Thread: Throw bat head at Ball?good or bad advice

Someone from my dds school pays a former ncaa player for hitting lessons. She says to throw bat head at ball. Is this good or bad advice for a soon to be rotational/torque hitter?

Like any other cue it depends on how the student inteprets it. If it gets her to do what you want her to do, it's a great cue...for that hitter that day. Like any other cue, it helps if the instructor can do a good demonstration of what they want.

I like it a whole lot better than "throw your HANDS at the ball!

Can't argue with that.

Originally Posted by Dragoncoach

Someone from my dds school pays a former ncaa player for hitting lessons. She says to throw bat head at ball. Is this good or bad advice for a soon to be rotational/torque hitter?

What if you said we want you to keep your hands inside the path of the ball and release or direct the barrel to the ball and hand tape on the bat in the area of the sweet part of the bat as a visual?

Then walk around to the front of them and take your right hand if they are a right handed hitter, and hold the palm of your hand finger tips pointed upward and have them load and step/ toe touch and then hold the palm of your right hand about 2 to 4 inches in front of the lead elbow and ask them to touch it with their elbow. Then ask them to slowly start their swing and see where the knob of the bat actually goes, inside the path of the ball, over the plate etc.

Then repeat and this time take your left hand and place it about 4 inches from the right hand and a little lower than the right hand and ask them to direct the knob of the bat to the left hand. Encourage them to turn the upper half of the body so they are not stretching out with the knob of the bat across the shoulders so far that you will probably see the baby finger and ring finger on the top hand coming off the bat unless they turn a little as they rotate. If you see this they are pulling the bat out of the top hand with the lead hand.

Then ask them if the ball was a pitch down the middle to release the barrel to the ball and it is a great visual. You can repeat for and outside or inside pitch doing this by where you position the hands in relationship to where the ball is.

Originally Posted by Coach-n-Dad

I like it a whole lot better than "throw your HANDS at the ball!

Don't I remember a movie where a martial arts-y guy "bats" without a bat, hitting the ball with his hand? Or did I dream that......

maybe that's where "throw your hands at the ball" got started??

As I remember it and this was many many years ago it originated with Charlie Lau. This was back in the day when MLB was playing on carpet. (70's and 80s) A large number of colleges were too.

Found out if you take your hands to the ball and swing down then the ball would skip across the carpet into the hole. We now have 3 generations of players, coaches and instructors teaching this stuff to kids and there is no carpet in sight on a ball field.

Dana

and there is no carpet in sight on a ball field.

Thank God.