Video and Article by Bill Ripken

Short toss from the front is a drill that you will see executed at baseball fields everywhere. Unfortunately, it often is done without a purpose. Most players, even the youngest players, have pretty good success hitting balls tossed to them softly from short distances. When done incorrectly this drill does little more than satisfy a young hitter’s ego. When done properly it is an invaluable tool to help young players develop the muscle memory necessary to be complete hitters.

Soft toss from the front is designed to help players learn to keep the front shoulder in as long as possible and to stride toward the pitcher. If the player opens up too quickly and does not keep the shoulder in long enough the result will be a lot of weak, pulled ground balls to the middle infielders.

By Cal Ripken, Jr.

The Cal Ripken World Series reached its exciting conclusion last weekend and already things are shifting towards the fall. Ryan and Rachel are heading back to school and the major league playoff picture is starting to really come together.

With the launch of our very own fall and spring baseball league at the Ripken Academy, I wanted to revisit the concept of playing baseball year-round and how to provide a structured fall ball program that is a little more relaxed than what is available during the summer.

By Cal Ripken, Jr.

Editor’s note: Each month in this space, Cal will address issues of concern to parents of young athletes. We hope that coaches, many of whom are parents, will find the information enlightening when it comes to working with their own children and dealing with the parents of the players on their teams. If you have a question that you’d like to see answered, please send it to newsletter@ripkenbaseball.com.

Question for Cal in this edition:

"I see many coaches throw to kids underhand during batting practice. Is this drill really helping young hitters? I don’t know any pitcher 12u and up that throws a ball that starts out low and ends up over the plate… Doesn’t this drill seem to be backwards?" – Coach Greg Lauer