Playing Baseball
Improve your play on the field with sites that provide advice and drills for all levels of players, or find the most reliable sources for equipment on the Web.
Expand All Guide SectionsHow to Improve at Baseball
Are you seeking to improve your batting average or add another couple of miles per hour to your fastball? The Web is full of sites dedicated to helping hitters hit, fielders field, and pitchers pitch.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Some sites are geared toward parents and coaches, and provide not only practice drills but also information on how to be a positive influence on the diamond.
Dulcinea's Picks
GetGreat.com
is a Web site created by Ripken Baseball and MLB that features online instructional videos led by Cal and Billy Ripken. Access to all videos costs $29.95, while access to a single category—hitting, pitching, defense, playing your position, playing as a team and “extra innings”—costs $9.95.
Baseball Plays and Drills
focuses on defense and the many different alignments involved. Every possible defensive play is shown in diagram form. There's not much information in terms of instruction, but the diagrams are self-explanatory and indicate where each player on the field needs to go in various situations.
Quality Coaching Baseball
stresses that coaches should be a positive influence on their young players. The site has drills for hitting, pitching, bunting, throwing, and catching. It also gives advice on coaching philosophies and winning the mental game.
Baseball Tips
has articles on various parts of the game, which includes conditioning and the mental aspect of baseball. There is an illustrated article on how to throw various pitches, and even an article on hitting fundamentals written by Ty Cobb.
Buying Baseball Equipment
Baseball equipment manufacturers are continuously developing new technology that can help you hit harder and field more smoothly. Use the Web to find the best equipment at the best prices.
Dulcinea's Insight
- You can probably find much of the baseball equipment and apparel you are looking for at one of the larger general athletic stores, like Dick's, Modell's, or Eastbay. For more information about these and other chain stores, take a look at the findingDulcinea Web Guide to Sports.
- Consult your league's rulebook before buying equipment so you don't purchase anything that's been prohibited. For example, high school players in New York should stay away from metal bats because they've been banned in NYC high school baseball.
- Looking at your computer screen is not an easy way to tell if a bat or a glove feels right. It can be a good idea to try things out at a physical store before doing your comparison shopping online.
Dulcinea's Picks
For a buying guide...
Dick's Sporting Goods
has guides for bats, gloves, pitching machines, and more. Learn what features and sizes you need before you buy.
For equipment...
Baseball Express
is a clean Web site, and very easy to use. The online store carries a wide selection of equipment for beginner and veteran alike. Use the left sidebar to search by product, brand, or discount items.
Rawlings
manufactures all official MLB baseballs, but the company is best known for its baseball gloves. The Web site has a selection of about 150 gloves to choose from, in different colors, shapes, and sizes, invaluable if you're too particular to settle for one of the handful of models found in most stores. The Rawlings site is not limited to gloves, as you can find bats, helmets, protective gear, batting gloves, balls, bags, and apparel here as well.
Baseball Equipment
is another all-in-one site. It is also easy to navigate, and all the necessary equipment and apparel is there.
Baseball Corner
lets you search by Little League equipment, catcher's equipment, practice equipment, and so on. There is also a glove and bat guide to help you get the right fit, as well as helpful customer reviews of bats.
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