SST's Top 10 Myths About Baseball Training
4. "Baseball is a game of hand-eye and technical skill and doesn’t require weight training"
This is actually partly true. Technical skills are first and foremost, but a stronger player with great conditioning will out play a weaker player of equal technical skill. This applies to all sports. It is good for your mental game too. If you feel stronger and faster then you will play that way.1
Weight training for baseball is different than many other sports. During the off-season it is vital to have strength and conditioning programs. The baseball season is much longer than most other sports and because of this you want to be injury free throughout the whole season. Strength training is great for developing a strong base to play baseball consistently at a high level of intensity. Baseball is a game of explosive powerful movements; the forces involved in hitting and throwing are predominantly generated in the legs and hips and then transferred by the trunk to the arms and hands.
When strength training for baseball you must realize that all body parts have to be trained equally or you will have a greater chance of injury. While strength training you must always use proper technique and form or all training will be useless.2
In conclusion, the truth is that hand-eye coordination and technical skill are limited by your physical capabilities. For example, a small skilled guy cannot hit the ball 400 feet if he does not possess the strength to do so, compared to a bigger unskilled guy who can get lucky and jack one. Thus, the best way to improve your physical capabilities is by improving your strength and speed which will take you to a higher level of performance. It is also important to remember that the stronger your muscles are, the less the likelihood of getting hurt. So, the myth of technique and weight training not going hand in hand is completely BUSTED.
1 http://www.protraineronline.com/past/Nov&Dec06/article6.cfm
2 http://www.trulyhuge.com/WeightTrainingforBaseball.html
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