Baseball doesn’t have to be terribly complicated. But, it can take a while to learn everything there is to know. However, that’s why it’s fun, and you’ll find that these tips are very helpful when you play a game of baseball.
If you’re serious about baseball, practice every day. The pros make baseball look easy, but they get to that point through hard work. It takes a daily commitment to any sport to be great at it, and baseball is no exception. Decide the position you desire to play and practice hard.
When hitting make sure that your legs are in the right place. Proper athletic balance is important. Your legs need to be a bit wider than shoulder-width from each other. Flex your knees so that your weight is centered on the insides of your feet. Your knees need to be slightly bent toward one another.
Always wear protective equipment when playing baseball. Just like any sport, injuries happen in baseball. Especially when batting, you need to protect your head. That means you need to wear a helmet whenever you enter the batter’s box. One poor pitch can mean a fastball hitting you in the noggin. That’s at minimum a ringing headache with the potential for a concussion or worse. Be safe.
When swinging the bat, aim for the top center area of the ball. This will keep your bat aligned properly and will make it more likely that you will hit the ball every time. However if you want to hit home runs, aim for the bottom of the ball. You may miss more often, but your balls will get the height they need.
When batting, don’t be afraid to take a few pitches, especially against a pitcher you are less familiar with. Those pitches will give you an idea of the pitchers speed and the ball’s action to the plate. Plus, the additional pitches will help wear out the pitcher over the course of the game. A tired pitcher makes more mistakes.
Your baseball glove needs to be broken in before you even get to practice with it. If you have purchased a new glove before the season begins, stretch it out a couple of weeks before the season begins. Toss the ball in the new glove. Apply a leather softener frequently to help the it loosen up. Use your fist to punch the weave. When you’re practicing, it’s much better to use a glove that you’ve already broken in well.
To catch a fly ball that is going to land behind you, take a first step back with one foot so that you start heading to the place where the ball is going to land. If you step around with the other foot first, you slow yourself down, making it harder to get to the ball.
Make sure you are ready to run after your bat makes contact with the baseball. To start with, let go of the bat instead of throwing it. That is dangerous since it is usually made of wood or aluminum. That wasted motion also slows you down when you run to first base.
To keep your fingers from getting hurt while bunting, make sure to keep them on your side of the bat. If you wrap them around the bat, the pitch can hit them. You end up with a painful bunt, with no control over where the ball goes, instead of a nifty sacrifice.
To throw a curve ball, place both your index and middle fingers along a seam of the baseball. As you throw the pitch, slide your fingers down toward the ground in a clockwise direction if you are right-handed (counterclockwise if you are left-handed). This motion gives the pitch its curve.
It is important that you care for your baseball glove. A baseball glove should be broken in before you try to use it in a game. This means working the leather and applying conditioning oil to the glove. The conditioner helps the glove be more flexible which allows you to close the glove easier.
If you are right-handed and you do not want to bunt back toward the pitcher, you can point the base of the bat toward third base or point the top of the bat toward first. If you are left-handed, the bases are reversed. The correct angling of the bat will keep the bunt fair, and it won’t go back to the pitcher.
Build repetition into any practice drills that you are doing. To get good at anything, you need to repeat it. In baseball that means repeating at bats over and over. It means shagging fly balls again and again. It means running a double play drill until you dream of it. Only then will you begin to master the skills.
What’s the difference between various bats? A solid metal bat needs to be at least three ounces lighter than the bat’s length in inches. For instance, 34 in. bats needs to weigh around 31 oz. This formula helps you hold a bat in the proper perpendicular position when you swing.
It is very important that the infield practice turning the double play. Double plays are advantageous to pitchers. Lots of permutations of the double play exist, so infielders must be ready for each and every type. Just keep doing the drills until they are old hat.
You have to make all the effort yourself. Just keep these tips in mind whenever you play. It’s more than practice and hard work, but it is fun too, particularly when your team wins. To have the best possible time, you must refine your skills.
