All major league hitters have compact swings. They couldn’t get to that level without one. What separates hitters at this level is their degree of quickness and bat speed. Bat speed determines how fast they can get the bat to the ball once they decide to swing. This is one of the necessary ingredients to be able to wait in the field as long as possible and make contact. Bat speed determines the amount of power a batter will produce if solid contact is made when the ball is hit. Yet again, all major league hitters have compact baseball swings. This is vital to reaching the speeds faced by major league players.

You might ask, “If everyone has compact swings, why do some strike out so much?” There are three reasons for that and one was mentioned, bat speed. A compact swing does not guarantee a fast bat. Two, some players put more upper body lean into their swing. When players collapse their rear creating uneven hips, they create more swing up, leading to more ball lift, but also more misses. Three, some players simply have better hand-eye coordination.

Developing a compact swing should also be a goal for young baseball hitters. This will be necessary if they want to hit consistently as they move up the baseball ladder.

First of all, a definition of a compact swing is necessary. Compactness implies a short and narrow area and this would define a good baseball swing. A compact baseball swing is one in which the barrel of the bat goes from the hitting position (over the batter’s back shoulder) directly to the ball as the hands descend to a palm-up, palm-down position approaching the ball. to the strike zone. The barrel of the bat stays relatively close to the batter’s head on the way to the ball, without drifting into the contact area. Why is this so necessary? The more compact the swings, the longer hitters can wait on the ball, which is a huge advantage when making decisions on pitches of different speeds.

The following are the drills that will lead to a compact baseball swing, giving players the best chance at baseball hitting success:

1. Place a pad under the batter’s front arm and take a few hits without the pad falling all the way. Hitters will develop strong and fast hands and forearms with this drill and not with a long arm swing.

2. Have hitters stand with their navels away from the net and swing with the edge of the bat just grazing the net with a quick full swing. This will force hitters to keep their hands close to their bodies to avoid throwing the bat.

3. Have the hitter stand with the net close behind him (towards the catcher) and swing without the net toward the ball. This drill is best done without lunges and will not allow hitters to drop the barrel of the bat.

4. Set up a batting tee at hip height and level with the hitter’s rear hip. Batters swing while missing the tee and hit balls at any level, including knee height; This is best done with a drop ball or soft toss flipped balls exercise.

5. Ground Ball Drill – The coach holds the ball in the air and drops it into the batter’s strike zone after the batter steps. A compact swing is needed to make solid, consistent contact.

6. Alternate fast and slow pitches until hitters learn to have the same fast swing on all pitches, when players make good contact at both speeds as they hit balls in the direction the pitch is facing.

Finally, hitters can perform some of these drills in combination with the other drills to further challenge them. For example, you can combine the glove under the front arm (#1) and the ground ball drill (#5) with the hip-high tee (#4) at the same time.