More questions on DBSF and the 12-to-6 swing

FP26 said:

The short answer is learn how to use your hands...

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and making sure the lower body clears sufficiently to make room on inside pitches

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Not talking about the bat path itself necessarily, but what the body does to get it there? Is it all in the hands?

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But based on the read of the pitch, his hands knew instinctively how to get the body into position to best address each pitch. Do you see how he gets his hands above the ball in the one VS getting the handle down to the other. It's not the body leading the hands. It's the hands leading the body. Miggy knows his hands and he uses them very well. His eyes and hands work together to set things up properly. He's using the hands to adjust EARLIER. And guess what? He's loading the barrel while he's doing it.

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CoogansBluff said:

And what does the hitter do differently on the high ball, mechanically speaking?

Not talking about the bat path itself necessarily, but what the body does to get it there? Is it all in the hands? Does the front arm go higher? What's the cue? The key, as it were?

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Gags said:

At the levels I coach, I haven't had to try to explain this yet (although I do use the "hands above the ball" at times). I know I've read here or elsewhere that the front elbow is a key. Visually, it's easier to point out that the front shoulder "clears out" more on a high pitch. And by shoulder I mean the actual socket/joint, not the shoulder blade, b/c after looking at Noon's gif the 4GD posted, the shoulder blades (using the name on the jersey as a reference) appear to maintain very similar angles on both swings at contact (willing to be corrected on this if there's a way to "pause" the gifs).

But as a teach / cue, I would ignore mention of the shoulder. If I were to focus on clearing my shoulder out on a high pitch, I would expect to have more of an arm bar (which I'm trying to remove from my own swing), b/c I'd be leaving my hands behind. I think if you use the elbow as a cue, your arms and hands maintain that box shape better. But like I mentioned, I haven't taught this yet. Maybe leading with the elbow is just a re-wording of the "hands to the ball" cue?

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it's easier to point out that the front shoulder "clears out" more on a high pitch

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