- Oct 12, 2009
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Ah, never mind, surely they don't know what they're talking about.
There's certainly no evidence for the early wrist activation that some people advocate.
Ah, never mind, surely they don't know what they're talking about.
I must be misreading your Epstein and Bonds quotes. I see nothing in either of them that talks about the top hand EARLY in the swing. I also see nothing from a female hitter. The typical 18 YO female hitter having maybe 30-40% of the upper body strength of a male hitter.
Scott you are one of the few who has even touched on the differences of females! One of the prime reasons the non elite females have no lower body strength is the flex of the front knee, lack of balance, and ham string strength and how to shift their weight shift either when hitting or throwing and yet we still want to compare what the elite MLB swing is or is not and what the elite MLB players do and that the average female has no glue as to what the average MALE hitting instructor is even talking about because they can not explain it or tell them how it works or feels!
As I think almost anyone would acknowledge, it is hard for ANY of us to describe what we do when we hit, and certainly people who have played at a high level are no different. Their descriptions are of interest only in how they support what video clearly shows they actually DO.
One of the reasons we teach what we teach is based on working with the greatest female hitter in the world. I have been doing clinics with her for 7 plus years now and I still keep learning more every time I get around her. See does individual lessons for $90 dollars an hour and still most MALE coaches are gun shy about talking to her! Why? If it were Bonds you would do it!
An example would be Bonds, who after coming back from the right knee injury late in his career talked about how he felt he was creating more power when he kept his right foot more closed. In an exchange on eTeamZ, Tom Guerry discounted that, saying Bonds was wrong, that wasn't really what he did / felt. Kind of looked like it was, but you get my point. Kind of a goose / gander deal.
Don and I discussed this before and how we could get a hitter to feel it. We thought it was simple, I stood belly button to belly button with Don and held his shoulders with his foot slightly closed and he tried to turn his shoulders and I could not hold him from turning. We repeated it and he opened his foot a little more and I could hold him back and he said he could feel the power or leverage in his lead hip greatly reduced. I did you figure this out? Bustos showed me was my response! Feeling balance is what I showed Crystl and how to teach it we worked on together. Crystl came up with make sure you get the girls to feel the heel of the foot is off the shoe Howard. She took her shoes and socks off and I placed a piece of paper under her heel and she bent at the waist and softened the knees exactly in that sequence and the piece of paper easily pulled out.
Bonds was also an example when in a Spring Training conversation with Don Slaught, he told Don he was slumping because he wasn't hitting down through the ball to get backspin and lift it. Slaught replied to him that he (Bonds) NEVER hit down through the ball, and his swing plane was in fact ALWAYS up. Which of course is true. Bonds told Slaught he was insane, and said, "SURE I hit down, Don. Everybody hits down through the ball. You should know that." Don pulled out RVP and showed Bonds what his swing path really was, and Barry was amazed. That was about 550 HRs into a career most would term pretty good. Slaught later heard Bonds sidle up to A-Rod at the All Star Game BP session and say, "Alex, you realize you don't really hit down through the ball, right?"
Lots of credibility when a guy with 550 HRs says what his swing path looks like. Apparently. Hopefully, no one listened to him until AFTER his conversation with Slaught.
Slaught has told me in a phone conversation that MLB hitters really have very little understanding of what they actually do. 14 year player, developer of RVP, batting coach for a World Series Champion team. FWIW.
Thanks for trying it and the feed back. This is what CB uses and 99 percent of our kids now. The wrist rolling and back/ shoulder slapping has stopped and extension after contact is almost too simple now. Now I understand what Don was saying about the additional pine tar and you felt it and heard the difference.
Thanks Howard
Howard,
This is a swing with saran wrap under the top hand. I haven't swung in a while except for fooling around, but all things considered I think there is some whip going into contact. Definitely agree that it feels like I am going to lose the bat.
Sorry for the crappy clip. Need a new camera and better lighting in the garage.
I like the feel of these swings.
Thanks Howard for the tip!
MTS you can feel that top hand unhinge (Release) at the point of bat lag much quicker. The other aspect of this is your not going to roll the hands using this grip on the top hand.
Dana
Dana, do you think enough swings using the wrap will loosen up the top hand grip so when you swing without the wrap the top hand/wrist will still work the same?
I also think the wrap allows the back elbow to come down without effecting the barrel path.
Ray
Dana, do you think enough swings using the wrap will loosen up the top hand grip so when you swing without the wrap the top hand/wrist will still work the same?
I also think the wrap allows the back elbow to come down without effecting the barrel path.
Ray
Not a bad swing at all. Need a little more extension. Remember elbow, knob, barrel.