Drills to Make Your Baseball Swing Level

A level swing is a key component of a consistently good hitter. An upper-cut swing is more glamorous because it can produce long and towering fly balls, but it's inconsistent. If your timing is even slightly off, that towering fly ball can turn into a pop-up to the shortstop. Because of this, the goal of hitting should be a level swing to consistently hit line drives.

  1. Hitting off a Tee

    • Hitting balls off a tee is a way to work on a consistent, level swing. Have your hitter hit the ball set upon a tee. If her swing is a slight uppercut or lowercut, she'll hit the tee as much or more than the ball. To create further incentive for your player, have her run a lap or do a set of push-ups for every time she hits the tee. To work on different pitch locations, move the tee to the inside or outside corner of the plate.

    Ball on a String

    • This drill is similar to hitting off a tee but doesn't require the space and can even be done indoors. Drill a hole into the ball. Using the string, tie a strong knot around the ball. With the other end of the string, attach it to the ceiling in your workout room or garage. Let the ball on the string hang out to your player's waist so he can take comfortable swings against it. Once the ball on the string is assembled, have your player hit the ball. If your player has a level swing, the ball will go out and come back smoothly. If your player has an uppercut, he'll likely hit the bottom of the ball, causing it to bounce up and down. If your player has a lowercut, he'll likely hit the string. Correct your player's swing so that he consistently hits the middle of the ball with a level swing.

    Wall Ball

    • This is a drill specifically for a team or group of players. For this drill, you need a Wiffle ball -- which can be taped for extra support -- a bat and a wall. About six feet off the ground, draw a thick line across the wall. If you don't have the facilities to do this, hang a six-foot curtain from a wall. To perform the drill, split your players into groups of two or three. One group hits first; the other groups play in the field, and you can pitch. The objective is to hit the ball off the wall below the line. For every ball that goes off the wall, a team gets one point. For every ball that doesn't go off the wall, a team gets an out. After three outs, rotate your players so that a group in the field becomes the hitting group. To make the game more competitive, the groups that are in the field can try to knock the ball down before it hits the wall. If they do, count it as an out for the hitting team. This drill will work on level swings because you get points for line drives, the type of hit most commonly produced by a level swing.

    Broomstick Ball

    • This drill is similar to standard batting practice, but instead of using a bat and a baseball, use a broomstick and a plastic golf ball. This drill will work on level swings because it's harder to make contact due to the thin bat and small ball. Therefore, any uppercut or lowercut likely results in a swing and miss. To increase the intensity of the game, imitate game situations and have pitchers compete against hitters.