Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.
Hitting a baseball: this skill is a path to fame and fortune if one does it well and is a certain ticket to enshrinement in the Hall of Fame if one does it exceptionally well. No less an expert than Ted Williams, however, once said that hitting a baseball is the single most difficult act to accomplish in all of sports. Because Teddy Ballgame was the greatest pure hitter of all time, perhaps folks should listen to him. How does one use a round bat to hit a round ball squarely? Surprisingly, the mechanics of hitting are relatively easy to learn, but because of the superior eye-hand coordination required, few can hit a baseball well enough to make just four successes out of ten tries commonplace. If averaging only three successes out of ten tries over a career can put a professional hitter into the Hall of Fame, the actual doing must be far more difficult than the “knowing how to do.” Basic hitting mechanics follow and can be practiced alone, in the batting cage, or against live pitching.Read More

Editor’s note – This article originally appeared on AstrosConnection.com.

Position players scornfully deride pitchers as being “non-athletes.” Most pitchers cannot hit or run, and few field the position well. Yet a team cannot have too much pitching, and a team cannot win championships without solid pitching. There is no truer axiom in baseball than “good pitching beats good hitting.” The purpose of this article is to describe the mechanics of pitching, but, unfortunately, instructional techniques cannot create 90+ mph velocity. That ability cannot be taught, but good mechanics can increase the velocity that a pitcher has and can improve his control. Although this discussion examines pitching mechanics step by step, the pitching motion and delivery are, or should be, fluid and seamless. All examples of what the pitch will, or may do, are of a RH pitcher throwing to a RH hitter and of a LH pitcher throwing to a LH hitter.Read More