- Rick MacNeal, Motion Analysis Video

Well documented and addressed ad infinitum, success in baseball is based on odds and percentages. As a coach, everything done to improve your team's odds will increase your chances of besting the competition. Therefore, in the broadest sense, your best chance for success on the offensive side (from a coach or player perspective) is to put as many balls into play as possible. Hits, requiring fielding and handling by usually more than one defender, are more complicated outs than strikeouts; increasing the odds your opponents will make mistakes.

With this macro perspective as backdrop for this challenge, the number one priority of the hitting instructor is to get 9+ players to make contact with the ball before addressing 'next level' concerns of power, pull, the breaking ball, hitting to the opposite field etc.


As an extreme advocate of slow motion video analysis of players' swings, I've found no particular cue that guarantees the bat will make contact with the ball. Conversely, I've seen no mechanic, no matter how ugly, that assured no contact with the ball. However, when viewing generally mechanically sound swings of good hitters and comparing the differences between contact and non-contact, the variable is almost always head movement or not tracking the ball all the way to the bat (Oddly, because of the "muscle memory" phenomenon, footwork, weight shift, bat angle etc. are indistinguishable between contact swings and misses)

That said, before giving a litany of swing mechanic how-to's, to increase team-batting percentage, as a hitting instructor at any level, I advocate increasing the amount of time spent teaching players to proficiently bunt.


Bunting well forces the player to track the ball all the way to the bat. The bunting motion generally requires less head movement than a traditional swing causing the player to get used to viewing the pitch with their head upright, level and facing foreword.

Plus, as a strategist, think of the advantage knowing with confidence that given any situation, your player at bat has a high percentage of putting the ball in play and at least forcing a defensive play.

For coaches of younger players, the benefits are multiple. While you improve little Johnny/Jennie's ability to make contact with their usual swing, teaching them to bunt will also allow them a much better chance of getting a hit if they are not the most athletically gifted player. And for the macho dad who can't stand the thought of his little stud practicing bunting instead of developing that swing for the fence, you can confidently advise him this fundamental ball tracking skill IS improving his/her eventual ability to go yard.

If you're skeptical of this approach; test it. Next time your players take batting practice; have each batter execute 3-5 successive good bunts before swinging away normally. You should find, as a group, they make more consistent contact. If a player can't execute the required number of bunts, set aside another time to continue work on this skill.



Continuing the concept of team contact as my goal, the next mechanic-specific priorities to address are posture, balance/weight shift (which includes torso twist and hip shift forward) then bat angle and hand position at full load.

Without going into detail that is beyond the scope of this challenge, the rationale for this sequence is as follows:

•     You can't fix all flaws at once
•     This sequence will improve the odds of contact in the most efficient manner

    I've experienced many coaches and players misconstruing cause and effect of swing mechanic flaws; working from the ground up tends to correct things in the proper order.


For example: Many players have a casting (big arc, long bat head path) swing. Is it because of upper body/arm mechanics or because their weight is too far back and their cast is caused by their attempt to counterbalance and regain equilibrium?

If a coach tries to correct wrist/elbow/hand positioning when the root problem is weight related, he/she will be unsuccessful and the player will just get frustrated. Conversely, a player in good posture and balance has a hard time casting without falling over the plate. One good mechanic tends to bleed over to the next, just as one flaw will invariably lead to another. As an instructor, it's important to do one's best to attempt corrections to causes, not symptoms.


Another general rule, which pertains to maximizing individual (and therefore) team contact, is swing simplicity. Many players develop multiple trigger mechanisms or pre-loading bat motion quirks. While these can be effective tools to keep batters loose at the plate, I find they tend to complicate timing of the batter's swing. The more complicated the timing/trigger mechanisms, the harder it is to make consistent ball contact around the entire strike zone.

If your player is trying to emulate a high bat waggle, there's a strong chance they are not making as consistent contact as they could. In general, the more complicated the swing, the harder it is to repeat, increasing the margin of error.

Remember, everything in baseball relates to doing the things that increase your odds of success! As a player your focus should be developing the habits and foundational skills to allow yourself to improve as you grow and mature physically. As a hitting coach your success should be measured by how many of your players put the ball in play during a game and how many defensive plays you make the opponent attempt; not by whether one or two of your gifted athletes has the ability to drive the ball out of the park.