3 Parts to Hit the Ball Harder—AND More Often | A Pro Player Guide

As I look back on my playing career, I realize that I was fortunate to be born into a baseball family where I was taught at an early age the proper fundamentals of the game—especially hitting. In this article, I will break down the three essential parts of the swing that generate power and consistency I will detail the reason for this mindset that has helped countless MLB hitters become stars, especially Aaron Judge & Mike Trout. It’s time to learn about the three “Get’s” in hitting.

Why You Want To Hit Harder

Before we dive into the mechanics, let’s understand the most critical question in baseball training—Why? Why is this information relevant to hitting the ball harder and more consistently?

The basis for the information stems from one thing and one thing only—keeping the bat’s barrel in the pitch’s path for as long as possible. Great Major League hitters have learned to keep their barrel in the zone for 7 milliseconds. That’s like 30-36 inches!

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10 Baseball Concepts

When I start working with a new hitter, the first thing I do is explain this concept. I do this by lining up ten baseballs (15+) and eight baseballs (14 and under) on the ground and having the player stand behind them. Then I stand up as a batter and show them that with the proper bat path, I can hit all ten baseballs on that line, all on the barrel, with the SAME swing! This is often a revelation for young hitters. I show them how their early casting of the hands around the outside of the ball, pulling their front shoulder, or stepping in the bucket only causes them to be able to handle only a fraction of the baseballs in the line.

The line of baseball demonstrates that a hitter can be late, on time, or early and barrel the ball up. Hitting the ball on the barrel is the ONLY goal hitters should focus on.

Once the young player understands the goal of the training, it’s on to “how” to consistently get the bat on the path, thereby increasing the consistency of hitting the ball hard.

Part 1: Get Behind the Ball

Part one of hitting the ball harder is learning how to get behind the ball. Too many young hitters step in the bucket for fear of getting hit. DoiDoingtakesetakesgy away from the ball’s flight. Other issues with getting behind the ball stem from pulling out the front shoulder, pulling the head, drifting forward with the head, trying to pull the ball, striding, and not rotating the back leg. The proper way of getting behind the ball as it enters the swing zone is universal. All good hitters do this but from many different stances.

Here is the MUST-DO list for getting behind the ball:

• Load by hiding your hands from the pitcher, also known as the “Scap Pinch.” This puts your hands in the perfect position for part 2 of the swing
• The lower body load is often called the “Hip Pinch,” as the batter slightly rotates the front hip back. My dad used this line on me as a kid, and I never forgot it—he said, “Pee on your back knee.” By “Peeing on your back knee,” you get your lower half behind the ball and prepare the back knee to rotate after load; the front shoulder and hip are now pointed to the opposite field alley. , Aright-handed batter’s front shouts should be pointed to the center center, and this batter is now properly behind the ball.

Part 2: Get Inside the Ball

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When I told a young player I was coaching years ago to “hit the inside of the ball,” he looked at me strangely and said that was impossible without taking off the leather cover! Of course, I cracked up but then explained what hitting the inside of the ball meant. It means hitting the ball’s inside HALF as it’s in flight.

One of the players I train is an Ivy League commit. When he first came to train with me, I saw a good swing with great athleticism, so I asked him bluntly, “Why are you here? Your swing looks pretty good.” The player then confessed that he was starting at catcher but was being DH’r. He said he was very inconsistent and constantly rolling over the ball hitting grounders to the shortstop and third baseman.

As we began the lesson and I shared with him the notion of hitting the line of 10 baseballs, a light went off in this bright YouTuber’s head. He immediately understood that attacking the “outside” of the ball greatly limited his bat’s time in the pitch path. So we went to work.

Soon, this player was obsessed with getting inside the ball and using the middle of the field. He got a ProGlider Training Bat and focused on getting his hands inside the pitch he envisioned as he practiced. He then used tee work to further develop his new muscle memory by slotting his back elbow into his ribs, driving his hands forward, but he went one step further. He ONLY saw the inside of the ball and focused on using the middle of the field between left-center and right-center.

He told me that, over a short time, he realized that if he had focused his vision on the inside of the ball only, he could attack the inside with more excellent consistency, including breaking balls and exchange apps. This totally changed his season.

Soon, he was hitting 7th in the lineup and crushing the ball to the middle of the field. As his average began to climb, he was moved higher in the batting order, and by the end of the season, he had raised his average by one hundred points.

He kept it rolling in the summer and was named All-Tourney as his team won the American Legion World Series.

This player rapidly achieved all of this success simply by focusing on getting behind the ball, getting inside the ball, and finally grasping the concept of the third part of the swing—getting through the ball.

Part 3: Get Through the Ball

Once a hitter learns how to get behind the ball and then inside the ball, the swing is still not over. The third and very important part of the swing is getting through the ball.

Let’s turn to the 1-foot baseballs in a line and the 7-milliseconds. When a batter is behind and inside the ball, it’s time to drive through it. This is done by continuing to throw the hands with the back elbow slotted into the ribs, through the inside of the ball, and finishing high around the helmet’s earhole facing the pitcher. This short path to the inside of the ball bat path gets the barrel where it needs to be. This move resembles the Nike”Swoosh,” and I often use that logo as a reminder for hitters to follow. The swing is a short movement down to get inside the ball, then a LONG pass of the barrel along the path of the ball…like the” SwSwoosh.”aron Judge Bat Path

Earlier, I mentioned Aaron Judge. He has the benefit of a great hitting coach, along with the Yankees, who tweaked his swing to follow these three laws of hitting. Being as big and strong as he is, he can be late on the line of the ten baseballs, but since he gets through the inside of the ball so well, he hits 420-foot fly balls right into the upper deck! He was not this way in college or early in his pro career, he learned these three traits and worked to master them.

Mike Trout is another young hitter who gets behind, inside, and through the ball. He hits for average and power because of how long his barrel is in the bat path.

In a recent Spring Training game, he hit a low and in fastball over thebatter’s eye in the center field that was 420 feet away. That swing was perfect. His load put him behind the pitch, he rotated his back knee while getting his hands inside the ball, and he got through the pitch, connecting with it in FRONT of his front foot. By not trying to pull that pitch, the trajectory of the ball upon contact put that ball into orbit! It’s All About Quality At Bats!

Hitting a round ball with a round bat is the most challenging thing in all sports. Fail 70% of the time, and you are an All-Star! The best hitters learn how to have effective at-bats 60% of the time. I like my old teammate, SteveSpringer’s” QualityAB’s” theory. If you forget about the batting average and focus on”“Quality ABs”” you’ll be a better contributor to your team.

A”Quality A” is defined as:

• Barreling the ball up even if it’s caught
• Bunting a runner over
• Hitting behind a runner to advance him
• Any way to get an RBI
• Sac Fly
• Hit By Pitch
• Walk
• Getting on Base

Getting behind, inside,e and through the ball will help you hit the ball harder and more often. The three”“Get”” will also get you to 60%”“Quality ABs”” Soon, you’ll be on your way to tremendous success, and with hard work, you’ll become the absolute best hitter you can be.