A player has to be fast, quick and active on the baseball field in order to be an outstanding player. Speed is a generally underestimated quality when it comes to baseball. When you run faster, you can turn singles into doubles, your doubles into triples, and even increase your chances of home runs.
Faster players are always great assets for teams as they can be used as pinch runners. If you are just an average baseball player, having good speed can be your saving grace. If you are a good hitter, not having enough speed can ruin your game.
You do not need a lot of things to help improve your speed in baseball. It can be done without even going to the gym. However, there are a couple weight exercises that aid in increasing your speed in baseball. Good running form and regular practice are basically all you need. Following are the 5 tips on how to run faster in baseball
Practice
Yep! You have probably heard this at least a thousand times but it is true! The first step to running faster in baseball is practicing running faster with a focal point in mind. You have to be conscious of how fast you are going, how much faster you want to go and how much faster you can go.
You always have your objective in mind; whether it is to steal a base, break open a punt return or even finish the last leg. You also have to continuously push yourself harder.
Even though it sounds pretty simple, most players don’t consciously try to increase speed during their training and workout sessions. Keep track of how much time you take and how much progress you are making.
Keep running sprints repeatedly and give yourself breaks in between. It is useless to track your time when you ran after being completely exerted.
Increase step length
It is common perception that increased stride length means more distance covered. However, just lunging ahead to increase your speed and to cover more ground may not be the best way to go. When you run, it should be in a rhythm. Just darting across that playfield is not our goal.
Make it a habit to bring your knees up as close to your chest as is comfortably possible (get an exaggerated pump of the knees). This is the best way to increase your stride length because the momentum you create by bringing your knees higher forces the rest of your body to catch up to prevent you from falling.
Other than that, make sure to pump your hands from your cheek to back behind the hip when you are running. Also, keep them half clenched. You should lean your body forward just slightly, so as to propel yourself forward. Always make sure to land on the balls of your feet, keeping your toes pointing straight ahead.
Running uphill
When you hit the gym, other than whatever you usually do, you should go for bungee cords and resistance bands as well. But when you are not at the gym, running uphill or downhill is a great way to add resistance.
Simply look for a hill or slope around you. It would be a good idea to mark distances suppose every 20 yards or so. The best way is to run short distances and taking short breaks in between.
The important thing to keep in mind is that you don’t just have to cover more distance in less time. You have to do it while maintaining proper running form! This is really what your practice is about.
Keep track of how much time you take to cover distance while your body is not tired and you are in proper running form. When you are running uphill, it is actually easier to keep your knees raised high as the inclined slope will promote your body’s forward lean.
Running downhill
Similarly, downhill running is also effective in increasing your speed. The declined slope pulls your body downward (or actually gravity does) and your body naturally propels you to run faster to prevent from falling down. So it is fairly easy. But is it safer to only do this for short distances and slopes that are a bit steep.
Weight training
After you have done some speed increasing exercise outside the gym, you can move up to more intense training. Training your lower body using weights is a great and effective way to increase speed. Ask a trainer to help you with lunges, squats, and step ups etc. You need to do this with low weight and high intensity.
Do not go overboard with the weights as that will not be helpful. You have to do this regularly and with patience to increase your speed and explosive movement. Now, you will run faster in baseball and definitely improve your game.
