rear knee, the waist and the belly button are ALL facing the pitcher. The hips should rotate, not move up and out. You are now ready to swing the bat in a downward plane through the strike zone leading with the bottom hand. Lead with the knob of the bat, pointing toward the ball, with the barrel up higher than the hands (bat angle), keeping the hands inside of the ball. Avoid early arm extension (sweeping or casting). Keep the head DOWN. Hitter's chin rests on front shoulder, while looking at pitcher, prior to initiating swing. Head stays there during the swing, down on the ball, with shoulders rotating around head, until chin ultimately ends up on rear shoulder at completion of swing. The final part of the swing concerns the follow-through. Hitter wants to be accelerating as much as possible at point of impact with top arm forming an "L" with palm facing up, driving the barrel THROUGH the ball with both hands on the bat, extending arms AFTER point of impact, with hands ending up behind the lead shoulder. At this point, both the knees and the belly button should be directly facing the pitcher.

Barton's Youth Baseball - Great source of coaching tips.

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