ATEC T3 Batting Tee and My Tee Routine

Although this article is about the ATEC T3 Batting Tee I use with my hitters, it is important to understand the reason why tee work is so important to the #1 trait of good hitters—proper mechanics.

How the Pros Warmed Up

When I was a player in High School, my Grandpa was the GM of the Dodgers. That brought along a lot of cool perks like being bat boy. I would arrive at Dodger Stadium very early for a 7pm game to get things ready for batting practice.

I would often arrive around 2:30pm and begin the routine of getting the BP balls out onto the field. The route from the clubhouse to the dugout was along this long and sloping corridor under the stands and right there was a small batting cage used primarily for tee work.

Even though the game was hours away, there were always players hitting off the tee in that small cage. I liked to stop, watch, and listen to Manny Mota or Ben Hines work with a player. What I saw was quite the opposite of what many of my high school teammates thought. Many of my teammates felt that the tee was for little kids who couldn’t hit a pitched ball. They felt they were beyond the use of the tee. Well, when I told them that I saw Ron Cey or Dusty Baker hitting off the tee for an hour before batting practice, they were confused. They didn’t realize that tee work is the foundation for establishing and maintaining proper mechanics.

Over 30 years of training hitters, I have honed down a routine that takes the hitter through a series of movements that help to sync up the timing between the lower half and upper half of the body. These drills each serve a purpose and that is to get this player ready for batting practice where the ball is in the air and timing becomes a factor.

Before the tee, I use a tool called the ProGlider which instantly identifies any mechanical issues. A special Wiffle Ball is slid down this tool and it rests just above the hands on a slider. When the batter swings, it reacts to the motion of inertia in that swing. Cast out early and ball flings to the right. Pull the front shoulder or don’t rotate back side and the ball flings to the left. GREAT tool to use first.

Once the hitter has been able to control the flight of the ball with the ProGlider, it’s time for the tee routine.

Atec T3 Review & Recommendations

First of all, I love my ATEC T3 tee because it’s collapsible and guaranteed for 10 years. The base easily screws into the tee and is quite durable. It’s a bit too light so I slide a 10 pound Olympic size weight down the tee so it won’t fall over as easy if the tee is hit with a swing.

Beginner Tee Hitting Routine

Let’s talk for a minute about tee alignment. When I first start to work with a new hitter I ask them to set the tee up where they like it. Almost all of the time, they set up the tee too deep in the swing. The proper alignment of the tee for a pitch down the middle of the plate should be where the front foot lands when they stride. For the outside pitch, the tee should be aligned just behind the left foot stride point and in front of the inside pitch. This is critical because these are the points where the hitter has his optimal bat speed for each location.

The routine begins with a bat that is heavier than the one they normally use and 15 ounce heavy balls. There are several brands of heavy balls out there to choose from. I use the grey colored heavy balls from SKLZ and they run about $10 each.

I set the tee up high for this drill. The height is at the top of the strike zone. Why? There is an old adage that I heard back from my days hanging around the Dodgers batting cage—“You can take a good swing down, but you can’t take a bad swing up”.

Once the feet are solid, I’m looking for a palm up / palm down attack. This is where a bad swing with the bottom hand dominating or the top hand rolling over makes it impossible to hit the heavy ball teed up high especially using my 34” 32 ounce Chandler Maple bat.

I ask the hitter to hit long shots to centerfield with the high tee heavy ball. Once they do that successfully, we switch to baseballs but keep using the heavy bat. Again, I’m looking for backspin hitting long shots to centerfield.

Advanced Tee Hitting Routine

Once the hitter has used the heavy bat and hit about 10 balls off the high tee to centerfield with back spin, I start to move the tee around. I have the hitter switch to their wooden bat for this part of the routine. Switching from my heavy 32 ounce bat to their lighter wood bat is not as drastic as if they were going to their aluminum bat.

I emphasize the following:

• Drive to deep center field
• Palm up/palm down upon contact
• Long follow through

This ensures the barrel path is long through the zone. Now we move to their aluminum bat or stay with wood depending on the league. We work on pitch locations with a strategy of what they are going to do with the ball:

High outside: drive to opposite alley with backspin
Medium inside: drive up the middle or shade pull side
Inside: get inside the ball hitting over shortstop’s head
Low away: focus on two-strike approach, never get beat there.

Toward the end, I have them visualize breaking balls in various locations, helping with the mental approach—another pillar of great hitting.

Tee Routine Duration

The tee routine is about 75 swings. Every swing is evaluated and I look for mechanical flaws at this stage because if they exist here, they’ll be worse when we go to front toss.

I believe 100% in tee work first, so I stepped up to what I think is the best tee on the market. The ATEC T3 tee ($99) is versatile and durable. Even strong swingers can’t break it. The flexible rubber material doesn’t leave marks on the bat and breaks down easily for transport. It’s better than other similar tees like the Tanner Tee.

I know a player from Canada who sets up a tee and net in his garage and hits when it’s below zero outside. There’s no excuse for neglecting tee work. If your hitter doesn’t have a tee routine, get one! A solid tee routine is crucial at every level to ensure proper mechanics before facing pitches in the air.