Like I said in my last post regarding BP, the tee is your best friend. You really can’t go wrong with it…
So as my creative title entails, this post is going to be about some of the drill work I like to do on a regular basis.
HIGH TEE:
You do this drill to work on hand path to the ball and to make sure you’re staying on top. The last thing you want to do with this is start peppering balls off the top of the cage. Think about hitting the top half of the ball and really creating that back spin which allows the ball to travel further. “To it and through it”
Here’s what you do; raise the tee so the ball will sit equal to (or slightly below) where the letters would be on your jersey. Keep the aligned so you’re making contact with the ball as if it was a pitch coming down the middle. We’re not trying to get fancy here, just trying to develop good mechanics for our hands.
Notice how the tee is level with the batter’s chest. He’s looking to stay on top of the ball and drive it.
Credit: article.wn.com
DUAL TEES:
The first time I tried this drill I was ready to ask my legion coach “What the hell is this?” It seemed like it wasn’t going to help at all and was just going to mess up my swing. But believe me when I say this drill changed the way I approached the ball positively.
Set up one tee straight-up with the height so the ball will sit right above your knees. Again, nothing fancy here just working on hand path. Now, with that second tee you’re going to place it little less than a foot behind the first tee (when you stand in front of it your back hip should be close to even with it). Raise the height of it so it’s about chest level.
Your objective is to hit the ball on the first tee as a hard ground ball/line drive at the second baseman as a righty and the same result but to the shortstop as a lefty. If your doing this correctly that means your hands are staying “inside the baseball” (half the ball closest to you). Like I said before, off the tee you want hard ground balls or line drives because that means you’re getting the backspin you want.
FULL CAGE
This one is pretty self-explanatory…
Rather than just hitting into a net five feet away, use a full tunnel. Hitting in an area with more room just means you’ll be able to see the result of your swing with more clarity. That’s pretty straight forward.
Use the full cage to take advantage hitting balls to all fields. Alter the plate and tee so you can work balls up the middle and to the power allies.
That’s it for now on Part I of My Favorite Tee Drills. Remember, keep those hands close and stay inside the ball. Check back for a post on why staying inside the ball is being taught to young hitters and the second installment of My Favorite Tee Drills.
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