PUSH the BAT or PULL the BAT

[Greenmonsters]

From Cindy Bristow (you know GM how I always include a video or info from a respected member of the baseball or softball world.)

5 Drills for Hitting the Outside Pitch « Softball Excellence

Merry Christmas GM!

Very good RHC. And a Merry and Happy to you and yours

 

[RayR]

My reminder is to use the back leg, but I get your point....we just have different cues we use and have different feelings on what to have the players think about...Merry Christmas, JBooth!

Maybe you don't, but I'm sure many do. I always remind my students to use the body when doing one armed drills. The body moves the bat in a real swing, the hands control the barrel.



Can't help it, because layman's terms often get misinterpreted.

 

[RayR]

Best hitter in the game using the bottom hand mechanics shown in the drill above and in Cal Ripken's clip....

I think Cal was a very nice player but wow this is a garbage clip. It proves that most of the time pro players do not know how to explain was they do or did. Cal's swinging down on the ball, his chest gets over his front knee, and he's not even trying hard on the bottom hand. He's up there chopping wood. As far as the top hand drill he lets his elbow fly out like a tennis player. The kid does a much better job and hits the snot out of the ball with the bottom hand. When the kid did the top hand drill however he initially encountered problems....because he was using good hitting form with the top hand but trying to hit for power. When he could not hit it very well he adjusted by flying out his elbow, then hit it a bit better.

Backhand down through it....you're kidding me!! I don't see Bonds or Cabrera or Hamilton or Votto or any elite hitter backhanding down through it. This isn't tennis. Look where their top hand elbow is in relationship to the body of the elite hitters and perform a top hand drill with those mechanics and see how you do power-wise. Keep your pimp-hand strong...

 

[Lenski]

I would guess that you have never seen these guys take practice swings off of a tee? They know exactly what they are doing and they know why they are doing it. They know what they are thinking and they know why they are thinking it.

You would be incorrect. I grew up during the Big Red Machine era and my neighbor was Cesar Geronimo. He would take me to Riverfront Stadium 10 or more times each year. I have seen some of the best to ever play the game work out: Rose, Griffey, Concepcion, Morgan, Perez, Bench, Foster......you get the point. I even got a 10 minute batting lesson from Teddy Ballgame himself. He came to Riverfront to talk, watch, and film Rose, Bench, and Morgan (ones that I remember) before a game for a documentary that followed up his book "The Science Of Hitting".

One thing I remember about each one of them off the tee...they always took the bat down at the ball off of the tee. Then, when they took live batting practice the bat path was quite different.

 

[Lenski]

Best hitter in the game using the bottom hand mechanics shown in the drill above and in Cal Ripken's clip....

What is this trying to prove? Look at the tilt, shoulder turn, and POC of the bottm hand drill in the top video versus the tilt, shoulder turn, and POC of the game footage in the bottom video. Bad form in the top video. The bottom video shows the powerful pulling of the front side....you are proving my point.

 

[Lenski]

DRIVING OPPO

Not doing the same thing here that he did in his tee drill video. Back elbow stays close to body and he's not swinging down at the ball. The barrel is on an upward plane at POC. He bends his upper body into the ball to get the pulling muscles (the front side) in position to do the "power work". If the power was generated by the top hand all he would have to do is let go of the bottom hand and drive the ball over the fence....lol. You know, like one handed pulled home runs from the bottom hand.

 

[Lenski]

Nice swing. Great example of front-side power mechanics combined with the aid of top and bottom hand wrist torque.

 

[RayR]

It is proving that the bottom hand works a certain way and while it looks different with only one hand on the bat it leads to a swing where a hitter can extend and shorten his/her swing as needed (adjustability) as opposed to hammering with the bottom hand that will mostly lead to an early pulling off and less adjustability with the front elbow flying open and the front arm never really extending as needed...it is the difference between working the barrel down to and up through vs. up to and up through....

You are worrying too much about POC on a one handed drill...

And as far as powerful pulling of the front side - I am thinking you are referring the to the bottom hand / front arm....yes if you teach hammering you need to pull hard with the front arm....if your bottom hand learns to roll it acts a guide and your top hand hammers through the ball...the top hand wrist is the one that is providing the snap due to the way the wrist will articulate to throw the barrel....

What is this trying to prove? Look at the tilt, shoulder turn, and POC of the bottm hand drill in the top video versus the tilt, shoulder turn, and POC of the game footage in the bottom video. Bad form in the top video. The bottom video shows the powerful pulling of the front side....you are proving my point.

 

[redhotcoach]

You would be incorrect. I grew up during the Big Red Machine era and my neighbor was Cesar Geronimo. He would take me to Riverfront Stadium 10 or more times each year. I have seen some of the best to ever play the game work out: Rose, Griffey, Concepcion, Morgan, Perez, Bench, Foster......you get the point. I even got a 10 minute batting lesson from Teddy Ballgame himself. He came to Riverfront to talk, watch, and film Rose, Bench, and Morgan (ones that I remember) before a game for a documentary that followed up his book "The Science Of Hitting".

One thing I remember about each one of them off the tee...they always took the bat down at the ball off of the tee. Then, when they took live batting practice the bat path was quite different.

page 60 "What am I driving at? Just this: Ideally for maximum power and efficiency, you want your stronger hand closer to the point of impact.....For years they tried to make people believe that a right handed swinger got his power from the left hand. BALONY....Tommy Armour said long before the others...under a NO-NONSENSE piece of instruction (for right hand hitters) that read "WHACK THE HELL OUT OF THE BALL WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND."

Ted "I think I would have been a better left handed hitter if I had not been a natural right hand"

 

[redhotcoach]

page 60 "What am I driving at? Just this: Ideally for maximum power and efficiency, you want your stronger hand closer to the point of impact.....For years they tried to make people believe that a right handed swinger got his power from the left hand. BALONY....Tommy Armour said long before the others...under a NO-NONSENSE piece of instruction (for right hand hitters) that read "WHACK THE HELL OUT OF THE BALL WITH YOUR RIGHT HAND."

Ted "I think I would have been a better left handed hitter if I had not been a natural right hand"