Baseball “T” essential Hitting Tool

I coach at the 11/12 year old level and saw the benefits of using the T when the players were younger. I am wondering if there is still a benefit of using a T at the older levels. Some coaches and parents think that T’s are only good for beginners, what do you think?    Scott, Prince George, B.C.

Coach Marty answers:

Great question Scott! The easy and quick answer to this is YES, a Baseball “T” is an absolute essential, regardless of one’s skill level.  The “T” is not only one of the best pieces of hitting equipment that should be in every teams bag, but an essential piece of equipment for development, correction and reinforcement of the swing.  A Baseball “T” station can be used during practice to give players needed hitting repetition as well as a great teaching station for coach’s to analyze and breakdown/correct a hitters swing.  It also can be used during pre-game and during the game to get the player’s swing grooved prior to an AB.   The ability to set up a “T” in the contact zone will give the player/coaches the opportunity to not only continue to tweak and improve the hitter’s swing, but also the opportunity to work on eliminating the weaknesses a hitter may have.   It would be very difficult to find a Major League Baseball complex that doesn’t have a surplus of T’s in their cages.  The best hitters in baseball hit off a “T” everyday.

Suggestion:  When on a field and space is limited a “T” is a great station to keep and give players a station to help develop their swing.  I would suggest to have a surplus of whiffle balls/light flights or softies in your equipment bag so that when space is limited you can hit the above suggested balls into the chain link fence.  Please do not hit baseball into the chain link as this will ruin the fence, hit baseballs off the “T” into an open field or drop net.

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