How to Become a Better Hitter in Slow Pitch Softball

The following are my opinions and thoughts on becoming a better softball hitter.  It is not meant to be all inclusive or comprehensive.  It is also meant to be appropriate for all ability levels from beginner to advance player.  If you are already satisfied with the way you hit and how you hit, then the following instruction and guidance may just prove repetitive for you and you can stop reading right here.  Obviously, there are many, many opinions on how to become a good hitter, whether you are playing baseball or softball, fastpitch or slowpitch.  To illustrate, baseball has at least thirty batting coaches and each coach would probably emphasize different aspects of being a good hitter.  Add in all the little league coaches, minor league batting coaches and college coaches, high school, college and professional softball teams, and the number of opinions multiply.  Why, even people who don't even play baseball or softball, but who follow the sports as fans have opinions on batting.  Like all worthwhile goals, to become a good softball hitter requires commitment and practice, even for individuals with natural athletic ability.

Some people consider me to be a fairly decent hitter.  Growing up, I had neither official instruction from coaches nor did I participate in little league or any other leagues.  Instead, I learned how to hit by simply playing.  My neighborhood friends and I were constantly playing, whether it was baseball, stick ball, punch ball or wiffle ball.  The group of us would even challenge older, bigger kids to play ball and we would often beat them too!  It was always fun to hold my own against big guys and even more fun to outhit them.  Almost from the very beginning, I complemented my playing by reading books at the library about baseball, listening intently to baseball announcers on television and radio when they talked about hitting, reading baseball articles in newspapers and magazines, attending baseball games and even discussing hitting with friends I was always playing with.    In high school, I had the opportunity to play on the baseball team, but instead I played on the tennis team during the spring season.  I could have been known as the best baseball player at my high school who did not play baseball.  In my freshman year in college, I played on the junior varsity baseball team, but I left after the initial season because of a lack of playing time. These days when I get a chance, I play for a recreational softball group and my college alumni team.  I have also played for corporate teams and time permitting, I am always enthusiastic to play with any teams or groups who invite me to play.

That was a little bit about my background.  Now let's talk hitting.  To begin with, getting into good physical shape with a focus on core and leg strength is an ideal place to start.  Then comes the stage of picking up a bat and setting a good batting stance.  Perfecting the swing is the culmination of this goal.  Once you have a good swing in place, you will become a better softball hitter.  I define a good hitter as someone who gets a lot of base hits, is constantly on base, and drives in a lot of runs.   If statistics are recorded, I would look at his on base percentage and runs batted in figures.  I also define a good hitter as someone who knows how to hit depending on the situation.   I do not define a good hitter as someone who only hits home runs, is only looking to hit home runs and nothing else.  No one, not even someone with tremendous ability, is a perfect softball hitter and we all have our down days when we get no hits.

For beginners and veterans alike, it is often good to break down the components of hitting.

Weight of bat - Find a bat you can swing comfortably. If you use a bat that is too light or too heavy, you will not realize your hitting potential.  If you are a beginner, do not go out and buy a $400 bat and suddenly think you have been transformed into a hitting machine.  It just will not happen.

Bat speed - The faster you can swing the bat, the better.  And this is why you should not use a bat that is too heavy for you.  Take time to develop your bat speed, but don't kill yourself.

Seeing the pitch - Even in slow pitch softball, a pitch may take only one to two seconds to reach home plate.  You have to be able to see the ball coming in such a short time.  If you cannot do this, you will not be able to hit the ball.  Make sure to have your vision checked regularly. 

Knowing the strike zone -  The strike zone is usually the width of home plate and between the batter's knees up to midway between the belt and shoulders, no higher than chest level.  If a pitched ball is outside this zone, do not swing. Once you know the strike zone, you increase the odds of getting a good pitch to hit.  You also put pressure on the pitcher to throw a pitch into the strike zone; otherwise he will walk you.  Even if you play in games with no balls and strikes called, but you are given, say, three swings to put the ball in play, it still benefits you to know the strike zone.

Batting stance -  Stand in the batter's box with your feet spaced a little wider than your shoulders.  Put your hands together one on top of the other while you grip the bat.  Hold your bat up with one arm across the body.  Keep your weight mainly on your back foot.  Flex your knees.  Your own batting stance should be comfortable, so find one that works for you.

Swing and follow through -  Take a compact swing at the ball and follow through even after you have made contact with the ball.  Rock your body by transferring your weight from your back foot toward your front foot.  Do not stride too far with your front foot.  Instead, raise it slightly as you shift your body weight.  Keep the shoulder tucked in.  When you swing, rotate your hips and torso.  Keep your head steady, even slightly looking downward.  Extend your arms as you follow through.  Your swing doesn't stop once you make contact with the ball.  Continue the swing around your body and then let go of the bat.  Watch how experienced players do it, and you will get a good idea as to what is involved in hitting a ball.

Hit the ball where it is pitched - A good hitter hits to all fields.  Let's assume you are a right handed batter.  If the pitched ball is on the outside of the strike zone, hit it to the opposite field.  If the ball is down the middle, you can either hit it toward center field or left field.  If the ball is inside, hit it toward left field or pull it down the line.  You may take an inside out swing on an inside pitch, but then the swing is awkward and you will wind up hitting the ball to the opposite side.  Pulling outside pitches usually leads to ground balls hit to the left side of the infield.

