Here’s a short video from Jr. Dodgers Coaches Corner featuring Los Angeles Dodgers’ hitting coach Don Mattingly.  He’s explaining his take on hitting and swing mechanics, especially for youth and little league players.

The Front Toss Drill

As I’ve stated before, I always enjoy listening to other coaches, especially those with such a great amount of experience, because I learn things regardless of how much I agree or disagree.  One of the main points from this video that I like is the emphasis of direction in a straight line back to the pitcher.  It seems like a minor detail, but that’s why it often gets overlooked and leads to problems.  Tee work and front toss (the soft toss show in the video) are simple drills to work on this, and are probably the most common things you’d see if you hang around the batting cage at any pro ballpark.