Larry Cicchiello

Baseball Tips On Hitting--How To Hit To The Opposite Field!



Posted: Monday, February 08, 2010

by
Larwenty Online Enterprises Inc

Very few baseball hitters will ever hit for a high average without making very good use of hitting to all fields, including the opposite field. There are only three things a hitter has to do to be efficient at it! By now, we've all heard the expression to "hit it where it's pitched." It's very frustrating for a pitcher when he throws a perfect low and away strike and the batter hits the ball the opposite way for a hit. Most pitchers will make a mental note of it and know how well schooled the hitter is.

Low and away strikes are almost always a pitcher's bread and butter and the very smart hitters will learn how to take some of the effectiveness of the low and away strike away from the pitcher. It's pretty much a baseball fact of life that if a hitter tries to pull everything, his batting average will suffer. It's also a baseball fact of life that hitters who hit effectively to the opposite field have a strong tendency to hit for higher batting averages.

When Hitting To The Opposite Field:

The first order of the day and one of the more important baseball tips on hitting is to avoid the common baseball hitting mistake of letting up on your swing! Many baseball hitters will not swing as hard when going the opposite way. Their swing quite often loses its aggressiveness and that's a mistake. The hitter should attack the ball in the same exact manner and maintain the same aggressiveness. When you are trying to hit the ball to the opposite field, preferably you want the pitch over the outside part of the plate. The angle of the bat should be facing slightly toward the opposite field.

One of the best baseball tips on hitting to the opposite field is that you make contact with the ball deeper in the hitting zone. Contrary to what some may believe, you use the same exact swing that you always use. The only difference is you hit the ball when it is closer to the catcher . Pitchers are not thrilled with hitters who use all fields and can efficiently hit the ball to the opposite field. As a hitter, you don't want pitchers to be thrilled when you are at bat.

Just remember three things when hitting to the opposite field:

1) Attack the ball with the same aggressiveness and don't let up on your swing.

2) Have your bat angled toward the opposite field.

3) Let the pitch travel a little longer and get a little bit closer to the catcher.

One of the better baseball tips on hitting to always remember is that there is an obvious link between baseball hitters who can hit efficiently to the opposite field and higher batting averages.

Larry Cicchiello is the successful author of "Excellent Baseball Coaching: 30 Seconds Away." His VERY user friendly eBooks and CD's cover 320 topics on playing very good baseball. ANY baseball player, coach or parent who wants to help their child will be fully equipped! Some FREE baseball tips on hitting and FREE baseball pitching tips are available at LarryBaseball.com



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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)
» left by Jack H. Schick
 1 year 352 days ago.
89 fans.
Thanks again. I liked the low outside one (I may have said before). I can still see the 2nd basemen leaping as high as they could and the runner heading home from 2nd. As I was reading I said to myself, "wait on it a little". then you said it-deeper in the zone. (I'm 57 yr old RH'er)
» left by Larry Cicchiello from United States 1 year 351 days ago.
Hi Jack! I Greatly appreciate all your kind words. I'm going to submit about 20 more articles in the next couple of days and hopefully more in the near future. It totally delights me that you enjoy reading them.
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