Mechanics Of Hitting: Part One - Stance

Mechanics Of Hitting: Part One - Stance
By Coach Theune

When it comes to hitting a baseball or a softball, every coach seems to have all the answers, and no two of them are alike especially when it comes to softball. Any good softball coach will tell you that hitting a softball takes the same mechanics as hitting a baseball.

If you have professional experience or have been to a major division one baseball/softball program like university of Miami or UCLA, then what I am about to explain to you should sound familiar.

What I am going to explain is the process every player needs to take during a game when in comes to hitting. The process begins as soon as the pitcher from the other team starts warming up, that’s right, a good hitter takes notice of how well the pitcher is doing during warm ups, for example, is he throwing all fastballs? If he is then don’t expect a curve or changeup right off the bat. Does he have control? If he doesn’t then be patient at the plate and make him work. Look at his body language, it will tell you if the pitcher is feeling good that day. Is he easily distracted while warming up? A good pitcher is focused on what he is doing. A lot of being a good hitter is knowing what to expect at the plate, after all, it would be easier to hit a fastball if you knew it was coming.

Now, on to the mechanics of hitting. This is the real nuts and bolts of how to become a good hitter. The fist thing a batter needs to know is that standing in the same place in the batter’s box is extremely important, that’s right, always stand in the same place. I’m sure someone is asking why. I’ll tell you why, the strike zone does not move, it is the front edge of the plate. Let that sink in, it is the front edge of the plate, the strike zone is 2 dimensional, it is 18 inches wide and from the bottom of the knee to somewhere around the letters, but it does not extend beyond the front of the plate. Armed with that knowledge, there is no reason to move around in the batters box. If you move back in the box a pitch at the knees will be lower when it gets to you, and if you move up in the box then a high pitch could be a strike by the time it gets to the zone. And we all know hitting is tough enough without handicapping ourselves even more.

Now that we have learned that we need to have one spot we stand in the next thing is our body position, some players use an open stance where they face the pitcher more directly, some use a closed stance where they are turned inwards away from the pitcher and most use a neutral stance where they are facing the other batter’s box. For anyone who is learning the game a neutral stance is the way to go. The open and closed stances are for very advanced players and are used for a specific reason and usually are temporary. With a neutral stance a hitter can learn to hit inside and outside pitches well.