Pregame Hitting Part 2: Gearing for Velocity and Feeling for the Game
By: Chase Glaum
Tags: Sports, Game, Baseball

For the following blog, I will be going over how to ultimately prepare and gear hitters to see velocity. (If you would like to read more about my suggestions on preparing hitters before the game, you can read over my previous post on Pregame Hitting Part 1: Increasing Rotational Speed) I believe that in order to gain optimal preparation, it is best to try and achieve three things before a game: 1) Increase rotational speed, 2) prepare for velocity, and 3) get the right swing feel for the game.

Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash

Gearing for Velocity

In most cases, we won’t know who we are about to see on the mound when we start the pregame hitting process. With that in mind, I try to help my players prepare for velocity by transitioning from tee work to a cage with a machine set to a higher velocity than the pitcher we expect to see. (I am excited to see how this portion turns out after this year and what the results will reveal). In my previous years of coaching, we would do the typical BP (which we will have to do at away games), but after the first inning, when I saw a pitcher throwing upper 80’s to low 90’s, I would always sit there thinking, “What is the point of pregame BP?” In these types of situations, it’s almost as if we are playing a boxing game on the Wii to help prepare for a fight against Floyd Mayweather in person. The really talented hitters on the team might be able to compete to some extent, but as a coach, you are left with a long day of frustration. I think it is important to make sure that your hitters at least see the velocity they might face that day. (If you have a JV or redshirt program at your college, and you have two cages, I would do velocity off a machine in one cage and live BP in the other. Schedule the bullpens for the JV/redshirts to face your starting nine on game day). However, if you are like us and you don’t have those extra players, then these are the rounds you would expect to see for our hitters: (Note: this part will be allotted about 10–15 minutes per group).

Round 1:

Swings: five swings (bunt a pitch, swing at a pitch)

Pitch Location: High

Bat: Regular

Round 2:

Swings: four

Pitch Location: High

Bat: Handle Load

Round 3:

Swings: four

Pitch Location: Low

Bat: Handle Load

Round 4:

Swings: four swings (bunt a pitch, swing at a pitch)

Pitch Location: Low

Bat: Regular

Photo by Mark Duffel on Unsplash

Feeling for the Game

After the hitters have been preparing their swing and seeing velocity, (and probably failing at a high rate) it is now time to work on their “feel” of the swing. The hitters are beginning to transition to batting practice on the field. It’s always easier to slow down a swing than speed it up during a game, in terms of feel. By the time the hitters get to the BP rounds on the field, they have had a proper warm up, prepared their body to rotate quickly, and have worked their swing against velocity (maybe even live pitching). Now it’s time for them to get into rhythm and feel their swing — and hopefully put on a show. These are the BP rounds we usually execute before a game and I think it’s important that the hitters feel comfortable with their swing going into the game. By going through these progressions leading up to the game, our hitters have a good chance to find and feel their swing by the time they see their first pitch. Here’s the breakdown of the BP rounds we usually execute before a game:

Round 1: Power Ground ball

Round 2: Sac fly

Round 3: Double to opposite field gap

Round 4: Top of the L-screen

Round 5: Line drive to CF

Round 6 and on: Gap to Gap

If you notice, we don’t bunt before a game during BP. I find that it can be waste of time being that everyone on the team should be able to bunt 55 mph down the middle, and that does not translate to the game whatsoever. If you have individuals who can’t bunt during BP, then they aren’t going to fix it in their five attempts. We also get our bunting in the cage from a high fastball and low fastball with high velocity.

Who Hits?

I only have our top 12 hitters hit. They are broken up into four groups of three. Each group usually hits for about 12 minutes and each round is 4–5 pitches. In the past, each group usually got about seven to eight rounds to hit. Around our BP cage you will find different types of PVC pipe, heavy long bats, balance bats, and any other things guys like to try and feel for their swing.

By the time we see the first pitch, the guys have taken well over 100 swings in some way, shape or form in a course of an hour. Not only will this get guys ready for the game, but they also have an opportunity to get better on game day. Our goal here is to try and not waste a day when it comes to getting better, even on game day.

This pregame preparation is something new that I am trying this year. At the end of the season I will be evaluating how well this worked by comparing home and away game offensive outcomes. I would love to know your thoughts and suggestions as I continue to try and find ways to prepare our hitters before the game.