If you’re a hitter, you’ve probably heard the phrase “stay inside the baseball,” “keep your hands inside the ball,” or something else along those lines. Some hitters get it right away, but for others it can be a bit confusing. The advice to “stay inside the baseball” is intended for the hitter to have more power, better bat speed by avoiding “casting” or “hitting around the ball”. Gosh, I’m using a lot of “ “ so far. I’ll try to chill out with those the rest of the way.
Different players resonate better to different phrases. My favorite phrase to describe this concept is “attack the inside of the baseball.” I first heard that from current Blue Jays mental coach and former NLB interviewee Steve Springer. I like it because it’s easy to understand and put into practice. Next time you are taking BP or hitting off of a tee, concentrate on attacking the inside part of the baseball. If you aren’t doing that consistently right now you will feel the difference.
Another drill that we are highlighting today involves using a tee to work on getting the feel for “staying inside the baseball”. We’re joined in the video below by Padres’ prospect Yordany Ramirez who has spent four of his ten professional seasons in AAA so far.
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To execute this drill, all you need is:
- batting tee
- bat
- few balls
The drill:
- Line up the tee for an inside pitch on the black.
- Exaggerate pulling your hands inside the baseball as you hit the ball to the opposite field.
- Do not use your lower body and legs for this drill; only use your hands.
- Hit the ball (probably weakly) towards 2B if you’re a righty, or towards the SS if you’re a lefty.
Note: You won’t be able to hit the ball with much power but you will be building muscle memory that will soon turn into power!
