Type of spin a good hit produces

[Slappers]

Didn't know where to post this so I went with here. DD was hitting last night and had some hard hit line drives that were knuckle balls and some with back spin. Which one is better and what does it mean? My take is a knuckle was hit square and back spin means she hit the bottom half of the ball.

 

[Sweet Lou]

I doubt anyone can consistently hit a knuckle ball on a batted ball. They sure are hard to catch when you do though as they can have pretty eradic flight patterns.

As you suspect back spin will be created if you hit the bottom half of the ball.
Top spin will be create if you hit the top half of the ball.

As for which is better that's debatable but generally speak a ball with back spin will have more carry than a ball with top spin.

I'm not sure there is much data on what a hit knuckle ball does.

 

[CatchTheFever]

As mentioned above, the backspin will definitely provide more carry over the others.

 

[guero_gordo]

If you watch video, most HR balls have very gentle spin to none at all.

 

[JJsqueeze]

The only spin that matters is the fielder spinning around as the ball goes past them. You can't control it as a hitter so don't worry about it. Those that try to get backspin end up as chop down hitters. In fact the only time I have seen spin mentioned in instruction is when someone is promoting a downward path in order to create backspin for carry and this is about as stupid a form of instruction as I can think of.

here is a good example of spin...courtesy of RDBASS

 

[CatchTheFever]

In fact the only time I have seen spin mentioned in instruction is when someone is promoting a downward path in order to create backspin for carry and this is about as stupid a form of instruction as I can think of.

Is it though? In my experience playing slow pitch, alot of the big hitters "cut" the ball to create backspin for that extra carry. I recall Fred McGriff practicing with us in HS and he referred to creating backspin to get carry as well. Is it really impossible to obtain? I think it's entirely possible but I'm far from an expert or professional on the subject.
I will add that I try to teach my daughter to have a slight down swing rather than upper cut that I see in alot of swings and it results in lots of line drives with the occasional jaw dropping bomb. (She just turned 11)

 

[JJsqueeze]

I don't think slow pitch can be used effectively for comparisons to fastpitch for a variety of reasons. It is not impossible to obtain, it is impossible to have as a goal though when facing the reaction times needed. I suppose if you are hitting .800 and destroying all pitchers then working on the spin of a hit ball could be something to occupy your time, but as any form of instruction there are about 100 things a hitter would have to be good at before this would be any sort of goal.

edit- I teach my girls to have a slight uppercut (to match the ball flight path) ala a typical MLB swing and it results in a some pop ups, a bunch of liners and lot of outfielders running for fences. One just turned 12 the other is 9.

 

[Slappers]

I'm not concerned about the spin I just noticed yesterday since I wasn't the one pitching to her and didn't realize how many knuckle balls she hits. They were hard hit balls I guess I was just wondering more if how hitting the ball dead square took the spin off the ball seeing as how it is spinning rapidly when pitched.

Curiosity struck me so I was just asking.

 

[riseball]

We do quite a bit of on field tee work and have found that attention to the direction and rate of spin helps hitters with their mechanics. Once they understand what make the ball tail one way or the other they can use that information to get instant feedback on their swing when working various locations around the strike zone.

 

[Cowdogz]

Don't know much about producing a knuckling hit, but a well-hit ball to the pull side usually hooks, while a well-hit ball to the opposite field usually slices.