Hitting can be taught.
This page is based on the recent on-field experience of two of WebBall's coaches. It's not the typical quick tips page which we offer elsewhere on the site. But based on recent surveys and feedback, there is a segment of our visitors that appreciates the broader picture of the skills of baseball. This is for them - and, we hope, you.


He was a pure athlete - great stride and balance, lots of fast-twitch muscles, good speed, quick bat with a great follow through. Unfortunately, he hadn't had much recent baseball experience.

As a result, he was a poor judge of pitch location. He would swing at every pitch with the same athletic effort, no matter where the pitch was - up high, in the dirt, inside, or outside. He could - occasionally make contact with a fastball in the zone, but he had no good idea of how to adjust on breaking pitches. or how to adjust his timing for a change-up.

After a few games of this, it got worse - swings and misses became non-swings. And the judgement of when not to swing was just as bad. (It almost became a regular pattern... first pitch, swing and miss; second pitch, swing and miss; third pitch, watch it go by for a called strike.)


It took us a long time to accept that change was needed. After all, it was such a pretty swing to look at - surely it would produce results. Seldom. And the more critical the situation in the game - the more we needed an offensive break - the less likely he would come through. Tough on him, tough on everyone.

Part of the change, therefore, had to focus not on his swing, but on his understanding of baseball. As coach and author Andy Lopez (among others) has pointed out, hitting is not offense, hitting is just a part of what it takes to score runs. Our 'nowhere man' needed to grasp that - hitting the ball was not the only way to get on base, not the only way to help the team.

Knowing that he was pretty much a 'guess' hitter at this point (swinging where he hoped the ball would be), we realized we had to train him to understand some things about pitch count and pitch location - about when and where to look for his pitch. In other words, to learn to be selective.

But there was a downside to this: the deeper he got into a count during any at-bat, the more likely he would face the nasty breaking pitches. So the best opportunities for him (as for most hitters who struggle) would be in the first 2-3 pitches. We would expect him to go up there free swinging on the first pitch as before - especially early in the game. After that, however, on the second and third pitches - and second and third at-bats -  he had to be more of an effective contact hitter and less an unsuccessful power hitter.

The other part of the change was mechanical - through a lot of whiffle ball pitches so we could work with him on learning track pitches and locations. (We would have ideally worked more with him in live B.P. situations but the opportunity isn't always there in a short season with so many batters to help. And in this case the machine wass of only limited help.)

Finally we worked with him on bunting - on ways to help the team beyond getting hits.


Because he still hasn't faced much in-game pitching (perhaps only 40 to 50 at-bats), he's still not consistent - but then who is at this age? But he has gotten some timely hits, even walks. However, then another problem appeared: his baserunning. With so few opportunities, still, to be on base, he has made some running mistakes - but that's another story, and another indication that sometimes, the best coaching technique is simply patience.