Can you believe we are about to start another baseball season?  Most of these players should have been preparing for the season with a solid strength training workout for baseball.  Included in that should have been a great baseball speed training workout as well.  Because if you’re starting to do that now, then my guess is you got cut from a major league baseball team.

Anyways, if I was a baseball player and the season was looming in 3 or 4 months, then I would want my strength/speed coach to prepare an awesome baseball training workout.  I want this thing put together so it puts me in tip top shape and I’m ready to rock and roll from Day One.

There are many ways to put together a great workout, but if I want to make sure I’m ready to go, then the following exercises and drills are a must have (these are in no particular order):

  • Seated Side Medicine Ball Toss – You have someone balance on their butt on the ground holding a medicine ball.  You stand to the side of them.  They try to stay balanced as they rotate their torso and toss the ball to you as hard as they can.  Try to have the athlete toss the ball with both hands.  I have them do it in both directions to develop balance in the core.  Great for hitting power.
  • Glute Ham Raise – If you have read my posts for awhile now, then you know how much I love this machine.  Check out this post where I claim the glute ham raise I think is one of the best speed developing exercises out there.  In that post, I talk how I was getting prepped to playing softball one year and just did squats and lunges.  My first infield hit, I’m sprinting down and tweak my hamstring.  Bothered me all season.  After that, I incorporated hamstring specific exercises and never had any other problems with them.  Professional baseball players need to do the same thing.
  • Rotator Cuff Exercises – With all the torque put on the arms, you need to do these exercises.  Use light dumbbells or bands, these will strengthen your shoulders and help reduce the chance of injury.  Although, proper mechanics is the real meat and potatoes to prevent arm trouble, but I’m not a throwing coach so I can’t help you there.
  • Wrist Curls or Reverse Wrist Curls – The forearms are big with hitting and throwing so keeping them strong is a must.  Also, the stronger they are then the less stress placed across that elbow because the upper arm muscles won’t need to help out.  Any baseball player I know that played college or higher had huge forearms.
  • Side Medicine Ball Toss With A Sprint – You stand like you are in the batter box holding a medicine ball.  Do a side toss straight out in front of you as hard as  you can.  As soon as you release, take off sprinting, and try to run down the ball.  Great for acceleration work out of the box.
  • Squats – Leg strength is so important in this sport and doing the king of the leg exercises is a must.  Now, you can do different variations of this movement (bulgarian, front, 1 leg), but make sure you do it.  Pitchers get all their drive and velocity from their legs.  Hitters mash the ball getting power via their legs.  Get it done.
  • 30 – 40 Yard Sprints – The fastest a batter will be going is running from home to first trying to leg out an infield single.  Make sure you are used to running that fast.  Take it out a little further so that the 30 yards seems like a breeze.
  • Stretching – This applies for any sport, but you need to have a good flexibility program if you are a baseball player.  Take the time to stretch head to toe, more after your workout then before.  Afterwards, you are your warmest so stretching is a little easier and you get a little more benefit from it.  The more flexible you are the better for injury prevention and helping you with your other athletic movements.

If you neglected these drills in your off-season, then shame on you.  But now you know.  Put these in your routine and add anything else you desire and I guarantee you will have an awesome strength training/speed training workout for baseball.