Batting: On Deck

When you get on deck, there is more to do than to just Swing that bat. The idea of being on deck isn't to just warm up, you could do that from the other side of the fence. When you're on deck, you're getting your timing and watching the pitcher.

What kind of spin is on the ball? What kind of delivery (or deliveries) is he using? Is there any break in the ball? How flat does does he throw it? How many pitches in between flat pitches? Does he have a sequence he's using? These are questions that you need answers to for an effective at bat every at bat, and the on deck circle is your last look.

Often, I will stand parallel to home plate as if I were batting, and I get my timing with the pitcher, swinging as if I was batting. This is also where I can see the top to bottom ball movement where it is harder when looking directly at the ball.

Lineup Boards

As a coach, I love products and tools that do work for me. At the beginning of the season I found an Easton Magnetic Lineup Board online and had my local supplier (Sun Valley Source for Sports) bring it in for me. I love it.

The product is a simple 16 position batting lineup with room for subs and positions. It has magnetic strips for all baseball, fastball, and slopitch positions. It comes with a ridiculous fat tip dry erase, but grab yourself a sharpie and permanently put names on the blank magnetic strips. Write in the male and female names in different colors so that you can easily see mistakes in batting too many guys together.

To get this board, you can google "Easton Magnetic Lineup Board" and get a slew of results. Home Run Sports carries it for only $14.99.