Thread: Rotational Hitting

Hi Amy in AZ,

My daughter has a 34" - 22oz. Easton that I bought her when she was 10. She used to be impatient with the less than accurate pitching she faced and sometimes she went fishing on the outside corner and beyond. She also has a 32" - 21oz. Rawlings Liquidmetal 2 that she uses for faster pitchers.

She's 12 now and will be 13 in late July. She's grown to 5'5" tall and a solid 160 lbs. I'm thinking about getting her a heavier bat. She likes the 34" length the best, but the heaviest fastpitch bat I can find is 26 oz. = -8 drop . I think she could swing a -3 like the boys do in baseball but I don't think that would be legal.

I've been advised to find the biggest heaviest bat she can swing without losing bat speed. I'd like to see her use it to swing for the fences.

What's the biggest heaviest bat that can be used for fastpitch legally?

Regards,

Pops

Unless she has guns the size of Bustos I would stay right where your at for now. That bat is plenty big enough for a 13 Yo. IMO it is probably too big for her.

Granted more mass will give you distance but you only need to get to 200 ft at most parks. Work on getting her stronger and she will increase her bat speed with the bat she has right now. That is plenty big for her.

Elliott.

Wow, 34 inches at 10? I am 5'9 (albeit old) and I have had to go down to a 32. (shoulder problems). But, my pitching students that are 10 are trying to hit with 30 inch bats and they still appear to be long.

I would love to see a clip of your DD, hitting.

She can actually use a slowpitch bat, legally - but I can't think of anyone except Bustos that does that. Even the 6'2" girls are swinging 34/24s.

That liquid metal bat is really nice. My DD had that bat a few years ago.

Hi All,

Grace, has 14 -1/2" biceps and is stronger than most boys her age. It's a heredity thing she follows my side of the family. I'm 6' 4" with 18" biceps. My dad was 6' 7" with 20" biceps. We are just big people.

I'll look into the slow pitch bats. I'll find one that won't slow her hand speed down. Maybe a Bustos model.

I posted a clip of her swing after her first private lesson with Jake Epstein. You can view it on YouTube just look under the name "Rivtime".

Regards,

Pops

Mark H, I'll stick with the definition of rotational hitting given by Mike Epstein when he coined the phrase back in 2000. It keeps it simpler. Thanks.

Well that's fine as long as both people in the conversation understand whose definition of "rotational" you are talking about. And yes Mike's version is simple. Another thread perhaps.

Originally Posted by hitit29

Guru,

How does rotating create power? Do you rotate to create power for any of the following?
Hitting a tennis ball, slap shot ( hockey ), hitting a golf ball, bowling, volleyball serve or spike, pitching or throwing a baseball, pitching a softball, kicking a soccer ball or football, throwing a a football. None of those actions are produced by rotating ( as a source of power ).All MLB hitters are successful when they combine 2 elements at the same time : balance & batspeed ( by whipping the bat )

Is this guy/girl serious? I hope this is someone just trying to stir the pot, and not someone that actually doesn't think a golf swing (for example) is linear and not rotational.

Originally Posted by hitit29

Mike,

Unable to view the video you referred to. V. Guerrero is has a linear swing because he keeps his body square to contact and his hands & barrel inside the ball approaching contact. He takes a huge hack & he's a bit of a free swinger but he stays inside the ball very well. He's one of the best!

Disregard my previous question

Link to Pops DD swing titled 1st Private Lesson in quicktime so you can view frame by frame


1st Private Lesson

For a comparison, watch this clip of a hitter doing it a little differently. 1st lesson for her.

SM1

The thing I wanted to point out was her body posture or being in an athletic position. Or put another way - rotational posture. Englishbey teaches this amongst other things. Posture is one of things that needs to be addressed immediately as a hitter tries to transform her swing. Getting and staying in posture during the swing helps engage your bigger muscles (think torso muscles) helps improve how powerful you swing the bat. Take a look a Pujols or Bustos and tell me they are not in an athletic position...

I realize Pops' DD is just starting out and looks much better. I just wanted to point out the posture aspect.

I don't know Epstein's material that well, but lack of posture is a concern for me. Maybe he teaches this later on, but I would rather address it right off the bat.

Enjoy,

Ray

I have never seen him address this aspect of posture.

Hi MTS,

Thanks for posting the link for my dd's swing. I've been trying to do this for the past week. You get it on your first post. Outstanding. Thanks for the help.

I'll take a look at Pujols and Bustos on the body lean and post a reply.

Thanks again,

Pops