Having good hitters is one thing, but having hitters that can successfully hit against pitchers of all speeds is when you win ball games. Check out this simple drill for hitting against slow, medium and FAST pitchers.

I’m always amazed at the hitters that tell me they couldn’t hit because the pitcher was too slow – really? Too slow? If you have hitters that struggle hitting either really slow or really fast pitchers, or you don’t really have any way to practice against really fast pitchers then this drill is perfect for you.

Not all of us are fortunate enough to have a pitcher on our staff who can throw batting practice and let our hitters get practice hitting live. So here’s a pretty simple drill designed to help your hitters get practice hitting against a slow pitcher, a fast pitcher and a medium-speed pitcher.

The setup for this drill is pretty simple and shown to the right. It doesn’t matter whether you do this drill on your field or in your batting cage. What you’ll need are 3 home plates – one placed at the standard distance from the pitcher and the other 2 placed in a row toward the pitcher with each one being about 10 feet closer than the previous one. You’ll also need a protective screen, some balls and either a live pitcher, a pitching machine or someone throwing front toss.

Have your hitter start the drill at the Middle Plate (1). She’ll get 6 tosses/pitches at this distance bunting the first 2 and hitting the next 4. After 6 tosses/pitches at the Middle Plate she moves up to the Closest Plate (2) and takes another 6 pitches or tosses – 2 bunts and 4 swings. This distance represents the fastest pitcher she’s likely to face and will force your hitter to load prior to the pitch, track the ball and react faster.

After her pitches or tosses at the Closest plate (2) the hitter then moves to the Far plate (3) and takes her 6 pitches. This plate represents the slower pitchers and will really force your hitter to be patient and let the ball travel to her before hitting the ball.

Don’t be surprised if your hitters struggle with this drill at first as it does require a lot of adjustments from your hitters and can be very frustrating for them if they don’t adjust to each distance. Remind your hitters not to carry their frustrations and emotions from one plate to another. Work patiently with them to “Forget what you just did and get ready to succeed at what you’re doing now!” Since this can be a somewhat frustrating drill don’t use it with players that are struggling with their confidence.