Three Pitch Sets is a game-like drill in which batters earn points for executing specific hits during three pitch at bats. This drill is great to get young players thinking about situational hitting. For this drill you will break your team down into three groups of 4-5 players each. Two teams will take defensive positions while the third team plays offense. You can either use a pitching machine or a coach can soft pitch.
How to Start baseball pitch
To begin the drill, coach will tell the batter what he needs to do in order to earn his point. You can customize the sets to whatever hitting goal you want to work on, but I’ll talk about the sets that I use most.
First pitch
For the first pitch, the batter tries to hit the ball on the ground to the left side of the infield. Next, he will try to hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield. (You can make it even more situational by putting runners on second or third base and having the batter try to advance them, i.e. productive outs.) On the third pitch, the batter will execute a sacrifice fly to the outfield. To earn their points, they must execute the drill to satisfaction. That means that their hit must advance the runner to earn a point.
Second Set of the three pitches
For the second set of three pitches, the batter will be bunting. First, he needs to execute a sacrifice bunt to the left, or third base side. On the second pitch, the batter will place a sacrifice bunt to the right, or to the first base side. Finally, on the third pitch the batter will try to bunt for a base hit, and run the play out.
After each player in the first group has hit their two sets of three pitches, it’s time for them to rotate into the field and another group to bat.
Finally
If you have a full team, two sets of three pitches will be enough to get them some good training while still allowing everyone a chance to hit. If you have fewer players, however, you can give them three sets of three pitches and have them work on other situational hitting. If you have plenty of time, you can even continue pitching to them until they properly execute the drill each time.
In Conclusion
This drill is especially good if you have kids who just want to be power hitters. It forces them to play small ball, hit opposite field, and lay down bunts. These are fundamentals that every young ballplayer should work on.
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