Most Endorsed Hitting Aids Do NOT Pay: Except for the Manufacturer and Endorser

The big player endorsed hitting aids out there can be quite misleading, over-hyped, and over-rated, even some of the ones Derek Jeter endorses. In researching the myriad of swing aids out there, surprisingly about four were endorsed by Mr. Jeter alone.

Case in point, I bet Derek Jeter doesn't use one of his endorsed hitting aids in his own training. What he does use are what follows...

The bottom line?

Be skeptical, and don't let huge player endorsement marketing ploys influence you into buying something damaging to yours or your kid's swing, 80% or more of the hitting products out there, you'd be better off flushing your money down the toilet.

If you have a question about a certain hitting aid, OR want to see what others are saying, then you can fast forward and go straight to asking it by Clicking This Link to post/see below.

What to expect...

You'll find more content of the brilliant few (20%) and the overpriced majority (80%) links at the conclusion of this article. Today's content is about the most time and money savers out there leading you to victory in the batter's box.

In addition, these highly effective training aids are what elite college programs and professionals the world over use, and that is guaranteed.

1. Balls,
2. Tees,
3. Machines, and
4. Essential hitting accessories.

Let's start with the best ball tools in the business...

Balls
They come in all shapes and sizes, and other than the real thing, these are head & shoulders above the rest when it comes to measurable swing training results:

• Baseball sized whiffles - great tool for off speed hit training and staying back on the ball (patience).
• Golf ball sized whiffles - same advantages as above, in addition to excellent hand-eye coordination training.
• Tennis/Incrediballs - use in bounce ball hitting drills, which help to keep the hands and weight back, and are great for youth training.
• Dimples - awesome durability for use in wet rainy climates.
• Basketball/4 Square - put these on a tee and they aid in swinging through the baseball.

What's more...

Hitting Tees
Basic hitting tees top Swing Smarter's list as the most simple, cheap, and efficient hitting aids out there. Tees are the building blocks for creating the right muscle memory, working out swing kinks, and are definitely used by most collegiate programs and professionals. They've been around forever, you just can't beat them.

Next,

Machines
There are 3 types of machines I want to talk about that are out there:

1. Drop Ball,
2. Soft Toss, and
3. Pitching (arm action/wheel).

Drop ball machines are contraptions where a ball is dropped from a 7 foot distance, teaching patience and swing tempo. The object is to let the ball get as close to the ground as possible before pulling the trigger.

But BEWARE, you have to be careful with these, for example, the Joe Mauer QuickSwing hides the ball in a black dark tube, making it difficult to time a swing and practice proper swing tempo.

I'm willing to bet Joe Mauer doesn't use this in his normal run-of-the-mill training, he uses a tee.

Soft Toss Machines are great, like their drop ball counterparts, because they eliminate the use of a partner. You really can't go wrong with a soft toss machine, as long as the ball toss is on a timer...the only drawback is they're typically higher in cost.

Pitching machines are great hitting aids for obvious reasons, however, like with everything else, there are the good, the bad, and one's that will make your swing throw-up.

If you're going to spend serious dough on a machine, the ones with lever arms are the way to go. They're on a timer, eliminating the use of someone having to feed it every pitch, and they virtually reflect a human pitching arm.

How about manual fed machines, the ones with wheels?

The only good thing about manual feed spinning wheel pitching machines is you can work on curve-balls. Other than that, this is NOT a wise money making decision, and will ruin the timing of a good swing. Don't settle on this one because of convenience or economics, it does more damage than good.

"But it helps build a hitter's timing," is often the argument. Yes, BUT how often is a player going to see a ball come out of two spinning wheels in a game? That's one reason why hitters have a hard time converting their BP (Batting Practice) swings into game ones.

But what about curve-ball training with a two wheel machine?

Even though they may be cheaper than their lever arm counterparts, access to curve-ball training will eventually chew up your cowhides real quick, costing more money, resulting in a cheaper ball means, using dimple balls, which are fine, but not smart to simulate a curve-ball because they have NO seams like a real baseball does.

Buck for buck, invest in a machine with arms, preferably one that includes arms, legs, and a brain.;-) There are just some things you cannot simulate with a machine, and throwing curve-balls is one of them.

Essential Hitting Accessories
The best hitting aids, particularly accessories, are:

• Wood Bats,
• Franklin/Rawlings/Neumann Batting Gloves,
• Batting Weight/Weighted Bat, and
• Full Length Mirror/Use Of An Outside Picture Window

Wood bats are amazing youth training tools to focus hitting the ball with only 2 inches of sweet spot...aluminum bats have about 6-8 inches of sweet spot nowadays, and if the player can consistently hit the baseball in a two inch length, after moving to aluminum, they'll hit the ball harder and more often.

Great batting gloves, or BG's, are hard to find. I had the best luck with Franklin, Rawlings, and my personal favorite Neumann Batting Gloves. Neumann's have a tacky grip where you really don't need pine tar, they're made of great quality materials, and most importantly, they'll take thousands of sweat equity swings without getting slippery or splitting like Easton and Louisville notoriously do. Also, they're priced way better than those BIG brands!

Great hitting aids and accessories wouldn't be complete without batting weights. They're great for:

• Warming up,
• Building strength in the body, and
• Muscle memory in the central nervous system.

It doesn't matter if you're using donuts or weighted bats, you really can't go wrong unless the weight is too heavy. The player should be able to control the weight and NOT the other way around.

And, last but certainly not least, let's talk about full length mirrors and/or picture windows. Using these tools give hitters unique feedback when a coach isn't available.

But BEWARE!!

In order for this tool to be effective, couple it with close-your-eyes slow dry swings...a fantastic hitting aids duo for building necessary swing muscle memory.

And now for what you've all been waiting for...the Highly Endorsed & Sold Hitting Aids Series of Articles:

• Baseball Hitting Aids Golden Key to Swing Efficiency
• Three Baseball Hitting Training Aids To Steer Clear Of
• Revealing: Baseball Hitting Device Grade A Gems
• Tired Of Hitting Tees Misinformation?
• Why Most Baseball Training Aids Do NOT Work
• Common Baseball Hitting Tools NOT Making The Bat Speed Cut

Have Questions About a Certain Hitting Aid?

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