Batting Practice

What is Batting Practice?

Batting practice is the hour before a baseball game when hitters take their swings in the empty park under the lights, one pitch after another. Hitting a pitched ball is famously hard: the ball arrives in a fraction of a second, and it does not always come straight. A fastball runs in true, a changeup looks the same but arrives late, a curveball dives and a slider sweeps away.

Here you stand in at the plate, seen from behind the catcher. The pitcher throws a round of fastballs, changeups, curves and sliders, and your job is to read each one, time your swing and send it as far as you can, over the wall if you can. Three pitchers are on offer, from an easy one who throws slow fastballs with a guide on screen to a hard one who mixes all four pitches at speed, and every day brings a Daily round with the same pitches for everyone.

How to play Batting Practice

Tap the field to start. The pitcher winds up and throws.

• The swing. Tap anywhere to swing. The bat needs a moment to come round, so start just before the ball reaches the plate.
• Timing. Early pulls the ball to left field, on time sends it up the middle, late pushes it to right field. Far too early or too late is a foul or a miss.
• Height. A tap swings through the middle of the strike zone. Swipe up to aim at a high pitch, swipe down to aim at a low one. Meet the ball a little under its middle to lift it into the air; hit the top of it and it goes into the ground.
• Taking a pitch. A pitch outside the zone that you let go by is a ball and costs nothing. A pitch in the zone that you let go by is a called strike, and that is an out.
• Outs. A miss, a called strike, a foul, a ball caught in the air or a grounder thrown to first before you get there. A round ends at 10 outs, or after 30 pitches.
• Hits. A ball that falls safe is a single, one that lands deep or comes off the wall is a double, and one that clears the fence is a home run. The fence stands 99 m down the lines and 122 m in centre field.
• Reading the pitch. Watch the seams. The fastball's roll up fast. The changeup leaves the hand the same way but turns slowly and arrives late. The curve comes out higher and dives. The slider shows a red dot and sweeps away from you.
• On easy a ring closes on the spot where the ball will cross, telling you when to swing, and an arrow shows which way to swipe.
• On a keyboard Space swings through the middle, the up arrow aims high and the down arrow aims low.

Tips and strategy

1. Wait on the changeup. It looks like a fastball out of the hand. If the seams turn slowly, hold your swing a beat longer.
2. Swing down at the curve. It starts high and finishes low. A tap swings over it; a swipe down meets it.
3. Pull for power. The fence is closest down the lines. A swing a touch early sends the ball to left field, where a home run needs less distance.
4. Lay off the bad ones. A ball outside the zone costs you nothing, but a swing at it usually ends in a miss or a weak ground out.
5. Keep the streak alive. Every hit in a row is worth a fifth more than the last, up to double. A safe single keeps it going; an out resets it.

Frequently asked questions

Is Batting Practice free?

Yes. Like every game on Play, it runs free in your browser, with no download and no account.

Why did my ball go into the ground?

The bat met the top of the ball. The pitch was lower than your swing: swipe down for a low pitch, or let it go if it is below the zone.

Why was my long fly an out?

An outfielder got there. Fielders run to where the ball comes down, so a high fly with a long hang time is easier to catch than a hard line drive into the gap.

How is my score worked out?

Every hit scores its distance in metres. A home run scores 100 more. Every hit in a row adds a fifth to the next one, so the sixth hit in a row and every one after it count double.

What is the Daily round?

Every day everyone faces the same medium pitcher throwing the same pitches in the same order, so the scores compare on the leaderboard.