Hitting a baseball isn’t just tough—it’s precise.
Think about it: a baseball is round, and your bat is round. The actual contact point between them is smaller than you think—a tiny, fleeting space where perfection lives. Miss by even a few millimeters, and that perfect hit becomes a weak grounder or a harmless popup.
When you step into the box, your eyes and hands must work in perfect harmony. Success depends on:
- Tracking the pitch from release to contact.
- Adjusting in milliseconds to off-speed pitches or movement.
- Hitting a precise spot on the bat’s barrel.
This level of skill doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built through intentional practice and repetition.
That’s why the best hitters obsess over precision. Drills like reaction balls, one-handed swings, and pitch tracking are so helpful for sharpening hand-eye coordination and REACTION time – Aka decision making layered on top of precision drills are chef’s kiss for infielders and hitters.
How Elite Hitters Hone Their Skills
The best hitters don’t leave precision to chance—they train relentlessly to refine their hand-eye coordination and bat control. Here are examples of elite athletes and the drills they use to stay sharp:
1. Incredible Hand Eye Coordination AND REACTION with these drills
Training not only coordination but speedy reaction times is an incredible boost for any athlete. This 10 minute complilation videos will give you loads of ideas that you can try with your youth baseball player.
Which one is your favorite?
Not gonna lie, I think the clip of Lebron James kneeling on a med ball and catching waterbottles that are chucked at him is pretty awesome.
I also really like the “catch and sort” drill at (0:59) because it adds a layer of decision making… which is a critical skill for both hitting and fielding.
Finally, there are several that can be done alone, at home, without a partner, which is excellent for those kids who love to practice even when you’re not available to help.
So here are 10 minutes of drills that are designed to enhance hand-eye coordination, visual focus, dynamic tracking skills, hand speed, reaction time, depth perception, and peripheral vision:
Harrold Renolds invented a game for Hand-Eye Coordination!
Externally focused drills are training exercises that emphasize a player’s interaction with an external target or goal, rather than focusing internally on their own body mechanics. These drills are designed to shift attention outward, encouraging athletes to respond to specific cues or objects, which can enhance performance and skill acquisition.
Why Externally Focused Drills Are Effective:
- Reduces overthinking: Instead of overanalyzing body movements, players focus on achieving a result, leading to smoother and more natural motion.
- Improves performance under pressure: Encourages automatic responses that mimic game-like situations.
- Enhances adaptability: Players learn to adjust their actions based on external feedback or changing environments.
Here are some of my favorite training aids for “externally focused drills” that improve hand eye coordination (and also barrel accuracy)
1 – Small Training Balls (Mini Baseballs)
- Purpose: Enhance precision by reducing the target size.
- Why It Works: Smaller balls force hitters to sharpen their focus and refine their hand-eye coordination for more consistent contact.
- Where to find it: This mini baseball is perfect for both hitting and fielding drills to improve hand/eye coordination. It’s real leather, just like a regular baseball, only smaller
2 – Reaction Balls
- Purpose: Develop quick reflexes, tracking ability, and visual reaction time.
- Why It Works: The unpredictable bounce challenges players to react instinctively, improving dynamic hand-eye coordination.
- Where to find it: It doesn’t really matter which brand you get. They’re all pretty simple. Click here to check Amazon for the highest rated Reaction Balls
3 – Heavy Training Balls
- Purpose: Train barrel accuracy and build strength through focused, controlled contact.
- Why It Works: Heavier balls require hitters to concentrate on precise barrel placement while reinforcing swing mechanics. Unlike a lighter balls, you can’t cheat or fool yourself when using a heavy ball. You’ll know instantly if your barrel placement was on target or not.
- Where to find it: These heavy balls can be used for throwing, but they were specifically made to withstand the abuse of hitting. They come in different weights. I like the variety set so you have different weights to work with.
4 – One-Handed Training Bats
- Purpose: Improve control, barrel awareness, and precision.
- Why It Works: By isolating one hand, this tool strengthens a hitter’s ability to guide the bat with accuracy and efficiency.
- Where to find it: For older, stronger hitters, I would go with this one
5 – Foam balls
- Purpose: 2 Reasons. #1 – Reps, reps and more reps. One of the most important aspects of hand-eye coordintation is just reps! That’s why a foam ball that can get used more often in more places than a hardball is great to have. Get more reps at home without the worry of breaking windows or damaging property.
The 2nd reason is you can hit them with a broom handle or PVC pipe, which is another great drill for hand-eye coordination – using a more narrow bat. - Why It Works: Foam balls are lightweight, making them perfect for indoor or backyard practice. They allow hitters to focus on their swing and hand-eye coordination in a safe environment.
- Where to get it –Soft Foam Training Balls – Click here
The Takeaway
In hitting, it’s not just about swinging hard—it’s about being precise. Millimeters matter. These drills, combined with relentless attention to detail, are what separate good hitters from great ones.
When hitters step into the box, they have milliseconds to track a pitch, decide whether to swing, and then adjust to make solid contact. This requires a finely tuned connection between the eyes and hands, as even a fraction of an inch off can be the difference between a home run and a strikeout.
Defensively, fielders rely on hand-eye coordination to react to hard-hit ground balls, snag line drives, and turn double plays. A split-second delay in reacting to the ball can mean the difference between making a highlight-reel play or watching the runner reach base.
Even pitchers benefit from excellent hand-eye coordination. While it might seem like pitching is all about arm strength and mechanics, the ability to locate a pitch with pinpoint accuracy comes from precise control of their release point, a task heavily reliant on hand-eye synchronization.
The good news? Hand-eye coordination can be improved with intentional practice. Drills like hitting off a tee, juggling, or using reaction balls are excellent ways to refine this skill. For young players especially, developing strong hand-eye coordination early can lay the foundation for long-term success.
Baseball is a game of skill, focus, and precision—and it all starts with the connection between the eyes and hands. Investing time into improving hand-eye coordination can elevate every aspect of a player’s game and make those small inches work in their favor.
Want to improve like the pros? Try incorporating some of these drills into your training and watch your game transform! 💥⚾
About Author
Doug Bernier
- Website
Doug Bernier, founder of Pro Baseball Insider.com, debuted in the Major Leagues in 2008 with the Colorado Rockies, and has played professional baseball for 5 organizations (CO Rockies, NY Yankees, PIT Pirates, MN Twins, & TX Rangers) over the past 16 years. He has Major League time at every infield position, and has played every position on the field professionally except for catcher. (You should click to watch this great defensive play by Bernier) Where is he now? After 16 years of playing professionally, Doug retired and took a position as a Major League scout with the Colorado Rockies for 2 years. Currently Doug is the Data and Game Planning Coordinator with the Colorado Rockies
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