Posted by: Jimmy () on Sat Feb 17 21:28:17 2007

> Can hitting off of a tee help me become a better hitter?

Sean,

You can definately become a better hitter by hitting off the tee. However the tee
placement is crutial to the drill.

Keep the contact point out in front (just in front of your front foot after your stride) and
have it set up in the middle part of the plate. (you can move the tee around to different
locations but starting in the middle will get you on the right track fundamentally).

Try to hit the ball right back up the middle of the cage on a line. I like to have the tee set
up so that we hit the ball the length of the whole cage. This enables us to see the flight of
the ball and recieve feedback from this. You can even put a target of some sort at the
back of the cage. examlpe: hang a batting glove on the netting or place another tee with a
ball on it and try to hit your ball into the other ball.

The beauty of the tee is that the ball is in the same location every time and the timing is
on the hitter. So if the contact quality is inconsistent, the hitter can see and feel what
adjustments are needed. It wasn't the pitch location, the timing of the pitch, or anything
else. It was the swing!

The flight of the ball doesn't lie, if you hit the outside half of the ball and roll a ground ball
to your pull side, try to stay through the ball a little longer after contact. If you are under
too much and hit the ball into the top of the cage, try to keep your barrel above the ball a
little longer before contact. It helps to try to hit the top inside half of the ball in order to
hit it square.

I must add that hitting soft toss and live batting practice are also a big help in improving
your swing. Just hitting off the tee alone will help to develop your swing but to help with
rythm with the pitcher, you will need more than the tee.

Jimmy