The hammer is a hitting tool that I like to use with most of the age groups that I coach baseball for, this includes my disabled team. The “hammer” refers to the kind of mallet that you would use on a paint can to close the lid. It can be of any size, though I have found it a good idea to purchase less expensive mallets because athletes have a tendency to break these so you might be replacing them during the season.
The hammer teaches/reinforces a number of important things for a hitter. First, it teaches them to keep their heads down and on the ball, it’s difficult to hit a baseball using a hammer. Second, it teaches the hitter to keep their hands in when they swing to shorten the lever. Finally, it reinforces hitting mechanics.
The hammer is typically done as a batting tee drill. The hitter will set up next to the tee and use the hammer as a bat, hitting the balls ff the tee with the hammer. It’s important that proper mechanics be stressed; head down, loading, turning the back foot, hands in, “knob” to the ball, extend, etc.
This is a great station during a batting cage session. This also makes a great progression to warm up hitters before games.
