How Can I Hit Fast Pitches?

Failure is the norm. Hitting a baseball is one of the few things in life where you can fail seven out of every 10 attempts and still be considered exceptional. Fail only six out of 10 times and you will be viewed as superhuman. As most "fastballs" comes in on a straight line, knowing how to hit a fast pitch is just a combination of learning to keep your eye on the ball and increasing your bat speed. (See reference 1 and all steps.)

Things You'll Need

  • Batting helmet
  • Baseball or softball bat
  • Batting cage
  • Assistant
  • Baseball or softball glove
  • Baseball or softball
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Instructions

  1. Ball Speed

    • 1

      Learn not to be afraid of the ball. This is easier said than done when an object the size of your fist and as hard as a rock comes whizzing by your noggin at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour.

    • 2

      Locate a batting cage or ask someone to pitch to you. Put on the batting helmet. Stand at the plate, holding the bat in your hands, in your normal batting stance. To begin, ask to have the ball pitched at a speed slow enough, in the 45 to 60 mph range, so you will not feel intimidated by the speed of the ball.

    • 3

      Practice watching the ball by taking pitches without swinging the bat. This exercise will teach you to keep your eye on the ball as you will be able to concentrate solely on watching the ball without having to think about trying to swing the bat and hit the ball.

    • 4

      Focus on the ball leaving the pitching machine or the pitcher's hand. Follow the ball, with only your eyes and without turning your head, until the ball has passed you. Practice keeping your eye on the ball until you become comfortable enough with the ball speed to stand at the plate without flinching. When you have attained a comfort level with a slower speed, asked to have the ball speed increased, 2 to 3 miles per hour at a time.

    • 5

      Continue increasing the speed of the ball until you have no fear of a ball traveling a few miles per hour faster than what you would expect to see under game conditions. For example, if you are playing at the Little League level, start out with the ball in the 45 to 50 mph range and gradually have the pitch speed increased to around 65 mph. For Babe Ruth leagues, work with speeds in the 60 to 75 mph range. For high school, American Legion and adult leagues, speeds from 70 to over 90 mph are common. For fast-pitch softball, speeds can vary between 60 and 90 miles per hour.

    Bat Speed

    • 6

      Stand at the plate with the bat. Have your coach or an adult assistant stand in front of the batter's box on the opposite side of the plate from you. As an example, if you bat right-handed, have your assistant stand just in front of the left-handed batter's box.

    • 7

      Ask your assistant to hold the ball as high as they can and drop the ball in front of your bat.

    • 8

      Attempt to hit the ball before the ball hits the ground. When you can make contact with the ball 10 out of 10 times, before the ball touches the ground, have your assistant lower the release point to the level of your shoulders.

    • 9

      Repeat the drill until you can again hit the ball 10 for 10.

    • 10

      Put your new skills together. With practice, you will be able to hit virtually any fast pitch off any pitcher.