Baseball is a traditional sport that is going through the most progressive period of its existence. Batting practice is a portion of the game that has become stuck in traditional ways. It has been done the same way for decades. We are now learning that there are better ways to prepare for the demands of hitting in a game. There are three portions of preparation that I believe that we could improve on. 1) batting cage groups during on-field batting practice, 2) on-field batting practice and 3) in the hole/on-deck. Let’s start with cage groups because I have unique ideas when it comes to this topic. I think back to when I was playing ball- there were many days that this time of practice was a waste of time. This group is often unsupervised and this leads to a lack of focus. Another reason for this, is that players are usually more focused on hitting on the field. This is part of my reasoning in how I’ll approach these groups throughout the upcoming season. The cage group will be in preparation for the work that is happening on the field. Here are the progressions that we will be using throughout the year.

1. Movement Prep/Development → Tee, front toss and traditional BP
2. External Feedback Work → Machine Work
3. Machine Work → Short Box BP

Starting with progression number 1. The first and most important thing you should see is that we are never going to use the tee or front toss in the cage. I see these types of practice as needing the most attention in a team practice setting. There is little to no timing involved with and focuses mainly on movement patterns. There is nothing wrong with this. The problem that arises, is that you can have successful outcomes with movement patterns that will not translate to the game. With this being the case, I need to supervise every swing that is taken off the tee and front toss IN team practice. I know that players are going to use these forms of practice outside of team practice so I need to make sure they’re performing it correctly when I’m not around. So the cage group is listed as Movement Prep/Development. This means that we could be working on bat speed, workouts, mobility and anything that’s going to get the body ready to dive into mechanics. I think that Proprioception, body awareness, is huge when talking about mechanics. If we are going to ask our athletes to be aware of what they’re doing then we need to make sure they are ready as possible. I believe that using bat speed protocols and S&C methods will help in this process. Here is an example of a movement we’ll be using. 

Progression number 2 is working with external feedback. Here are some examples:

• Half-Bat Training- deceleration and sticking finish

• Plyo Ball- no chopping and through the baseball
• Hula Hoop Contest- most swings through the hoops
• Exit Velocity- Highest reading IN THE AIR

These are great drills without supervision for two reasons. The first one is competition. You are always looking to infuse competition anywhere you can in practice and these are easy drills that will have the guys trying to beat each other. The second reason is we want more external goals than internal. I talk about this in my blog “think box, playbox”. Anytime we can get guys thinking about competing rather than going through segmented work, we’re doing it. 

The last progression is my favorite because it shows who is ready to play. These days are ALL about competing and getting the job done. When they are doing drill after drill without proper timing, hitters get lazy. I am constantly trying to get our hitters to train at speed so their trigger does not get lazy. Machine work in the cage is great, because it’s really hard to be lazy when a ball is being hurled over 70 mph toward you. This gets them ready to compete for the short box that is about to happen. These progressions are just foundations and will likely change throughout my coaching career. I have done a ton of research over these past few months and I feel as if this will get my guys ready to compete the best that they can. The question that I always ask myself and my players is…

Would you rather have more success during practice or the game?