Photographing baseball games is one of my photo passions. I coached baseball for nine years and while I do miss coaching, I find that I can still keep myself involved in the game by trying to capture the action with my camera. It is not always easy, but the challenge is invigorating!
I often pre-focus on a spot where I think the next play will take place. Obviously I do not always guess this correctly, but when I do it makes capturing the action much easier. I switched my focus button to be one on the back of my camera instead of with the shutter release. This allows me to focus on a spot, second base for example, and then I can recompose without losing focus on that spot. When a base runner attempts to steal second, I am ready to go.
Watching the contact zone in front of home plate helps me anticipate where the action will take place. Then I can quickly move my camera to the right spot and click away!