When most people think of using the tee for drills in baseball, they think of kids or little league games. But, this is not the case. Batting tee drills are used by professional baseball players and all the way down to little league players. The importance of using the tee is underrated. It can help you improve your swing and ability to hit to all fields. These are some of the best batting tee drills:
1. Hitting Down the Middle
The purpose of this drill is hitting the baseball back up the middle. The importance of hitting the ball back up the middle is of great importance. Hitting the ball back up the middle is important because you are staying on the ball longer which improves your timing and ability to drive the ball. To start this drill, set up your tee in the middle of the plate and set to about mid thigh. You can work at different levels of the middle like, a little higher, a little lower, and right in your sweet spot. Then swing away. Focus on hitting the baseball right back at the pitcher with authority. Do this drill 20 times at each height and progress upwards.
2. Hitting to the Opposite Field
OK, So we have covered going up the middle now we are going to cover hitting to the opposite field. To hit to the opposite field, we have to sit back a little longer and look for pitches on the outside to middle outside part of the plate. This drill will help us focus on hitting the ball with authority to the opposite field. Start by placing the teed on the outer third of the plate and start at about mid thigh level and swing away. Change the level of the tee a little lower than this and a little higher than this. We want to focus on staying back a little and being patient. Do this drill the same as the hitting down the middle drill and progress upwards accordingly to your skill level.
3. Pulling the baseball
Now we get to the part that we all love and that is pulling the baseball. When we think of majestic homeruns and hitting the baseball hard, we think of pulling the baseball. Well, at least I do. I think of towering homeruns from Barry Bonds and Giancarlo Stanton. That is what we are going to work on in this drill. Set your tee up on the inner third of the plate at a bout mid thigh level. We want to focus on having quick hands and pulling the baseball with authority. Set the tee to different levels on the inside part of the plate and work through the same amount of repetitions as the previous two drills. Progress upwards according to your skill level.
4. Swinging from a seated position
This drill is fun for players for many reasons, it is an unusual drill that requires some amount of coordination. It helps players develop power through their lower half and really get into their legs and use their legs more in their swing. Now, lets get to the fun part, learning how to do this drill. First, get a bucket that you can sit on and sit down on the bucket. Then set your tee up in the middle of the plate at about mid thigh height when you are in a standing swing position. Start your swing as you normally would except when it comes time to shift your weight stand up from the bucket focusing on driving with your legs out of the seated position. You will be developing your leg muscles and learning how to use them more in your swing which is very important to developing power in your swing. Do this drill on the inside and outside part of the plate as well. Also, do this drill at adjusted heights as well. Do this drill 10 times on the middle part of the plate, outer third, and inner third of the plate. Progress upwards in repetitions according to your skill level.
5. Leg Crossover Drill
This drill will help you to get more into your legs as well. Start with your left leg behind your right leg for a right-handed batter (opposite for a left-handed batter). Then take your stride. This will help you get a better coil in your swing through your legs and get more power into your swing. You can set the tee at any level and location for this drill. But I recommend middle to middle in or middle away. These are most people’s power positions where they want the baseball do this drill as well 10 repetitions in each position you choose and increase the repetitions accordingly.
Conclusion
The tee can be used to practice at all levels and I hope you see the importance of the tee now and the many drills that can be done with it. Batting tee drills can improve your swing, help with your swing coordination, and increase your power and ability to hit to all fields. Professional players down to little league players use the tee with great success and even use some these drills that I have shown you here today. Keep in mind, to progress upwards in repetitions in these drills according to your skill level and tiredness. We do not want anyone getting injured at practice and not being able to play in games because of burnout or injury. ATEC sports creates many great batting tees at professional grade levels, but all players can use these tees to improve their game and do their drills at home or on the practice field. If you are doing these drills at practice as a team you can put your position players in the field and have them practice fielding as well thus increasing your practice efficiency 2 fold. Guys and gals using the tee and doing these batting tee drills is so important to the development of your swing and getting your game where you want it to be.