Tee Work Fundamentals
Tee work is the foundation of every great hitter — not just a warm-up drill. Every major league hitter works the tee regularly. Set it up with intention.
- Inside corner drill: place tee at front hip, focus on pulling hands through, drive ball to pull side
- Outside corner drill: tee at the back of the plate, contact point is deeper, drive to opposite field
- High/low drill: alternate tee heights, 5 swings each — train the hitter to adjust on the fly
- Inside-out drill: place tee outside, goal is to hit the ball to the opposite field with the barrel leading
- Oppo drill: 10 consecutive outside-pitch hits to opposite field — no pull attempts
Note: Emphasize a quiet head during tee work. The eyes should be level and focused on the ball from stance all the way through contact. Any head movement before contact bleeds power.
Soft Toss Drills
Soft toss bridges tee work and live pitching. The feeder controls location and timing — use that control intentionally.
- Standard soft toss: feeder at 45° angle, 8–10 feet, hitter drives ball into a net
- High toss: feeder tosses ball higher (shoulder height) — trains the hitter to adjust to high pitches
- Timing toss: feeder varies the pause before releasing — trains the hitter to load and wait
- Two-ball drill: feeder holds two different-colored balls, calls color at release — hitter must decide in real time (reaction drill)
- Front toss from knee: feeder kneels 15 feet away, tosses overhand — close to live BP but with control
Live BP Structure
Live batting practice should never be random. Each round should have a purpose — power, opposite field, situational, or count-specific.
- Round 1 — Opposite field: 8 pitches, goal is opposite-field contact only. No pull attempts.
- Round 2 — Situational: coach calls a situation before each pitch (runner on 3rd, less than 2 outs — make contact; runner on 2nd, 0 outs — move runner)
- Round 3 — Count work: start each AB at a specific count (0-2, 3-1, 2-2). Hitter must work the count approach
- Round 4 — Free swing: 6 pitches, hitter's choice — track what they naturally do with freedom
Note: Require hitters to call their own pitch intent before the pitch. "Opposite field." "Hard contact." "Lay off the breaking ball." Saying it out loud builds the habit of approach-first hitting.
Dry Swing and Mechanics Work
Players can get significant reps without a ball. Use dry swing work to train muscle memory — especially effective early in the season when arm fatigue limits throwing reps.
- Stride drill: player strides and stops — check for proper landing (soft front foot, no lunge)
- Catch position drill: player loads hands to "catch position" and holds — check for relaxed hands, slight tilt
- Hip turn drill: hands on hips, player practices hip rotation with no arm movement — isolates the drive
- Mirror drill: pair players facing each other at arm's length, one leads the swing in slow motion, the other mirrors — instant feedback on what the swing looks like
- Bat path drill: swing in slow motion, stop at contact point. Check barrel angle and extension.
