{"id":49,"date":"2024-03-31T11:40:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T11:40:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/28\/proper-batting-stance-the-planet-of-baseball\/"},"modified":"2024-03-31T11:40:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T11:40:06","slug":"proper-batting-stance-the-planet-of-baseball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/proper-batting-stance-the-planet-of-baseball\/","title":{"rendered":"Proper Batting Stance &#8211; The Planet Of Baseball"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Baseball players of all ages (including very young sluggers) and fans of the game know that a proper \ufeff\ufeff\ufeffbatting\ufeff \ufeff\ufeffstance is essential and can turn even an average hitter into a consistent and dangerous offensive performer. This is true even though all players in every age group have their own \u201chitting style\u201d and may line up in the batter\u2019s box in a way that is unique and different from other players.<\/p>\n<p>That is not necessarily a bad thing because individuality matters and no two players are ever exactly alike. That said, it is still extremely important for young and future baseball stars to learn the mechanics of a proper batting stance. Once accomplished, it will serve them well for as long as they play the game.<\/p>\n<h2>5\u00a0Fundamental Steps To Learn\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>The proper batting stance for all players involves the correct placement of the feet \u2026 the knees \u2026 the fingers \u2026 the hands \u2026 and the elbows. Importantly, there is also a sixth step. That involves the correct positioning of the bat.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How To Position Your Feet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/How-to-Position-Your-Feet.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Via: bcsn.tv<\/p>\n<p>Most players and fans know that a wide stance helps to provide stability in the batter\u2019s box. Ideally, the feet should be kept several inches apart and wider than one\u2019s shoulders. That\u2019s important because it tends to eliminate any tendency a young hitter may have to drift forward above the waist, lunge with the front knee and even \u201cstep in the bucket,\u201d which means to step away from the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>All of these \u201cfaults\u201d leave a hitter somewhat unbalanced and rob him of his power. On the other hand, a wide stance helps a hitter to \u201cstay back\u201d and that almost always leads to solid contact and fewer \u201cswings and misses.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How To Arrange Your Knees<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Proper-Batting-Stance-Knee.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Via: washingtonpost.com<\/p>\n<p>Many young hitters make the following mistake: they consciously lean back while in their stance for the express purpose of keeping their body back. That tends to eliminate \u201clunging\u201d which puts a batter in an unbalanced position and makes it more difficult to hit.<\/p>\n<p>In order to achieve their desired stance, young hitters bend their back knee more than their front knee. This causes the weight of the upper body to get behind the back knee which affects momentum and the speed of the swing. Another negative reaction occurs because the shoulders tilt backward, a movement that causes the back shoulder to drop below the front shoulder, an occurrence that is known as \u201cdipping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The end result is that the batter generally swings under the baseball and pops it up or hits it softly. There is a right way to arrange the knees. It is to bend both of them equally as you might do if you were playing defense in basketball or soccer. That enables you to keep your hands back and \u201cremain level\u201d when swinging at the ball.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Grip-a-Baseball-Bat.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Via: wikihow.com<\/p>\n<p>Lots of players use a closed grip or one that has the fingers twisted which put the largest knuckles on the hands in alignment and cause the elbows to flare outward, away from the body.<\/p>\n<p>That is considered a poor hitting position. The right way to \u201chold the fingers\u201d is in a position where the knuckles of the middle fingers are in alignment in a way that enables the elbows to rest in a kind of upside-down \u201cV\u201d position.<\/p>\n<p>That \u201cpositioning\u201d allows the back elbow to \u201ctuck\u201d into the side of the player\u2019s ribs as contact takes place. The result is that the player can then fully extend his arms and hit with much more power.<\/p>\n<p>See also: How To Hold A Baseball Bat<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How To Use Your Hands Effectively<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A player\u2019s hands are a critically important\ufeff \ufeff\ufeff\ufeffcomp\ufeffon\ufeffe\ufeffnt\ufeff \ufeff\ufeff\ufeffin \ufeffhittin\ufeffg. They should be positioned at the back of the shoulder and at a slightly higher elevation. When placed that way, it becomes less likely that a batter\u2019s hands will \u201cdrop\u201d and a batted ball will be pulled into foul territory.<\/p>\n<p>Ideally, the best results occur when the bat is placed on the back shoulder and the hands are resting on the chest. That enables all hitters to keep their hands up and create solid contact with the ball.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How To Keep Your Elbows In The Right Position<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As noted earlier, the upside-down \u201cV\u201d position enables a young hitter to keep his hands up and his elbows down. That is the best position for any batter who wants to make consistently solid contact.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the bat\u2019s position is also critically important. A polished batter, regardless of age, knows that he needs to rest the bat against his back shoulder with his hands held high. That position allows the swiftest and most effective path to the ball and generally produces frequent and very solid contact. And solid contact is what makes a hitter successful.<\/p>\n<p>Contact me so that we can \u201ctalk baseball\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If you are as passionate about baseball as I am, I\u2019d love to hear from you. Write anytime with your thoughts about the game or with questions that need an honest answer. I\u2019ll respond to your question and\/or comment to the very best of my ability. So \u2026 get in touch today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Baseball players of all ages (including very young sluggers) and fans of the game know that a proper \ufeff\ufeff\ufeffbatting\ufeff \ufeff\ufeffstance is essential and can turn even an average hitter into<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,11],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247,"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49\/revisions\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theplanetofbaseball.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}