You Really Should Learn How To Hit To The Opposite Field!

By Larry Cicchiello
Updated: July 2, 2013

By now, we’ve all heard the expression, “hit it where it’s pitched.” It’s very frustrating for a baseball pitcher when he throws a perfect low and away strike and the batter hits the ball to the opposite field for a hit. Most baseball pitchers will realize immediately how well schooled this particular baseball hitter is.

Low and away strikes are almost always a pitcher’s bread and butter and the very smart hitters will learn how to take some of the effectiveness of the low and away strike away from the pitcher. It’s pretty much a baseball fact of life that if a hitter tries to pull everything, his batting average will suffer. It’s also a baseball fact of life that hitters who hit effectively to the opposite field have a strong tendency to hit for higher batting averages.

The first order of the day and one of the better baseball tips on hitting to the opposite field is to avoid the common baseball hitting mistake of letting up on your swing. Many baseball hitters will not swing as hard when hitting to the opposite field. Their swing quite often loses its aggressiveness and this should be avoided. The hitter should attack the ball in the same manner as if it were a very hittable pitch that’s belt high and over the middle of the plate. Please don’t think for a minute that you should let up on your swing simply because you are going the “other way.”

When you are trying to hit the ball to the opposite field, preferably you want the pitch over the outside part of the plate. The angle of the bat should be facing toward the opposite field.

One of the better baseball tips for hitting to the opposite field is that you make contact with the ball deeper in the hitting zone. Contrary to what some may believe, you use the same exact swing that you always use. The only difference is you hit the ball when it is closer to the catcher. Younger players sometimes have a difficult time with this because sometimes they struggle just to make any contact at all and to ask them to let the baseball get a little closer to the catcher is difficult. What it comes down to is that it must be practiced. Hitting is not easy and this is something that must be practiced. Real good hitters are not real good hitters by accident. And hitting well to the opposite field is a form of art. You are not going to wake up one morning and be very efficient at hitting to the opposite field. It simply does not work that way and requires practice and hard work.

Baseball pitchers are not thrilled with hitters who use all fields and can efficiently hit the ball to the opposite field. As a baseball hitter, you don’t want pitchers to be thrilled when you are up at the plate.

Just remember to attack the ball with the same aggressiveness, have your bat angled toward the opposite field and let the pitch travel and get a little closer to the catcher.

One of the better baseball tips on hitting to remember is that there is a serious link between baseball hitters who can hit to the opposite field and higher batting averages. This is not a coincidence!