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Was the Inside Outside Batting Tee Drill Key to Winning?
Est. Reading:
5 min
Updated: September 21, 2023
Article Contents
Can a simple Inside Outside Tee Batting Tee Drill be the key to winning your next game? Maybe so!
This stunning screenshot (below) is from Game 5 of the NLCS, the clincher that earned the Phillies their spot in the 2022 World Series.
(Above: Suarez challenges JT Realmuto with a nasty mix of 2-seam and 4-seam fastballs located around the zone, but Realmuto comes out on top. This screenshot comes from the game breakdown by @Jomboy on YouTube)
Philadelphia trailed 3-2 when J.T. Realmuto began the eighth with a single off reliever Robert Suarez (a HUGE moment, since it would soon become the game-tying run.)
When I saw this overlay of the different pitches and locations that Realmuto had to manage, all I could think was:
"That's the perfect picture of the Inside Outside Batting Tee Drill that Doug Bernier teaches in his book Baseball Hitting Drills for a Batting Tee. Those are the exact locations where Doug has the two Tanner Heavy batting tees set up in his drill video." (When you purchase the book or digital download, you also get 20 free videos that illustrate each drill in the book, including the Inside Outside Batting Tee Drill.)
So in honor of JT Realmuto, the biggest hero of the Phillies' historic comeback in Game 1 of the World Series this week, here’s a look inside Hitting Drills for a Batting Tee, by former Major Leaguer Doug Bernier.
What is the Inside Outside Batting Tee Drill?
Check out this short video where Doug explains the Inside Outside Tee Batting Drill designed to expand the area of the hitting zone that you can smash.
Video Transcript
Hey guys, Doug Grenier from Pro Baseball Insider. Now, in this video, we are going to try to expand our happy zone. So what are the best hitters in baseball do? They swing at pitches that they can handle more often than others. It's pretty simple when it comes down to it. But what they try to do as well, they have their happy zone. They have their place that if the ball enters it, they're gonna smash it. But they are constantly trying to make that zone a little bit bigger.
Now, let's be realistic, we're not gonna be able to handle every pitch in the strike zone very well. There's gonna be pitches we handle better than others. We have to know that as a hitter. But what this drill does, this is the inside-outside tee drill. And what this does is this gradually expands that happy zone so we can handle more and more pitches and drive them with authority.
Alright, so to execute this drill, we're gonna have a tee set up on the inside, we're gonna have a tee set up on the outside. The low tee on the outside is gonna be slightly higher. So if we hit that pitch, we don't hit this ball as well. You can do this either with a partner or by yourself. But the goal of this is to be in a position to be able to handle either pitch.
Alright, so now let's go through this drill. So we're gonna get here. I wanna be able to hit the outside pitch first. Make sure I drive it. Make sure I'm in a position though where I can still hit the inside pitch if I want. So here, make sure you hit the outside. Outside pitch. Still felt like I couldn't hit the inside pitch. Now it's at the inside pitch.
That's the inside-outside drill that will make you a better hitter and handle more pitches.
When you watched the video, did you notice anything?
The two-tee batting tee setup is identical to the pitch locations in Realmuto's at-bat, where he had no choice but "stay alive" by either fouling off or hitting pitches in BOTH of those locations.
But Realmuto DID stay alive.
He battled.
He came out on top.
And the very next at-bat, his teammate Bryce Harper smashed the go-ahead two-run homer.
If you want to command the zone like J.T. Realmuto, grab your extra batting tee and add the inside-outside batting tee drill to your practice sessions.
And if you want a book with 20 more batting tee drills that Major Leaguers actually use (and are great youth softball and baseball drills too) check out Baseball Hitting Drills for a Batting Tee.
Equipment Used in this Video: The Tanner Heavy
What is Tanner Heavy Batting Tee?
The Tanner Heavy is a professional, commercial-grade version of the Original Tanner tee with a reinforced steel stem and a heavily weighted "claw" base that holds the tee in place, repetition after repetition.
Uniquely designed for hitting on portable rubber home plates commonly found in batting cages and local training facilities, the heavy base outperforms a square, flat-base batting tee when it comes to stability.
Paired with the beefed-up Tanner Heavy stem and tightly wound Flextop ball rest, this is a premium batting tee that has become a favorite among professional organizations as well as players and coaches at all levels of play.
The Tanner Heavy can be customized based on the size of the hitter and for lowball practice by purchasing additional optional stem sizes (Adult, Youth, and Short).
Baseball Hitting Drills with a Batting Tee
The video shared above is a sneak preview from the collection of videos that you’ll get for free when you purchase the book: Baseball Hitting Drills for a Batting Tee.
About the Book
- Written by a professional baseball player
- 20 Hitting drills for a batting tee
- Video for each drill
- FULL-COLOR illustrations and diagrams
- The PERSONAL DRILL HELPER to help you diagnose & fix swing problems
- Bonus pro tips
- Full e-book PDF - Easy to save to any device or print
- Free mobile app (iOS only) for easy access at the field, in the cage... wherever you get a signal!
- BONUS - 5-Point Power Booster - How to hit with more power... WITHOUT lifting weights
20 baseball hitting drills, accompanied by 20 streaming videos - one to describe and demonstrate each drill in the book. Illustrated with full-color diagrams, and includes bonus material. Written by a professional baseball player
About the Author
Doug Bernier debuted in the Major Leagues in 2008 with the Colorado Rockies. He has played professional baseball for 16 years, including time with the CO Rockies, MN Twins, NY Yankees, Pirates, and TX Rangers.
After 16 seasons of pro ball, Doug retired from playing and took a role with the Colorado Rockies. He spent 2 years as a pro scout, 2 years as the Major League Game Planning Coordinator, and now is the Minor League Defensive Coordinator. His current role involves overseeing the defensive development of infielders & outfielders at all levels of the Colorado Rockies Minor Leagues, from Rookie ball up to Triple-A.
Bernier is also the founder of Pro Baseball Insider (PBI), which has 100’s of pages of free baseball tips & instructions – exclusively from professional baseball players, coaches, trainers, and scouts.
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