Wrists? Bat drag? Understanding a high end swing

[Eric F]

Unfortunately your first video did not come through on my system...

I can't see it, either.

 

[Mad4Ball]

I believe I understand what you mean.

Just to clarify ... this person here has "barrel awareness", yet their mental image is to Level-And-Swing ('level' meaning to orientate the bat such that it will be on plane with the ball). In a sense, they "find the ball" and then "swing" ... as opposed to "finding the ball as you swing".

This is different than having a sense of barrel awareness with a Level-As-You-Swing approach.

Notice the difference in the barrel arc between the above swing and the swing below. Someone watching the movement of the barrel tip should be able to detect what many refer to as 'bat drag' well before what is generally being used as an indicator for 'bat drag'.

FFS, I've been harsh on you in the past because of your approach but that was great and clear advice that helped. I like the "finding the ball as you swing" wording. This makes sense given the amount of time you have.

One question on this. I've seen someone advise hitters to lower the bat head bellow their shoulder if they are having trouble with faster pitchers. I've seen it have some success but it makes me uneasy. Have you ever heard of this and is there any situation where you would advise it?

 

[mann]

Mann, to clarify, I'm assuming your discussion of wrist cock is just before the hitter arrives at swing launch. I generally do not tell a hitter to cock their hands. I want the hands/wrists fairly relaxed up to swing launch ... and I like to see a handset with the knob pointing back roughly to the catcher's feet with the barrel loaded ... I want this cocking you speak of to occur at the very end of what you may refer to as a loading phase in preparation to launch the swing ... and even as late as at the beginning of swing launch. Rarely will I have to directly instruct the cocking of the hands ... as I believe you mean the cocking of the hands.

what do you think five?
https://youtu.be/n_jX32EieVs

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

FFS, I've been harsh on you in the past because of your approach but that was great and clear advice that helped. I like the "finding the ball as you swing" wording. This makes sense given the amount of time you have.

One question on this. I've seen someone advise hitters to lower the bat head bellow their shoulder if they are having trouble with faster pitchers. I've seen it have some success but it makes me uneasy. Have you ever heard of this and is there any situation where you would advise it?

If you have an example swing then I can provide more feedback. I am assuming that you mean to lower the bat head below the rear shoulder from within one's stance ... if so, then no, I haven't seen this. An example swing of what you are describing would help us get on the same page and allow more precise feedback.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

what do you think five?
https://youtu.be/n_jX32EieVs

What I think is that the demonstration misses the importance of the rear upper arm and the preparation to throw ... along with the timing of the preparation to throw. Notice how he demos what he believes he wants to happen ... the upper arm and rear elbow basically remain fixated against his side, and he is "all hands". Not what I'm looking for personally. I do like his point about unhinging into impact ... there is certainly a lot of power in that.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Re-posting earlier post with a different host for the GIF that folks mentioned they could not view.

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Yes, this part. I think when my daughter does this it's because she is still reading the pitch and fears she won't be able to "check" her swing if she needs to.

I try to tell my daughter to have barrel awareness and to focus on squaring the barrel head up to the pitch. I'm learning now that I should discuss hand action and hand pivot with her more.

Thanks.

I believe I understand what you mean.

Just to clarify ... this person here has "barrel awareness", yet their mental image is to Level-And-Swing ('level' meaning to orientate the bat such that it will be on plane with the ball). In a sense, they "find the ball" and then "swing" ... as opposed to "finding the ball as you swing".

This is different than having a sense of barrel awareness with a Level-As-You-Swing approach.

Notice the difference in the barrel arc between the above swing and the swing below. Someone watching the movement of the barrel tip should be able to detect what many refer to as 'bat drag' well before what is generally being used as an indicator for 'bat drag'.

 

[Cannonball]

Don't lose sight of the shoulder angles in the two examples listed above.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Don't lose sight of the shoulder angles in the two examples listed above.

Absolutely. It takes more than just the hands to send the barrel into its swing arc.

I get a kick every time I hear a parent tell a kid "you're dropping your rear shoulder again".

 

[rdbass]

Absolutely. It takes more than just the hands to send the barrel into its swing arc.

I get a kick every time I hear a parent tell a kid "you're dropping your rear shoulder again".

Yep...the swing 'drops' the rear shoulder dependent on the pitched ball.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

FFS, I've been harsh on you in the past because of your approach but that was great and clear advice that helped. I like the "finding the ball as you swing" wording. This makes sense given the amount of time you have.

One question on this. I've seen someone advise hitters to lower the bat head bellow their shoulder if they are having trouble with faster pitchers. I've seen it have some success but it makes me uneasy. Have you ever heard of this and is there any situation where you would advise it?

I honestly don't understand why folks have an issue with what they call dbsf. Have cured the issue many many many times simply by using this phrase. Perhaps it is the way I deliver the message to the player. It isn't something that generally takes long to get past.

Now ... before anyone gets upset with that comment ... I'm not speaking of young players that lack body awareness or lack body control. That's an entirely different issue. Heck, I'll even see HS-age JV kids that can't seem to move their bodies athletically ... there are kids that simply have a difficult time moving their body efficiently. Those kids are special ... and truth be told, I have a lot of fun working with them as well. That said, if you are working with a kid that has a decent sense of body awareness and body control, then correcting an issue such as what is termed dbsf shouldn't be a big deal ... IMO anyway.