So you want to know what skills you need to play baseball? In baseball, some are born with talents needed for baseball but most achieve greatest by determination. Baseball players like Albert Pujols were born with the power to hit homers, just as Rickey Henderson was born to run his way to the hall of fame. But if they did not spend hours on the field honing these natural baseball talents, they would not be where they are right now. Practice and determination are valuable factors in becoming a good baseball player.
Practice Makes The Perfect Pitch
There are required skills for baseball. They will help you measure how to be good at baseball. If you want to know how to become the best baseball player you can be, you must focus on mastering these skills.
Hand-Eye Coordination
Hand-eye coordination is one of the necessary skills of baseball. Most baseball players focus on their baseball hand-eye coordination. Baseball actually requires the eye has to coordinate with other parts of the body too. It is important for the baseball player to process what he sees and use it to calculate his throwing, catching and running, all while considering the urgency of time. There are vision based exercises on how to improve hand eye coordination for baseball.
Hitting
Hitting is the most basic baseball skill. The sports is mainly about hitting the baseball with your bat. But it is not enough that you hit the ball with the bat, you must drive the ball away from the fielders so that they could chase and attempt to catch it while you give your teammates enough time to run the bases. That is where it gets challenging.
You must be confident that you will hit the ball despite the pressure of the spotlight given when you go up to bat. Your eyes must guide your hands coordinately like a ninja. Your hands and grip must be strong to accurately hit the ball deep enough so your team can take advantage of it. A baseball player needs to consider all this while remembering that three strikes and YOU’RE OUT!
Throwing
Knowing how to throw the ball accurately is an extremely important skill to process. Fast and accurate throwing is an advantage to your team because it prevents your opponent from scoring. The catch though is, throwing requires coordination of your entire body.
Your arm must be strong in order to control the movement of your body. Your balance must be stable to generate power. And your timing must be perfect to know when to throw the ball. And you can achieve them with proper work out and exercises.
Catching
Catching is a position that requires not just strong physical skills but also quick and precise decision making. Needless to say, it is probably the most draining position out of all position players. Normally, the catcher is regarded as the playing coach while his teammates are on the field.
He needs to be fast to be able to catch up with the ball and has an eagle-like focus to calculate his moves and as well as the tactics of his team.
Running
It’s a skill that actually wins games although some players overlook its importance. It is the core of every physical sport. Teams with fast players have the advantage because their opposing pitchers will be forced to check on the runner by throwing the ball to the base where the runner is located.
Running is also the easiest skill to hone. And all other skills can benefit from running. For example, fast runners are also usually good fielders. Running also strengthens the muscles and improves endurance. To make our point on “fast runner are usually good fielders”
Let’s admire these catches by Jackie Bradley Jr. of the Boston Red Sox:
Fielding
Fielding requires a player to have a strong arm, speed, agility, and the player must be able to jump high and swiftly. A fielder’s role is to do everything he can to field his position and keep errors to a minimum to keep his pitcher happy. He or she must also be able to quickly and accurately catch the ball, and make a smart and fast decision on when and where to throw it.
Since we’re big fans of Jackie Bradley Jr., we will leave you with a compilation of some of his top defensive plays in the video below:
Overall, in order to acquire these skills, a player must have the strength, speed and must be smart in making use of those skills. There is a study that suggests doing something for 10,000 hours will make you master that skill. Practice your drills, run like your life depends on it, play on the field for hours while tracking your improvement.
Determination is the weapon of champions
But of course, you won’t be able to achieve the perfection of the skills we have mentioned if you don’t have passion for the game.
Develop your passion for the game
You will hear most of the greatest athletes of all time discuss this. When you are not on the field, watch other teams games or watch the games on television. Observe the game of the players. You will surely learn from their tactics. You will also develop a deeper interest in the game outside of the field.
It will motivate you knowing that you can win games, or even be among the ranks of these players in professional leagues. And besides, watching games on television is a way of enjoying the sport without the physical demands.
Motivate Yourself
What is it that makes you pick up the bat and go to the field for baseball practice? Focus on that. It can be the prestige of the championship that it can bring. It can be the confidence of winning. It can be because of your teammates that inspire you to play better. Or it can be your family which will be cheering you on the sidelines. Or for some, it can be the game itself.
Baseball can test your limits. If you already have the talent work on it. Practice more when you think you have already practiced enough. Win games. Love the game and everything about it because that is what makes a good athlete, a good baseball player.
Updated on
