How to Find Your Baseball Hitting Style
Finding the proper hitting style can be a challenge for someone who has never played baseball, but once developed, it will likely remain with that batter for their entire baseball career. Most coaches allow players to use whatever style they feel comfortable with, and they’ll probably tweak it, but overall, players keep their original style.
What if you don’t have one? What if you don’t know how to find your hitting style? And where do you go to find the perfect hitting style?
These questions are valid, especially for new batters. Youth players typically use a generic style until they can consistently draw contact on the ball, but once they realize they can switch it up, new stances begin to emerge.
Where is your swing power?
It’s first important to figure out the player’s best abilities at the plate. Power hitters have stances that allow them to launch the ball in the air, where most of their swing power comes from the hips, legs, torso, and forearms.
Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, and other power hitters used stances that allowed them to transfer energy from the brawn bodies to the bat. These hitting styles and batting stances wouldn’t work for a player who has a smaller frame. Thinner players (not all) like Ichiro use a stance that allows, not only to create contact, but to hit the ball in different areas on the field and against a potential shift.
Leadoff hitters especially use styles like this because it allows them to get contact and begin their sprint to first base.
Another way to develop a individual hitting style is working with a hitting coach. Hitting coaches, like any coach, are trained to find the best style for a batter. Hitting coaches pay close attention to your body as you swing the bat. They watch your hips and whether you are better fit for a rotational style or linear.
The difference between rotational and linear hitting is rotational involves more of a curve swing that path which power comes from the body core, while linear is more straight swing path, powered by the wrist.
Ken Griffey Jr. used a rotational swing and it is considered to be the best swing in baseball history. Rotational is more common and some say the better style but, it’s all in what is most comfortable for the player. It is best to find a hitting style sooner than later, but the more attempts at the plate, the quicker a natural hitting style can develop.
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