If you can master the above basics, you are well on your way to becoming a good softball hitter.   
 

So you want to be the next Albert Pujols of softball?

In slowpitch softball, the batter must provide the power, not the pitcher.  Hitters cannot benefit from the energy imparted from a fastball or fastpitch to generate power to hit a ball further.  From time to time, someone will ask me about how they can become not just a good hitter, but a consistent home run hitter.  There is no denying that hitting home runs is fun.   But not everyone who plays softball will be a power hitter and that includes a lot of big, heavier guys. 

Being a slugger is not a function of height, but more a function of weight and being able to swing a bat comfortably at a quick speed.  Heavier guys can theoretically generate more force.  In physics, we learn that force is equal to mass times acceleration or

f = ma

Well, this scientific fact applies to hitting.  In this case, the mass is the weight of your bat plus your body weight and the acceleration is your bat speed.  Multiplying the two equals your force.  The greater the force, the more likely you will hit the ball further because your force imparts greater speed to the ball as it leaves the bat.  In softball, use the force!  However, this alone is not sufficient to hit home runs.  Other factors affecting the distance the ball travels  include where a batter makes contact with the ball - was it on the the so-called sweet spot on the bat? - wind speeds, game temperatures, and even elevation above sea level.
 
Focusing on weight for a moment, it is obvious that bigger guys theoretically have a better chance of being a consistent home run hitter, whether they play on a field with or without a fence.  In this day and age, all sluggers in major league baseball weigh over 200 lbs.  (I define slugger as someone who has at least three years with more than 20 home runs (preferably 25) or at least three or more years with a slugging percentage greater than .500.)  What is interesting to note is that in their time, Henry Aaron and Willie Mays both weighed around 180 lbs and yet both became two of the greatest home run hitters of all time.  And they played at a time when ballpark dimensions were slightly larger than they are today.  They are unique exceptions to the rule.   Both were athletically gifted and their accomplishments speak for themselves.  Today, no one who weighs 180 lbs is a bona fide slugger in professional baseball.  I don't follow professional softball leagues so I can't speak to that, but from experience, most sluggers in softball weigh over 200 lbs.

Therefore, if hitting home runs depends on how much you weigh, everybody should go out to the gym and bulk up, right?  It has been suggested that I go weight train and bulk up to 200 lbs, just so I can hit a softball 50 or 100 feet or more further.  I refuse to.  Not only am I not interested in changing my physique to that of a football linebacker, I'm not interested in footing the bill for a new wardrobe.  A good softball hitter knows the limits of his power.  No amount of bulking up to add muscle weight will compensate for a poor or mediocre swing.  A good softball hitter also knows to set aside vanity and ego, especially in situations where there are opportunities to drive in runs.  For example, with runners on second and third, all a hitter has to do is hit a single and most likely, he or she will be able to drive in two runs.  In this situation, a softball hitter fixated on hitting home runs, will try to slug it out of the ballpark or hit the ball over the outfielders' heads despite the fact that they are playing deep for him.  The end result is usually a lazy fly ball hit to an outfielder for an out with no runners scoring. 

So what can a good, power hitter do in this situation?  If the outfielders respect your power, they will play back on you.  Use this to your advantage for it is almost a gift.  Yes, you will probably not hit the ball over their heads.  However, in moving back, they have opened up the outfield for you.  There is now more space between them and the infielders.  In addition, there is now more space between the outfielders or between an outfielder and the foul line.  So by all means use the widened angles and gaps to your advantage by hitting line drives in the direction of those openings.

Regardless of gender, players of all ability levels should understand that becoming a bona fide home run hitter requires effort.  To become a better hitter, most of us should work on our bat speed and perfect a level swing to make good contact with the ball.  Nobody should carry unrealistic expectations.  True, if people are unfamiliar with your ability, you may surprise them by hitting the ball over their head in one of your first games, particularly if outfielders are drawn in too far.  Nonetheless, once people get a feel for your abilities, outfielders will play back and the likelihood of this happening again drops to zero.  The possible exception to this view is if you play on a field with an outfield fence.  In this situation, perhaps you can be a consistent home run hitter depending on the field dimensions and how far back the fence is built.  On softball fields with no fences, such as the ones in Central Park and most parks here in New York City, becoming a consistent home run hitter is a challenge.  As I mention above, on softball fields with no fences, outfielders can position themselves at the limits of your power to prevent you from hitting the ball over their heads.

I am not the final authority on how to become a good softball hitter.  To get further pointers on becoming a good hitter, watch baseball or softball games and observe what good hitters do. Watch videos on YouTube of good softball hitters, both male and female.  Ask an experienced player to critique your swing.  Videotape yourself swinging and see what you are doing right and what needs improvement.  Take batting practice and perform hitting drills.  The tips here can apply to players of all ages.  Yes, you can become a better softball hitter even if you are over the age of 50. 

Whether you are looking to become a better softball hitter or just looking to maintain your level, reading this blog has hopefully given you some good pointers on softball hitting.  Becoming a better softball hitter essentially requires you to stay in shape, develop a good swing and play the game on a regular basis.  It takes effort and time, so if you are genuinely interested in becoming a better hitter, there are no shortcuts.  In the beginning, take batting practice whenever you can.  Softball is a fun game.  See you on the field and regardless of your current ability level,  I hope you become a better softball hitter.