13 YO DD hitting video

[alabama_lowlife]

Being a crappy hitter may make you a great instructor. I kid you not. It will force you to learn the swing in more detail and take little for granted.

Run an experiment for me ..... make a few dry swings and try to learn 'what' causes or fuels the "initial" lowering of the rear elbow. That's where your daughter's issue is IMO.

i believe it's something to do with the hands to the ball approach. When i take a slow swing i feel the need to push the bat away from my back shoulder and get my hands out over the plate to hit the ball. I'm very aware of trying to my left (front) hand with the palm down and the back hand palm up. My front bicep almost seems to maintain connection with my chest as my torso rotates. I'll try to make some better video of it. I made one, but i had the phone aimed poorly and you can only see part of me.

i tried a few swings where i attempted to mimic pujols....at least in MY mind i tried to lol. I felt as though i was not in control of the bat really. It felt like i wouldn't be able to hit anything, but that's probably because i've been swinging the same way for almost 20 years. I did feel alot of torque through my core though. I'm ready for this season to end already so we can see how DD can do with a good swing.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I did feel alot of torque through my core though.

The fact that you made swings and 'felt' something different is a good thing. You are in a sense "running experiments 'under the hood'". That alone has me encouraged that you are in search for a greater understanding ... you are a truth seeker.

The fact that you felt the torquing action in the core is a big positive. It is this torque that we want to "grab" the "rear shoulder" and "initiate" the lowering of the "rear elbow". It is this torque that is considered a major source of force generation in the HLBB pattern. It is this torque that leads to enhanced 'timing', 'sequencing' and 'adjustability'. It is this "torque" that SB means by his use of the word "separate" in the sequence of Coil-Stretch-Separate ... that is, SB correctly desires to see the swing initiated with this torque. It is this torque that is being referred to when we speak of "wringing the rag".

Feeling something 'different' is fine. Take it out into an open field and hit some balls. The flight of the ball will not lie to you ... it will be the result of your swing on display ... it will be honest and quick feedback.

 

[eddie35]

Nice photo, Hands are in line with back elbow hummmmm who said that? Thanks FFS for pointing out what Howard has been saying all along.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Nice photo, Hands are in line with back elbow hummmmm who said that? Thanks FFS for pointing out what Howard has been saying all along.

Not this again.

I believe I have been consistent on this particular topic. The "Power-Vee", i.e., a pinched rear forearm-to-bicep orientation, should be established as early as one's 'launch', and be 'attempted' to be maintained through to the RVP-connection-point position (where the top hand passes the rear shoulder, as the "hands" + "rear shoulder" + "rear elbow" + "rear hip" are all roughly aligned). It is not the case that there should be a near perfect vertical rear forearm orientation at the RVP-connection-point position or beyond ... which would be a goal that would degrade the quality of the swing. You will not see that in Bustos' game swings, or in many of the swings of the best hitters ... you will however often see the maintenance of a "Power-Vee".

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Thanks for clearing that up.

About the grip, is Jim the guy from bat jack? If so it looks like his trainer basically does this for your top index finger. So I would assume he is a proponent. Very interesting

Yes, that would be the Jim I was referring to.

 

[tom.guerry]

FFS-

In the HLBB swing pattern, the core or torso or waist torque is not where you need to feel the rag wring.

 

[Jim]

3 sources to increase bat speed and power: grip, "hands", and hips

Grip: 3 things appear to me, one there is a small gap between her hands. Two, she appears to have slightly beyond box grip. This is very common in push swings like your DD. I actually like box grip but recommend she use knocking knuckles until these problems are solved. See this article to understand what I mean. Thirdly it appears from the forearm muscles that she is too tense but she would have to confirm that

Get the grip right and get the bat whip going and she will be launching some balls way way farther than before without even addressing the hip coil and follow through issues.

Great article on the grip!

As far as her swing goes, I would start with her lower half set-up. Her back foot is pointing back towards the catcher before she starts. Have her turn her foot so that it is at least pointing out square to the other box. This will help keep her back knee inside her foot allowing for the proper sequence in loading and uncoiling of the lower half.

And for the grip. The most efficient grip on the bat places the top hand at a slight angle on the handle. The bat should lay from the base of the pinky finger to the midpoint of the index finger. This will create the "trigger finger" pressure point on the bat for the hitter's index finger. By laying the bat into the hands at this angle, the bottom three finger's of the top hand will be engaged and in position to control the barrel of the bat with whip.

This forces the use of "the grippers" (middle and ring fingers) I like the pinky to be involved with the gripping of the bat with the top hand as well but some do not feel that it is that important. I feel by engaging the pinky, the ring finger is better engaged with the bat.

To understand better. Hold and point a bat straight out with your top hand. Now quickly move around the barrel of the bat. The grip that your hand has positioned itself into right now is very close to where it should be in your stance.

The knocking knuckles of the top hand don't really need to be lined up with the bottom knuckles, but the top hand knocking knuckles should line up somewhere between the big knuckles and the knocking knuckles of the bottom hand. This will position the hitter's top hand to create the whip through the swing.

The videos of Pujols's grip shows his knuckles and index finger into this position

The Bat Jack does help with this direct issue of the grip. The Bat Jack Grip Trainer - Baseball / Softball Swing Aid Develops Proper Bat Grip For Hitting

 

[softballphreak]

FFS-

In the HLBB swing pattern, the core or torso or waist torque is not where you need to feel the rag wring.

Where do you need to feel it?

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Where do you need to feel it?

Rear hip socket.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Thank you for posting on the topic Jim. I was hoping that this photo would solicit a comment from you.

Your gadget interests me. Would like to see something similar for the bottom-hand as well. I've been using pencils placed in a hitters grip to help them get the feel of what your gadget appears to be intended to help promote.

Back to the bottom-hand ..... Ted Williams even comments in his book about the hammering action of the bottom-hand and the importance of opening up the index finger of the bottom-hand. Here's a photo from one of Ted's swings ......

So the question to you is ... can your device be used for the index finger of the bottom-hand as well?