Baseball Hitting - Are You Popping Up Or Grounding Out Too Often?

Baseball Hitting - Are You Popping Up Or Grounding Out Too Often?
 by: Larry Cicchiello

Every baseball hitter makes outs but quite often there is a pattern. The outstanding hitters pay very close attention to how their outs are being made. Your pattern may be popping up too often or grounding out too often. Let's look at a few baseball hitting tips that are possible quick fixes and are specific and right to the point. 

No matter how high or how low your batting average is, you should pay close attention to how your outs are being made. We improve by working on any weaknesses we have. Even if you are hitting .400, if most of your outs are either on pop ups or grounders, you should be looking to make an adjustment. If you take your baseball hitting seriously, you must make adjustments. Here are some baseball tips on hitting that should help you. 

Grounding Out Too Often and Topping the Ball: 

1. You may be getting your stride foot down too late. This will not give you enough time to get the bat to the hitting zone because your bat will still be too high when the moment of truth arrives, thus topping the ball. 

2. You may be trying to pull the outside pitch instead of going with the pitch to the opposite field. Your bat will have a slight drag to it and you won't be swinging through the ball. 

3. You may be hitting too much off the front foot and not keeping your weight on your back foot. This will cause you to be “top heavy" and most likely hit the top of the ball. 

4. You may be opening your front shoulder and/or front hip too quickly, causing you to pull off the ball and not swing through the ball. 

Popping Up Too Often and Hitting Under the Ball: 

1. Pay very close attention to what your back shoulder is doing. If it is collapsing and dropping down below the front shoulder, there is a very good chance this is the problem. Basically, you are lowering your entire swing and you almost have to swing underneath the ball. The same applies to your back leg. If it's dropping down and “collapsing" too much, that can very easily lead to uppercutting the ball and popping it up. 

2. Make sure you are not dropping your hands too low when actually swinging. This obviously will increase the chances of you hitting the bottom of the baseball. If your hands are too low, your bat will be too low and there is a very good chance you will hit the bottom of the ball. 

3. Make sure the back of your bottom hand is facing the pitcher when you start your swing. Remember, it should be one palm up and one palm down only at the point of contact and not before. 

4. Make sure that your front elbow is pointing downward at the very start of your swing.This is very possibly the most common baseball hitting problem you will ever see. The very beginning of the swing is a downward movement and is not level at all. Only at the point of contact should the front elbow be level and pointing toward the pitcher. If you learn only this one thing, you will see a major improvement in your baseball hitting immediately! 

About The Author Larry Cicchiello is the successful author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." His VERY user friendly eBooks and CD's cover 320 topics on playing very good baseball. ALL players, coaches or baseball parents who want to help their child will be fully equipped! Larry.s site offers some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips. Click Here http://www.LarryBaseball.com/products