Baseball Hitting Skills: High-Velocity Batting Practice

Good hitters know that slowing the game to your pace can be a lot easier than playing to the game’s pace. Oftentimes, however, your batting practice can become stagnant and controlled. This bland and mundane pace can leave you trying to catch up come game time.

Former professional baseball player CJ Beatty suggests revamping your hitting routine so you can better adjust once it’s time to play ball. Implementing high-velocity batting practice can help challenge your skills while also making it easier for you to slow the game down when it counts.

SHORT DISTANCE, BIG RESULTS

One suggested challenge you can impose on your batting practice is to have your coach or teammate move the L-screen closer to the plate. This shorter distance, in theory, moves the mound closer to home.

Also, have your coach or teammate put some velocity behind their batting practice pitches. “This will give hitters the same – or even less – reaction time than they have in the game,” Beatty says.

The shorter distance is designed to train your mechanics and timing for game time. Waiting on a pitch can be a lot easier than trying to catch up. If you’ve trained at high velocities and mastered the right swing mechanics at high speeds, then your rival pitcher should be no problem to deal with come game day.

Follow these batting practice Pro Tips and kick your regimen into high gear.

Is it spin rather than speed that’s troubling your plate performance? Use these additional tips on hitting breaking balls to add another helpful layer to your training.