During any game and before you do any warm up exercises and leg work, always check your baseball equipment and gear to ensure it's in safe, working shape.

5.  Cable Wood Chops

Whether a baseball player is hitting, pitching or fielding many of the motions they perform are centered around the transverse (rotational) plane motion.

Cable wood chops allow you to strengthen the obliques and core stabilizers which can help a baseball or softball player build more power to throw faster or hit harder.

Learn about Obliques Exercises

4.  Lateral Squat Exercises

Fielders in baseball and base runners must be explosive laterally.

Whether the player is in the infield, outfield or on the base paths the first step after the ball is put in play is often a lateral one.

Because like most sports baseball is a game of inches, This first lateral step can be the difference between winning and losing.

The BOSU balance trainer is a great way to train lateral squatting exercises which can help the baseball or softball player develop that all important explosive first lateral step.

More about BOSU Balance Trainer Exercises

3.  Medicine Ball Throwing Exercises

Not only do medicine ball throwing exercises help strengthen the muscles which act in the transverse plane, they can help develop explosive power.

Exercises such as the medicine ball woodchop spike (right) can help the baseball or softball player develop the explosive power which is used every time they are throwing or hitting the ball.

More about Medicine Ball Exercises

2.  Rotator Cuff Exercises

Regardless of position in the field or in the batter's box, an unhealthy rotator cuff is a death sentence for most baseball players.

While rotator cuff exercises will not necessarily improve baseball/softball performance they go a long way in injury prevention.

Since the rotator cuff eccentrically stabilizes the shoulder it is important to keep the rotator cuff muscles strong and flexible.

Learn more about Rotator Cuff Exercises

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1.    Stability Ball Supine Russian Twists

The best exercise away from the baseball diamond for baseball players is the supine stability ball Russian twist.

The reason is pretty simple.  The supine (facing up) stability ball Russian twist motion is similar to the baseball swing.

Since the glutes and legs are active during the transverse plane twisting motion, Russian twists allow you to strengthen both the obliques along with the legs for "squashing the bug" when swinging a baseball bat.

You can add resistance and explosive movement as you advance in this exercise which is the #1 of the top 5 best exercises for baseball.

Learn about Exercising Properly on Stability Balls

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