Enlist the help of your father, mother, brother or a friend. You will need a whiffle ball or other soft ball. Have your training partner get in a safe position at about a 45 degree angle from you. The partner should toss the ball up softly in front of you.
From a good, fundamentally sound batting stance, try to hit the ball with the knob of your bat. Take the knob of the bat directly at the ball and just tap it. Be sure to incorporate your lower body action into the drill. Basically, whip your rear hip toward the tossed ball. this will put you in position without committing your hands to the swing. Repeat until you are proficient and are using smooth, rhythmic motions to the ball. This drill ingrains the very important skill of “hands inside the ball” like you see Troy Tulowitzki doing here. You can actually start with your lower body in this position and your hands back. Then, just attack the ball with the knob of the bat. It’s a simple drill, but very effective.
Troy’s position is a result of his driving his hands and the knob of the bat to the ball. The bat barrel lags behind the hands and once he attacks the ball with the barrel, the result is .. his hands are inside the ball and the barrel whips into the ball creating more acccuracy and power!
Here is another great hitter in the exact position you want to be in. This is Chase Utley in the 2009 World Series when he was red hot for the Phillies. This swing resulted in a Home Run! Can you believe it? You can’t even see the barrel of his bat… only the KNOB! Bang! Homer in the World Series!
If you would like to take the drill to an even more focused approach, try this; Use a small enough bat to try this drill with one hand. Alternate your top hand and bottom hand, striking the softly tossed ball with the knob of the bat. Be sure to incorporate the action of your lower body into the drill.
This is an excellent training method and will develop tremendously active hands through the hitting zone as well as improve your hand-eye coordination. The result will be pure striking of the ball at the optimum point of impact. Something every hitter strives for!
Here is a fantastic new product that can help you with this muscle memory. The design of the Insider Bat immediately instills the proper hand path to the ball. Check it out by clicking on the image below.
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