One of the things a lot of coaches tell their players is to “stay inside the ball” or “stay in the zone.” This is exactly what we want, but the explanation can’t end there. As a hitter I know I want to stay inside the ball, but how the heck do I get my hands there and how do I do it effectively?
To be a great hitter you can never try to push or pull you hands inside or to the baseball. This leads to an inconsistent bat path and usually to a lot of ground balls or bloopers to the opposite field. The key to getting your hands inside the ball and staying on a good swing plane is the lower half.
Take a look at this video with Kevin Long – Hitting coach for the New York Yankees.
I had the opportunity to work with Kevin in the summer of 2006 and it was then that I began to understand the importance of the lower half. Just as he explains in the video, the lower half allows the hands to work inside and through the baseball.
This is the key to being a consistent hitter and staying in the zone as long as possible. This gives you a little more room for error and there isn’t as much pressure to take the perfect swing every at bat. Unfortunately we will get fooled, be off balance, and guess wrong from time to time. If you use the lower half and keep the hands in a strong position, you will get away with much more and hit the ball hard on even your bad swings.
Keep Training!
Dennis
.Keeping the hands inside the ball means that the elbow gets to a spot near the ribs as the hitter gets into the approach or short 3 position..At this point as the hands begin to move they move in a circular path rotating with the upper body..Many youth hitters throw their hands out to the ball but this causes their hands to work against the upper body and not with it. When done correctly the hitter who keeps his hands inside the ball will be able to keep more balls fair and he will have a short compact swing.