So you are wondering about how to run faster in baseball as speed and agility is an important aspect for any player and in any kind of sport. Champion teams are made up of men, who are more agile, quick and sharp. In the game of baseball, a lightning quick player can even intimidate the best of the best teams. If you have the ability to run quickly in baseball, you can easily convert the ones into two’s and two’s into threes.
Even if you don’t have extra-ordinary batting skills, you can still find a spot in your team as a pinch runner, if you are extremely quick and agile. But you are not as quick as other players and want to increase your speed and agility; you can certainly attain those skills with consistent workouts and drills. This article guides you through some workouts and drills that can help you in increasing your speed in baseball.
Table of Contents
Practice Running Fast
Yes, Practice is the key for any sportsperson to succeed in any kind of sport. To increase your running speed, you need to keep practicing to run faster and faster. Analyze your running speed and note down your current running speed and how much faster you can go. Keep pushing yourself harder and the more your practice yourself, try to increase your objective to run faster than ever
Many players don’t heed this advice and don’t include this practice in their daily practice schedule and hence lose out on this important aspect of the game. Even if you if are an extra-ordrinary hitter, but if you are slow between bases, then you can’t be sure of your place in the team. And practice short-distance sprints regularly and keep on pushing for quicker times each time. And give some time to rest and recoer between each set of your short-distance sprint practice scheules.
Increase Your Step Length
It is a common feeling that if your increase your strides that you can run faster. But just lunging forward will not help you run faster but the key to increasing your step length is to get your knees as high as you can while running. The moment you bring your knees up and close to your chest, your body tends to react in a way to catch up with you to prevent you from falling and thus automatically increasing your step length.
Run Down Hill / Up Hill
Even though bungee cords and resistance bands are good for speed training, nothing can beat practicing out in the open and doing an uphill or downhill running exercise. Know your strengths and mark distances like 10,20,30 or 40 yards and try to go for short-distance sprints up a hill. If you go for long distance runs uphill, your speed may not be the same as running on flat surfaces, but what it can do is to increase your leaning forward skills, so that your knees move high up above than normal.
Downhill running is also effective as when you run faster down the hill; your body tends to make you run faster than before to prevent you from falling. But make sure you practice only short-distance downhill runs, as there is always a risk of getting injured while running quickly down the hill.
Planks Marching
Planks Marching is another kind of practice provided in many baseball training centres, where you stay in a plank position and slowly lift one of your legs and and slightly extend your hip, and gently contract your glute and slowly move your abdominals. Then put your leg back to the ground and try again with your another foot. Repeat 3 sets for about 10 times for each of your feet.
Fly Ball Chasing
Find a sled and get on it and try dragging yourself by grabbing a harness or a rope and lean ently forward as you move along. And thump the ground with your feet as though your marching on the ground. This exerceis will help a great deal in increasing the sprinting skills of the player.
Line Running
In baseball speed matters the most and while running from one base to another and you need to be the quickest to convert singles into doubles and doubles into triples. So mimic having a line and try practicing running as quick as possible between the lines. The main aspect of acheing maximum speed is how quick you can take off. Changing directions quickly and taking off instantly is a must have skills for any player to be the quickest of the lot.
Base Running Practice
Try carrying a medicine ball weighing 14 pounds and run as quickly as you can and have your friend or your coach say either left or right. If he says left, then slam the ball in that direction and quickly turn around and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. This is a great workout that would certainly help the players sprinting skills, footwork, and speed.
Pool Training
A swimming pool can also turn out to be practice ground and in this exercise you need to get into the pool and try jogging around in the pool. Move your knees high up close to your chest and jog around. It is not an easy task, but will definitely help you to gain the necessary strength for your legs to attain the maximum speed possible.
Step Training
First do a warm round for a mile and if you can find a stadium that would be a great place for this type of exercise. Go to the grund level of the stadium and run up the stadium by skipping every alternate step. Once you complete a set, do some stretching exercises, recover and repeat this sequence for up to 4 times.