I found a hitting exercise that I though would be helpful for all of our readers, regardless of their age. Then I remembered that we have not discussed the difference between a linear hitter and a rotational hitter. And, while we will not discuss the difference between a linear and a rotational hitter today, we will discuss this divergence in school of thought tomorrow, our blog for today—January 28—will discuss a drill that is meant for the linear hitter. BeABetterHitter.com has been the source of conversation on this blog before, and I have yet again found a simple and effective method to improve the hand path in a hitters swing.
The drill itself is simple and here is the description from BeABetterHitter.com:
Here’s a drill to emphasize the importance of the hands to the ball. This drill can be incorporated with a soft toss or a short screen. It is very effective even without the luxury of hitting a ball during the drill. Find yourself an old plastic chair, or a bucket with a lid and sit on it. Lock your ankles around the legs of the chair or base of the bucket; This is to anchor yourself into the chair. We want to eliminate the lower body action in this drill. The only thing moving will be from the waist up. Take your bat and get in the hitting position. If you have the luxury of a practice partner, have him toss a ball up into the hitting zone. You should be rhythmic and rock the hands back slightly on time with the tosser’s initial move so that you can properly load the upper body. As the ball reaches the hitting zone fire your hands inside the ball, concentrating on the proper wrist action into and through the hitting zone. You want a Top Hand ‘UP” and Bottom Hand “DOWN” position for your palms at the point of impact. Hit “through the ball” as flat as you can to create a line drive flight.
This drill emphasizes what it means to be a linear hitter. The drill places an importance on bat path—a direct A to B motion from your hands starting position to the ball—and builds wrist strength, which is integral in the a linear hitter’s approach. Consequently, this drill is not meant for all types of hitters and needs to be reserved for the right hitter. Once you find that hitter, this drill will prove to be advantageous.
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