Insider Bat

[Chris O'Leary]

gaetti specifically says top hand knuckles between bottom hand knuckles, not door knockers lined up

He says a bunch of different things.

The kid changes his grip 3 times during the clip, which makes me wonder about the claim that it enforces the proper grip.

On one of the other clips, the guys says to line up the door knocker knuckles.

P.S. I have no idea what he means by having the hands ahead of the barrel at contact.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

In general, when I look at this clip I see a kid who has to do a lot of problematic stuff in order to hit the ball back up the middle.

Because he is trying to hit the ball back up the middle, and because there is that bend in the barrel, he has to push disconnect to get his hands out in front of the barrel.

A push disconnect is a BAD thing that will kill a swing as you get older; it's the number one problem I see in the swings of my higher-level clients.[1]

If he was swinging correctly, he would pull hook everything.

[1] This is an example of what I mean by some people and tools are encouraging people to put into their swings things that I am trying to get out of their swings.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Old post from Howard:

They gave me three of the insider bats and it destroyed our hand path to the ball. You must get the hands ahead and hit the ball further back in the box. If you look at the demo you will see where they must set up. The handle is not round and my kids felt it was awkward. Don said they were going to change it. I did like the index finger grip however.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Thanks for the clarifications. I thought that is what I remembered Candrea saying about the grip. He might be getting paid to promote certain products, I don't know.

I will stick to softball bats, for now. I tried the hammer myself, yesterday and I should have taped it. I took 3 big swings and missed the ball on all 3.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Amy, your mailbox is full.

 

[Tewks]

Old post from Howard:

They gave me three of the insider bats and it destroyed our hand path to the ball. You must get the hands ahead and hit the ball further back in the box. If you look at the demo you will see where they must set up. The handle is not round and my kids felt it was awkward. Don said they were going to change it. I did like the index finger grip however.

I guess this depends on the desired hand path to the ball... Again, I have used the insider bat with great success. If you are pushing to the ball (or teach this) it won't work and you will hate it. Yes, it forces you to hit the ball deeper, but isn't that a good thing??? The grip isn't a big deal. Grab on, get comfortable and swing.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Mailbox emptied.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Old post from Howard:

They gave me three of the insider bats and it destroyed our hand path to the ball. You must get the hands ahead and hit the ball further back in the box. If you look at the demo you will see where they must set up. The handle is not round and my kids felt it was awkward. Don said they were going to change it. I did like the index finger grip however.

SBF ... not to get into an argument, but if the Hand Path that was destroyed, was the Hand Path that SL had his DD demonstrate, then that is a good thing ... as I consider one benefit of the Insider Bat to be the promotion of an improved Hand Path. Just my opinion of course. I like a lot of what Howard has to write about ... but not the Hand Path with the elbow to far extended from the body so as to maintain a vertically stacked rear forearm ... that just isn't happening in live game swings.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Thanks for the clarifications. I thought that is what I remembered Candrea saying about the grip. He might be getting paid to promote certain products, I don't know.

I will stick to softball bats, for now. I tried the hammer myself, yesterday and I should have taped it. I took 3 big swings and missed the ball on all 3.

Here is what Mike Candrea has to say about the Insider Bat in his endorsement of the product.

"The insider bat is a tremendous teaching tool to create the proper feel of staying inside the ball and releasing the angles we create in hitting. We use it for top hand and bottom hand drills! I love the elements of instant feedback and proper feel that it gives hitters of all ages!"

Mike Candrea
Head Softball Coach
The University of Arizona
NCAA National Champions - 1991, 93, 94, 96, 97, 2001, 06, 07
21-year Arizona Totals 1131-228-2
Olympic Head Coach - Team USA Softball

 

[Chris O'Leary]

I guess this depends on the desired hand path to the ball... Again, I have used the insider bat with great success. If you are pushing to the ball (or teach this) it won't work and you will hate it. Yes, it forces you to hit the ball deeper, but isn't that a good thing??? The grip isn't a big deal. Grab on, get comfortable and swing.

This is claimed but clearly isn't the case.

In the clip above, the kid is forced to push his hands forward and hit the ball out front into order to hit it back up the middle.

That's not a good thing to be encouraging.