Offseason Hitting Drills

Offseason hitting drills

The offseason is where the work gets done to prepare us for game play. Once the grass starts to green up in Minnesota, we know that baseball season is just around the corner. In order to get ready for opening day, us northerners use a variety of offseason hitting drills to prepare. These drills can be done on our own, or with a teammate or two. You can also seek specialized coaching from one of MN’s great training facilities. Let’s focus today on some drills that you can do on your own, with limited space, and that require limited resources.

Tee Work

As we all know, baseball is a game of repetition. The best hitters in the game didn’t get that way over night or by watching a “how-to video”. At its purest form, baseball is one of the most mechanical and fundamental sports. The more repetition, the more success you may find. A Batting Tee is a small tool that applies to all abilities of players. There is benefit for your “tee ball” players up to your Major Leaguer. A batting tee allows you to breakdown your swing to the most miniscule of details. It focuses on areas of weakness, and allows you to get many swings in a short amount of time. A tee is portable! You can do it in your basement when it is 20 below zero. Also works fine in your garage with a small net! The ideal spot would be a batting cage, as it allows for instant feedback letting you know exactly where you hit the ball and if you hit it properly. Check out the Tanner Tee, best in the business. Tee work is one of the best offseason hitting drills you can do!

Basics- Ball placement on the Batting Tee

Try and place the ball on the batting tee with purpose. The saying “keep your eye on the ball” is an important focus of tee work. Hitting different spots on the baseball will create different outcomes.

Figure 1. Hitting downward on the top seam will create backspin that will make the ball go further.

Figure 2. Hitting the inside seam (right hand hitter) will create a better path to the baseball while also creating backspin to drive the ball further.

Basic Batting Tee Work

Basic Batting Tee work consists of moving the tee around the plate to focus on hitting pitches in different locations. Keep your typical batting stance and set-up when attacking these locations. By hitting the outside pitch, it allows for the ball to travel deeper through the hitting zone with the same swing. Up the middle contact should be somewhere between your stomach and your front foot after stride. Attacking the inside pitch, you will want to make contact earlier and out front so your wood bat barrel can make contact without compromising your hands or your stride.

Top Hand/Bottom Hand Drills

The purpose of one hand drills is to isolate weaknesses in your swing, discovering limitations by being dominate with your top or bottom hand, and creating balance. By isolating one hand, it will help to create power as well as finding your ideal swing path.

Top Hand only- by letting the elbow lead through the zone, it will help by getting the wood bat barrel on plane with the pitch more quickly while developing bat control and balance.

Bottom Hand only- the bottom hand, even though most will be top hand dominant, will truly help you understand your swing path as a whole. Your lead hand will start the motion of pulling towards the baseball. Once you can control hitting line drives with one hand, the easier it will be with two. A couple training aids most popularly used are our one-handed trainer and the Hammer!

High Batting Tee Drill

We all have been in that funk where we start popping balls up and dropping our back shoulder. Here is a solution that will help you by driving down on the ball and generating that backspin with more line drives. By elevating the batting tee to somewhere between your eyes and your chest, it will create a bat path forcing you to stay on top of the ball through the zone while not allowing you to drop your backside shoulder. By setting your batting tee on a chair or bucket, it will allow you to achieve that ideal height for the tee. The ideal location to hit the ball is right back up the middle at head height. The focus is to square up the ball, where our Hand/Eye Trainer is ideal for hitting that sweet spot with immediate feedback.

Step Through Drill

Bat speed and Launch Angle are commonplace terminology within baseball and its developing at younger ages. This drill focuses on that as well as using our legs to generate power. The Step Through will also aid in keeping your hands back while we stride and get our front foot down first. While doing this you need to keep the bat back in the zone longer to swing at better pitches. The set-up will include starting at the back of the batter’s box facing straight towards the pitcher. The first step is taken with your right foot if you are a right-handed hitter towards the tee set-up in the front-middle portion of the plate. The left leg follows through as your stride leg into your hitting position. After the swing the step through is the back leg finishing off on the ground or on your back toe. This is all controlled movement as to prevent “squashing the bug” as we are looking to generate back spin and more power!

Why Train with a wood bat?

Offseason hitting drills pared with a wood bat will really help you improve your game. Swinging a wood bat has many benefits for the young player. Wood bats give instant feedback. You will feel it if you don’t square one up on the barrel. If you hit one off the end or off the handle, the hands will feel the vibration off the bat. Simply swinging a wood bat can really help hitters develop faster. First off, wooden bats tend to be weighted differently than aluminum / metal bats. This doesn’t always mean that a wood bat is heavier. It means that because the barrel of wood bat is solid (instead of hollow like an aluminum bat), the weight distribution is going to be/feel different. This difference alone helps hitters develop the muscles they use to swing. It really builds bat speed faster than just working with aluminum. Plate discipline and learning to swing at better quality pitches will essentially make you focus on hitting the sweet spot of the wood barrel and make your wood bat last longer. Wood is the bat for players looking to play at the next level!

