Hit The Tee Drill ~ Work on taking the baseball back up the middle.

In this hit the tee drill, the focus is on driving the ball back up the middle.

Set up the tees 10' apart. This can be done from home plate, or on the side where the players have a fence to stop the balls.

It is all about learning to drive the ball in the center of the plate. Have the batter's concentrate on that pitch and drive it back up through the box.

The focus is on contacting the tee in front, with the baseball.

Close to 80% of major league strikes are in the middle of the plate. That percentage is undoubtedly higher for youth and amateur baseball, a sound reason for becoming proficient at driving that pitch back through the middle.

Batting Tips ~ From the Dugout

• It is sometimes hard to get young players to work seriously on a tee. Once past the age of T-ball, they often believe that a T is for beginners.
  
  
  
• Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a great way to develop, through repetition, that swing a player can recall without thought, simply by reaction.
  
  
  
• Major league players use tees throughout the off season, as well as in season. Those repetitions transfer directly to the batter's box, where there is little time to think, only react.

A Full Mind Is An Empty Bat! ( Branch Rickey )

Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball Executive, best known for breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson and later drafting the first hispanic super star, Roberto Clemente.

He also created the framework for the modern minor league farm system, as well as introducing the batting helmet.