365 Days to Better Baseball – Foul Balls are Your Friends

Tuesday Tips to Tattoo the Ball – Hey, You Get to Bat Forever with Foul Balls

Foul balls are not a bad thing – hitting coaches must convince players of that.

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Some of my common statements, when pitching batting practice are:

“Keep fouling them off, until he (game pitcher) makes a mistake.”

‘Good foul ball, pitcher’s pitch – you didn’t want to put that in play anyway”

“Way to get a piece, that keeps you alive for the next pitch.”

“If you keep getting a piece of it, you can bat forever.”

Foul balls (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The point is that foul balls are not a bad thing. Most ball players get upset when they foul balls off, at least in batting practice. When throwing batting practice I do not let them get down over foul balls. I try to explain that foul balls are hitters’ friends and that just getting a piece of the ball is a sign of a good swing. Additionally I tell hitters that any contact is better than the alternative, of no contact. Finally, along the same lines, I inform batters that fouling off pitches makes them a tough out, which is a good thing.

Finally, the goal is convincing players of that , as it still takes skill to even hit foul balls.