Your favorite tools

[WonderMonkey]

There is a certain amount of tools that are needed to help a player do well in hitting. For instance if all you had is a bat and a few baseballs you could get a player ready to succeed. Add a tee in there and that notches it up a bit. Add an L-screen and you have notched it up a bit more. And so on. Also I have seen dads and teams that have thing after thing and the players use them all and miss the quality of drills and instead get quantity of drills.

Let's do a variation of "You are stranded on an island and can only take 5 books with you, which are they?".

List what your tools are, in order of necessity and usefulness to you.

Assume you have one metal bat and a dozen baseballs. I started with a metal bat because that is what most use in games. Also assume it is pre-season, the time when you can make the most adjustments. If you DO have a difference it what you use pre-season and in-season, make a note of it.

[WonderMonkey]

Here are my tools, in order

- Tee
- L-Screen
- Wooden bat (MetalWood)
- Digital Video Camera
- Golfball sized whiffle balls
- Kinect training bat (realistic feeling bat that does what a broomstick would do)

That's about it for me.

[bbjunkie]

1. tee
2. batting cage
3. L screen
4. digital videocam w/ slomo playback
5. pitching machine
6. home plate

[deaconspoint]

How useful is the Fungo bat? I am thinking about getting one. Is it easier to hit balls more accurately, or is it just less work to hit them out there because of the weight?

Thanks,

Tim

[WonderMonkey]

How useful is the Fungo bat? I am thinking about getting one. Is it easier to hit balls more accurately, or is it just less work to hit them out there because of the weight?

Thanks,

Tim

For me it's easier to hit ball after ball. Less effort in the swing.

[bbjunkie]

How useful is the Fungo bat? I am thinking about getting one. Is it easier to hit balls more accurately, or is it just less work to hit them out there because of the weight?

Thanks,

Tim
Its easier to hit them. Mine disappeared this year and I sorely miss it.

[dw8man]

1. Tee
2. wodd bat
3. Net or cage
4. cattle prod
5. stun gun :laugh

[cartersball]

1. Tee
2. Soft Toss Net
3. Digital video camera
4. Golf size wiffles
5. L-screen

[PullFactor]

In terms of my own practice,
-Balls, Bat
-Digital Camera
-Tee
-L-Screen
-Batting Cage.

[irmobaseball]

Bat
Pitcher
Plate
Ump

[GFK]

1. Tee
2. wodd bat
3. Net or cage
4. cattle prod
5. stun gun :laugh

I prefer shock collars! They work wonders.:crazy

[PullFactor]

Hey Monkey,
I just went out and bought a lot of those golf sized wiffle balls. What are some good drills that really bring out their contribution among other balls?

[WonderMonkey]

Hey Monkey,
I just went out and bought a lot of those golf sized wiffle balls. What are some good drills that really bring out their contribution among other balls?

I mostly use them for focus drills to teach the player to keep their eye on the ball. If you are just swinging then you will make poor contact. As they figure out to follow the ball and can learn to drive the small whiffle ball then hitting a baseball is much easier.

If you find that the balls are blowing away too easily then a small wrap of atheletic tape will help out. The downside is now they go further when they are hit.

I like the following:

Soft-toss from the front with the coach sitting behind an L-screen. Throw underhand from one side of the screen. This allows you to throw the ball to location. Inside, out, up, down. Do a bunch of whiffle balls then switch immediately to real baseballs and let the player see how much more solid contact they make.

Over-hand toss from 15-18ft away with no screen. This is a great pre-game drill. Most times you can't take BP before a game but you can have a batter, two fields and you throwing the whiffle balls. They do a round while the fielders get the balls and throw to your feet. Round is done then rotate. This warms up the swing and the eyes.

Each of the above drills can be done with a bat or a broomstick depending on the level of the player. For game warmup I stick with their game bat to get them ready.

[PullFactor]

I mostly use them for focus drills to teach the player to keep their eye on the ball. If you are just swinging then you will make poor contact. As they figure out to follow the ball and can learn to drive the small whiffle ball then hitting a baseball is much easier.

If you find that the balls are blowing away too easily then a small wrap of atheletic tape will help out. The downside is now they go further when they are hit.

I like the following:

Soft-toss from the front with the coach sitting behind an L-screen. Throw underhand from one side of the screen. This allows you to throw the ball to location. Inside, out, up, down. Do a bunch of whiffle balls then switch immediately to real baseballs and let the player see how much more solid contact they make.

Over-hand toss from 15-18ft away with no screen. This is a great pre-game drill. Most times you can't take BP before a game but you can have a batter, two fields and you throwing the whiffle balls. They do a round while the fielders get the balls and throw to your feet. Round is done then rotate. This warms up the swing and the eyes.

Each of the above drills can be done with a bat or a broomstick depending on the level of the player. For game warmup I stick with their game bat to get them ready.
Sounds good - thanks.
For someone how far would you expect the average Sophomore to drive one of the golf sized wiffle balls? With their game ball?
I'm just a bit curious about how you can underhand from behind an L-Screen. Any help?
So what I should be working on is swinging at the ball, not blindly in it's general direction? Being surgically accurate?

[WonderMonkey]

Sounds good - thanks.
For someone how far would you expect the average Sophomore to drive one of the golf sized wiffle balls? With their game ball?
I'm just a bit curious about how you can underhand from behind an L-Screen. Any help?
So what I should be working on is swinging at the ball, not blindly in it's general direction? Being surgically accurate?

With the small whiffle ball being surgically accurate is the goal. Concentrate enough to hit the ball solidly, follow the ball to the bat, etc.

Not sure of the actual differences but those whiffle balls have pretty much died around 20 feet. Maybe 30 on a nice shot. As far as how far a sophmore should be able to drive a baseball, that is a pretty wide range.

As far as underhanding behind an L-screen, if you are right handed make sure the L goes to the left. Meaning the high side is to the right and low side to the left. Sit on a bucket (or whatever) behind the screen and underhand the ball (whiffle or whatever) to the batter. This is not a pre-game drill, more for one to do on a full size field or in a cage. I really only do the underhand if I want to focus on driving low pitches.

For normal work I put the low side of the L-screen to the right, sit on my bucket on the left side to protect my pretty face, and pitch from there. Close up, 15-18ft or so. During the season I only use the small whiffle balls for pre-game drills and baseballs for L-screen work. If a player is having some problems then I'll break out small whiffle balls if I feel they will help.

[PullFactor]

Not sure of the actual differences but those whiffle balls have pretty much died around 20 feet. Maybe 30 on a nice shot. As far as how far a sophmore should be able to drive a baseball, that is a pretty wide range.

That answers my question. I was getting more at how far I should be able to drive the wiffle balls making good contact.

[Jesse]

1. Tee
2. Home plate
3. Camcorder
4. Concrete
5. Tennis balls

[WonderMonkey]

Here are my tools, in order

- Tee
- L-Screen
- Wooden bat (MetalWood)
- Digital Video Camera
- Golfball sized whiffle balls
- Kinect training bat (realistic feeling bat that does what a broomstick would do)

That's about it for me.

How could I forget the ProBatter? Massively useful tool. Can't use it out on the diamond but if you have access to one, and use it as a teaching aid, it's incredible.