The Mini Tee

The Schutt Tee

In yesterday's post called hitting the low pitch, I mentioned that exaggerating the low pitch when you train is a great way to improve.  Practicing getting to a pitch correctly at your shins makes a pitch at the knees not look so difficult anymore.  The problem with this is, how does a hitter practice this pitch when batting tees are not made to position the ball lower than the knees?  Here is what we have done.
A couple years ago, we bought a few Schutt Batting tees.  Each one comes disassembled and packaged with two rubber tubes that hold the ball.  One of the tubes is for baseball and the other for softball.  The softball version is wider at the top to accommodate a bigger softball.  Most baseball players probably just set the wider, softball tube aside and never use it for anything because it doesn't work well with baseballs.  We use them as mini-tees!

Turn this replacement tee upside down
and you now have a perfect mini-tee!

Take the replacement softball tube and turn it upside down so the wider portion at the top is now the base.  Place a baseball on the narrow top and you now have a perfect 8 inch tee.  Great for practicing pitches below the knees!  With batting tees becoming very expensive, just purchasing replacement tubes (around $7 each) is a great alternative.
Note:  The mini-tee drill is also great for practicing two-strike hitting.  Hitters should be swinging at anything close to the strike zone so a pitch just below the knees is one they will have to go after.  To see my posts on the mechanics and mental side of two-strike hitting, click HERE and HERE.
Warning:  This hitting drill with mini-tees is not easy.  You will probably see many hitters struggle with hitting a pitch this low very hard.  You will quickly see which hitters are too tall at the point of contact as well as those who lift their head up in the process of swinging.  These guys will miss the ball completely.