Bat Drag & Lag

[Stever]

I definately see the bat drag in picture 'A'. Would you say 'B' is an improvement, or just later in the swing?

Also attached is a typical impact position, and typical extension photo.


Looking for any advice for small improvements. She is 13, and hits the ball pretty well on a 14A travel team.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

'B' is later in the swing.

Keep in mind that a good swing will border on 'bat drag' ... at least the definition of 'bat drag' I assume you are using.

If you post the swing clip it will be easier to tell if she's truly dragging the barrel or not ... since the dragging of the bat technically takes place prior to the point you've shown.

 

[Tewks]

Pictures to consider...

 

[Stever]

Any drills to work on eliminating bat drag? This is a tough one for kids to feel.

 

[Tewks]

Any drills to work on eliminating bat drag? This is a tough one for kids to feel.

This question is so hard for me to deal with. It has to be a conceptual shift, a different understanding. A drill won't change intent.

 

[undergroundga]

I know this is kinda off the subject (please correct me if I am wrong) but shouldn't her head be a little more vertical. With her her head tilted on it's side won't that make the shoulders tilt more? I know that if it is a low pitch there should be some tilt. Not offering as criticism just curious.

 

[Jim]

Any drills to work on eliminating bat drag? This is a tough one for kids to feel.

A major point of emphasis is the position of the rear arm/elbow at the top of the loaded position. Young hitters and most amateur hitters leave the rear elbow down at the top of the load, whereas the best hitters in the world get the rear elbow up , during the load, to around the height of the top hand.

This allows the hands and bat to work closer to the hitting zone as the rear elbow slots.

This is directly related to helping to eliminate "bat drag" or a long/slow swing path.

 

[ArmWhip]

Although it is later in the swing I think that B is an improvement.

 

[Coach Ron]

I came to this site because I have a LOT of work to do to improve the hitting on my 13U team. I videotaped everyone, just to see where we were starting. This is the worst case of bat drag I've ever seen, and along with other strange contortions on other players, I was lost as to what to do. We're now well into our winter training and hitting instruction, and doing OK so far. But this thread on bat drag reminded me of this swing three months ago.

(The blue line is her bat, which is pointing straight back at the trash can behind the cage.)

 

[PA SB Dad]

I see that same swing a lot in rec league players, almost all of whom used a bat that has always been too heavy for several years (usually an older brothers baseball bat!) and they learn to drop their hands in order to swing. Over the years it becomes an ingrained motion that is hard to fix. Most of the time they have no idea that's what their swing looks like.