Using pitching machines for batting practice sometimes get a bad rap because they are used to throw the ball down the middle of the plate or they cannot throw at game speed. While this may be true, it is not the pitching machines fault - it is just a tool. In this post I recommend ten benefits and tips to more effectively use a pitching machine during your batting practice.
Develop Hitting Mechanics
To develop skilled batters, a coach needs to use the proper tool from his toolbox to develop his player's skill. Developing the proper fundamental hitting mechanics is best done with a tee drills or soft toss drills with a high number of swing repetitions regularly during practice to develop batter muscle memory. Once the hitting mechanics are solid then a coach can introduce the mental selective hitting approach and fine tuning with a pitching machine.
10 Benefits and Tips to Using a Pitching Machine
- Develop hitting mechanics at game speed: Facing game speed pitching, many batters with good soft toss hitting mechanics will revert back to poor mechanics. This is particularly true when a fixing a flaw in their swing or a large increase in pitching velocity. At game speed, the batter does not have time to think through their swing mechanics. It is all reliant on muscle memory and confidence. By providing your players a chance to practice batting at game speed, they can develop game speed hitting mechanics and confidence.
- Developing the batter's timing: Pitching machines are very useful in developing a batter's timing. Pitching machines can be set to consistently throw pitches around a specific velocity. If you expect the pitcher in the next game to throw 50mph then set the pitching machine to throw at 50mph +/- 5 mph. From my coaching experience, I have found that setting the machine at 10 to 20% above the expected pitching velocity to work the best. When players are batting in a game situation, especially their first at-bat, they are typically a little tense which slows down their reaction time. Adjusting the machine's pitching velocity in practice can compensate for the slight uneasiness batter have during their first plate appearance.
- Practice hitting mechanics based on pitch location: Good pitchers will hit their locations, particularly the low outside and/or inside corners. Set the pitching machine to throw to the low outside corner for 20 pitches. After a couple of days of hitting pitches thrown low and outside, the batters will get pretty good hitting that pitch to the opposite field.
- Practice hitting mechanics based on type of pitch: As pitchers mature from about 12 years through 18 years, they start to develop more than just a fastball and change-up and are able to throw them consistently for strikes in specific locations. Batters in this age need to learn how to hit the more advanced pitches. If you have a two-wheel pitching machine then have the pitching machine throw 20 pitches of a specific type of pitch. The next day, pick another type of pitch and work on that.
- Practice focusing on the release point: The release point is where the location that the pitcher lets go of the ball. When a batter steps into the box they should be generally looking at the chest of the pitcher. As the pitcher's arm goes behind their back, the batter's eyes should move to intently focus on the location where the pitcher will release the ball. Pitching machines naturally train batters to do this because batter focuses on when the ball is leaving the machine. To simulate right handed pitchers, set the pitching machine on the right side of the rubber. For left handed pitchers, set the machine on the left side of the rubber.
- Target reaction time, not pitching distance: The reaction time is the time from when the pitching machine releases the ball till when it crosses the plate. If the pitching machine cannot throw fast enough or a windy day is making the pitches inconsistent, move the pitching machine closer to the batter and adjust the speed. Batter timing is based on the reaction time from the pitcher's release till the ball crosses the plate. To calculate the desired pitch speed from the actual pitching machine speed, you can use this formula:
desired speed = machine speed + machine speed * (mound distance - machine distance) / machine distance - React to the ball instead of the pitcher's motion: A good pitcher will hide the ball for most of the wind up and/or have a deceptive motion to throw the batter's timing off. With the batter watching the the pitching machine release point, you are training the hitters to block out the pitcher's motion, focus on the release point, and react to the pitched ball.
- More quality pitches per minute: A good coach can pitch about 50% strikes from distance at game speed for a handful of batters or about 80% strikes at a slower speed from a shorter distance to a dozen batters. A pitching machine should throw over 95% strikes at game speed to all batters. The more strikes thrown during batting practice, the more swings a batter can get in a shorter period of time. If the machine is not throwing 95% strikes then you might need to replace the wheels or move the machine closer to the plate.
- Make the pitch change location: Well used dimple pitching machine balls grip the pitching machine's wheel differently than brand new dimple balls that can change the pitch location by as much as six inches to one foot. Mixing balls makes the pitch location less predictable that requires batters to adjust to the pitch location and timing.
- Supplement with live batting practice: A great way to keep your pitcher's fresh during a long break between games or just to change up practice a little is to have your pitchers throw live batting practice. It keeps both the pitchers and batters fresh. A coach just needs to plan to use multiple pitchers and allocate more time for batting practice because the number of good and bad pitches thrown.
Pitching machines are very good at throwing a fastball down the middle, but they can also be use to practice hitting specific types of pitches or pitch location. They teach the batters to react to the ball and focus on the release point plus a whole lot more.
Tryout some of these tips in your next practice and leave me a comment. Alternatively, if you believe I missed a way to use a pitching machine to improve batting practice, drop me a note below.
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