A Guide For Young Batters & Baserunners - Softcover

Don Oster has been coaching youth baseball at the highest level for decades. In 1985, as manager of a team from East Tonka, Minnesota, he went to the Little League World Series. From 1987 to 1991, his Babe Ruth League team, for which he was the pitching coach, appeared in four consecutive World Series. He is also the author of Largemouth Bass and is the coauthor of A Guide for Young Pitchers, and A Guide for Young Softball Pitchers (page 89) and Hunting Today’s Whitetail. He lives in southern Indiana.

Bill McMillan has twenty years’ experience coaching youth baseball as a manager for youth aged nine to sixteen. His teams have won nine league championships and a Minnesota State Little League championship. McMillan has been a public school teacher and a university professor. He holds a PhD in educational psychology and has worked extensively at the state and national levels on various educational programs. He lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

INTRODUCTION

Batting is fun. Unlike some other baseball fundamentals, it's even fun to practice. Very few things compare to the feel of a solid hit and the sight of a line drive rocketing toward the outfield grass. Batting is not easy. You are trying to solidly hit a round object (the ball) with another round object (the bat). But, once you learn the fundamentals and work hard at practicing them, you can become a good hitter.

Hitting is what the first part of this book is all about. First you will learn batting fundamentals and then several practice drills to help you improve your skill. This book is not about hitting home runs. Those will come in time, usually when you least expect them. Your baseball career is just starting. Sound batting fundamentals will serve you well throughout your career. By following the basics you will become a good contact hitter. If you're making good, solid contact with the pitches, the base hits will fall.

Hitting can be frustrating because the best batters at all levels only get it right between three and four times out of each ten official at-bats. There will be times when it seems that each ball you hit well is directly at a fielder. But you must keep your confidence and stick with the basics. Always remember that if you're making good contact you will be a successful batter in the long run.

Hitting isn't all there is to the offensive part of the game. There are other skills to learn that can help you become a total offensive player. Success at the plate isn't always about ripping line drives. Baseball is a team game. Every player on a team must be able to bunt. Sometimes a simple little bunt can be a game-breaker. You will learn bunting basics including sacrifice bunts and bunts for base hits.

Next, we go into game situations where you learn what to look for before you go to bat. We discuss things like sizing up the pitcher, knowing the game situation and your job when you are the on deck batter. Then we cover how to hit with a purpose. This includes ways to work a pitcher during an at bat and how to adjust to get the most out of each time at the plate

rdYou must score to win ball games. Good base running can win games, and base running errors can cause losses. We tell you how to become a smart base runner. While your base coaches direct much of the base running, you also have responsibilities. These responsibilities include having your head in the game and knowing what to look for and how to react.

The final two chapters sum up individual and team aspects of the game. In these chapters, you will learn strategies for advancing runners and the characteristics of good offensive teams.

Use the basics, practice hard and learn from any mistakes. You're on the way to a lot of fun during a successful baseball career.