Categories: Baseball Bats, Baseball Training, Bat Swing Speed, Wood Baseball Bats, Wood Bat, Wood bat company, Wood Bats

Tags: baseball bat, Baseball Training, maple bat, practice, swing mechanics, swing speed, wood baseball bat, wood bat

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TownBall Parks Of MN

With over 300 amateur baseball teams in Minnesota, the opportunity to play at some of the nicest “TownBall Parks of MN” seems to be more and more of a routine occurrence. The time and money dedicated to these baseball diamonds is spent on the playing surfaces themselves. A great deal of effort is also put into the amenities. The great play and amenities make it a welcoming event for the purest of fans and the fans just looking for a burger and a beer on a Sunday afternoon.

The bar is set high, as hosting a state tournament is the pinnacle spectacle for your facility. In 2020, the state tournament was held outstate of the metro area in the small towns of Springfield and Milroy. The playing surfaces were pristine, the grass perfectly striped, with beautiful grandstands and party decks accommodating 48 different teams in 3 weekends.

SpringField Milroy

Ranking the Top Parks

The state is home to many of these “Sistine Chapels”. Most recently, for those of you on Twitter, Bob Greeley (@bob_greeley76) took the time to rank the top 100 ballparks in amateur baseball in MN. The criteria was based on: playing surfaces, grandstands, dugouts, concession stands and the overall ambience created for the total fan experience. These sanctuaries have been featured in multiple state tournament host sites and many featured on state news tours with Fox9. They host high school, legion and amateur games. The top 10 on Bob’s list is nothing short of ballparks any fan in MN must see, or take the opportunity to play at.

Top Ten TownBall Parks of MN:

10. Chanhassen

9. Dundas

8. Chaska

7. New Ulm

6. Cold Spring

5. Shakopee

4. Jordan

3. Dassel

2. Miesville

1. Delano

In Conclusion

As you can see, TownBall Parks Of MN all have the same things in common. Time and dedication are the key ingredients along with some dedicated volunteers it takes to keep their holy grails in immaculate condition. And they do it because baseball is a passion inside of us all and the success of this game for the future generations continues to grow. Over the course of time, the caretakers have changed, the equipment has been upgraded, and the technology has advanced. But one thing will always remain the same, amateur baseball players and teams take pride in their hometown diamonds.

https://twitter.com/bob_greeley76?lang=en

Categories: Baseball Bats, Maple Bats, ProXR, Wood Baseball Bats, Wood Bat, Wood bat manufacturer

Tags: baseball bat, custom baseball bat, Maple Bats, maple wood bats, wood baseball bat, wood bat, wood bat manufacturer, wood bat manufacturers, wooden bat, wooden bats

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Wood Bat Barrels vs Aluminum Bat Barrels

WOOD BAT BARRELS VS. ALUMINUM BAT BARRELS

We want to shed some light on a common debate…”Wood bat barrels vs. aluminum bat barrels.” Please keep in mind that wood bat barrels and aluminum bat barrels are completely different animals. Because aluminum bats have a hollow barrel, those barrels can be designed larger. Aluminum bats have hollow barrels. So that typically makes them swing lighter than a wood bat barrel. And because the aluminum barrel compresses when making contact with the baseball, a trampoline effect helps propel the baseball. Wood bat barrels on the other hand have a solid barrel, and the baseball will compress (instead of the barrel) when making solid barrel contact. Because there is no trampoline effect from wood bats, we need to think of ways to help give the player more lift and carry when hitting a baseball. The way to do that is to put more backspin on the ball, and you don’t need to be a seasoned professional in order to do this.

Big Barrel vs. Small Barrel

This brings us back to the “big barrel vs. small barrel” argument and the “wood bat barrels vs. aluminum bat barrels”. Which is better? Well, because the diameter of the smaller barrel has greater curvatures than the bigger barrel, you’re able to put more backspin on a baseball with your natural swing. This gives the ball more lift and carry, which translates to more distance. The smaller wood bat barrel also forces the player to be a more disciplined hitter. If you swing at bad pitches you will sting your hands or break your bat when swinging wood. By nature you will have better plate discipline and and strike zone awareness. Whereas hitting a ball squarely with a large barreled bat can often result in the baseball “knuckling” off the barrel, limiting its’ distance. Every level of professional baseball is played with a wood bat. So if you’re serious about baseball, swing wood! Check out MaxBat pro series wood bats: https://www.maxbats.com/shop/bats/baseball/?pro-series

Ball compression on a wood bat barrel

Categories: Baseball Bats, Maple Bats, Metal bats, Wood Baseball Bats, Wood Bat

Tags: baseball bat, Maple Bats, maple wood bats, metal basebal bat, metal bat, wood bat, wood bat barrel, wooden bat

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Engineered Innovation

At MaxBat we produce each and every wood bat in-house at our state of the art facility in Central Minnesota. We take great price in all steps of our manufacturing process. Below we’ll highlight some of the things that make our wood bat so popular.

