How to Improve Your Batting Average Throughout the Season

The statistic in baseball everyone is concerned about is the Batting Average. Baseball players go on hot streaks getting hits easily skyrocketing their batting average, but their batting averages can quickly plummet when they get into a slump. The best hitters in baseball are the ones who are the most consistent and don't have many ups and downs. These players stay within a routine, bunt for base hits, and also have a good eye for a strike.

Increasing your batting average can be as easy as staying within a good routine in practice and during pre-game. Routines are simple and they are different for everybody just depends on what the player prefers, but it's the devotion to the routine that keeps players hitting consistently keeping their batting average up. My routine consisted of:

1. Hit 30 balls off a tee(10 regular,10 top hand, 10 bottom hand)

2. Hit 30 balls doing front toss(20 opposite field, 10 middle)

3. Live batting practice from coach(5 opposite field, 5 middle, 5 gaps, 5 situational.

Routines are a foundation of fundamentals that you can rely on through the long baseball season. So if you do fall into a slump and your sticking to a routine the slump will be short lived, which will increase your average.

The next way to increase your batting average is to bunt for a hit on a smart consistent basis depending on how fast you can run. Bunting for a base hit is one of the most over looked parts in the game of baseball. By collecting just 5 bunt infield hits over the course of a season consisting of 100 at bats your average will be increase by 50 points turning a 0.300 batting average and increasing it to a 0.350 batting average. Bunting for a hit not only gives you the opportunity for an infield hit, but it also effects the way the defense will play you in the future, once they realize your a guy with speed and can bunt. The first and third baseman will start to play in a little bit on you, which ultimately plays to your benefit creating bigger holes in the infield and giving the first and third basemen less reaction time to respond to the ball when you put the ball in play allowing you to hit the baseball through infield to the outfield, which will increase your batting average by getting more hits.

Another way baseball players can increase their batting percentage is to be more selective on the pitches they decide to swing at, as well as having a better eye at the plate and not chasing bad pitches that are balls. The best pitches to hit are up in zone and over the middle of the plate. These are the pitches you must pull the trigger on in any count and get a base hit. If the pitcher does not throw it in that zone and you have less that 2 strikes don't swing at it and wait for another pitch because if you swing at their pitch and its on the outside corner you won't have as good a chance of making solid contact and will get out easier. Swinging at bad pitches and striking out is the quickest way to dropping your batting percentage because you don't even give yourself a chance to get a hit by not putting the ball in play. If you start swing at pitches over the middle of the plate you will make better contact giving you a better chance for a base hit, which will increase your batting average.