The drill was born in Double-A Wichita around the turn of the 21st century. It was scrapped almost immediately. Until a minor leaguer who hit 15 homers in high-A ball hit 40 the next year in Double A. He was the drill’s first success story. His name was Brandon Berger, and apart from half-a-season’s worth of big league games, he’s one forgotten face among the scores of ballplayers who never truly made it.



As Kevin Long, now the Nationals’ hitting coach, climbed the ranks from Double A to Triple A to the Big Apple circuit with both of New York’s MLB teams, he brought the drill he created with him. A large screen is placed bisecting home plate, dividing the plate into the inner and outer halves. The poles align between the catcher and pitcher, the netting stares back at the hitter stepping into the box.



The training method, originally dubbed the “net drill,” involves a coach tossing balls on the inner-half of the plate...