*Power Game

The barrel is the business end of the wood bat. When building your custom model, you can choose from 3 different barrel sizes. Ranging from medium barrels (utilizes harder / strong wood which leads to a more balanced bat), to XL barrels (lower density piece of wood to achieve your desired target weight). The barrel size is completely up to you, but know that you get the highest quality piece of wood when choosing a bat model with a medium barrel.

All MaxBat wood bat barrels are bone hardened. We use a patented bone hardening process as one of our finishing touches! Our custom engineered barrel compression machine increases and maximizes the hardness of the wood. Harder wood = greater results.

*Get a Grip

The MaxBat handles vary in diameter, from thin, medium, or thick bat handles. Thin bat handles will shift weight to the barrel end and also help the player generate a bit more “whip”. The most common handle diameter is a medium handle with a diameter of 15/16 of an inch. The thick handles, 1 inch or more, give the bat more of an “old school” as this was the norm back in the day.

The style of the knob varies slightly; this will impact the bat’s balance. It will also change how the wood bat feels in the players bottom hand. We also offer non traditional knobs that each have there own advantages. The flared design of the X-Knob helps protect the hamate bone from bruising, and greatly increases the bat’s balance. Because of the shape, and where it comes in contact with your lower hand, the X-Knob can ultimately increase overall bat speed too. Pair any wood bat model with ProXR grip technology to deliver an exclusive level of hitting performance! True innovation creates a knob that works with a batter’s hands to create a smoother swing, resulting in increased bat speed and exit velocity. This unique design causes less pressure in the batter’s wrist and hand, thus being a benefit to the health and comfort of the player. This knob ads the elusive edge every hitter looks for in their bat. U.S. MaxBat ProXR is the definition of Engineered Innovation! Pat. 7,744,497

*Precision Crafted

We use years of experience and expertise to pinpoint the desired weight for your custom wood bat. When choosing your weight, we recommend a -2 weight drop with a cupped barrel end. We can certainly make your wood bat a -2.5 or -3 but keep in mind the lighter the weight the less dense the piece of wood. A -2 weight will give your wood bat a bit more pop and durability, but a -3 weight will give your bat a bit more balance and quicker swing speed.

MaxBat offers more length options that anyone in the wood bat market. All adult bats are made in 1/4 inch length increments starting at 32″ and going up to 35.5″. Several of our medium barrel adult bats are made as short as 30″.

MLB mandates all Maple and Birch bats, destined for a pro player, need to pass an ink-spot test. We put this ink-test on all of our wood bats regardless of level of play. When the ink-test in placed on the bat handle it bleeds into the non-visible tangential grains. The straighter the grain, the stronger the wood! Every bat MaxBat produces features our Engineered Innovation.

Engineered Innovation in MaxBat Manufacturing

MaxBat Manufacturing at it’s finest.

Categories: Baseball Bats, Custom baseball bat, Maple Bats, ProXR, Wood Baseball Bats, Wood Bat, Wood bat manufacturer

Tags: baseball bat, Birch Bats, Maple Bats, wood bat, wood bat barrel, wood bat company, Wood Bats

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Taping your wood bat barrel is not really necessary, depending on the wood.

Have you ever seen someone put athletic tape on the barrel of their wood bat? I bet you’ve either wondered why they do that, or you’ve followed suit and wrapped your wood bat barrel in white athletic tape. Yes?

So, why is that a thing? Here’s the answer. MLB players would wrap their ASH wood bat barrels for batting practice to help prevent the grains from flaking/separating. Because of the grain structure of ASH, it was seen as a preventative measure to help the longevity of the wood bat. This was done for many years before Maple bats and Birch bats hit the scene.

Here’s the important point however. Maple bats and Birch bats are much different than Ash bats. Maple bats and Birch bats are a closed grain wood, and will NOT flake like Ash (an open pore wood). Therefore, the more you hit with a Maple bat or a Birch bat, the grains compress more and more, whereas the more contact with an Ash bat will result in “wearing out the wood”.

So do you need to wrap your wood bat barrel in athletic tape? What about a coaches fungo? The answer is no. It’s not necessary. But if you’re contemplating this, it’s really only going to benefit an Ash wood bat, and help prevent premature grain flaking and separation. Again, Maple bats and Birch bats aren’t going to flake like an Ash bat. It’s not going to hurt anything if you tape up the barrels of your Maple bat or Birch bat, but it’s not going to accomplish anything either. Some guys just like the look, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You gotta look the part, right?

Check out the pro MaxBat coaches fungos here. Guaranteed to enable you to hit moon shots to your outfielders, over and over again.

Categories: Maple Bats, Wood Bat, Wood Bats

Tags: Ash Bats, Birch Bats, Maple Bats, wood bat, Wood Bats, wooden bat

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Offseason Hitting Drills