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Yes Gags!

Sorry for the confusion Texag, I was saying your post was right on ! Use your top hand. I haven't figured out how to bold things in quotes. Glad Gags got it!

Gags said:

TexAg - I think his post was in response to the bolded text above, he just expanded (and maybe expounded?) on how a hitter uses (or should use?) their hands.

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Maybe, but you still don't hit the ball with your hands. You hit it with the barrel of the bat. Sure, you need hands to grip and control the bat, but you don't "throw your hands at the ball". You throw the barrel to the ball. And if the ball is too close to you when you're doing tee work, then move the tee further away. You know, so you can hit it with the barrel and not your hands.


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I agree Tex.Don't throw the hands. Throw the barrel. Whip the barrel. Use the top hand.

TexAg1998 said:

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned how far back the tee is. You always want get around quicker on an inside pitch and let an outside pitch travel, right? If that's true, then move the tee out a few inches (maybe even a foot) and see if that doesn't help with getting the barrel turned in time. Of course, most of what everyone else has said here is useful stuff, but if you move the tee toward the pitcher you might find that it's that much easier to do what they're suggesting.

DD's hitting coach says never change your swing for inside, outside, high, low, or any other kind of pitch. He just says if it's inside get around on it quicker, outside let it travel, always throw the barrel at the ball (not the hands or the knob because you don't hit the ball with those unless you want a broken finger). Make your top hand do the work.

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Ding Ding Ding! Thank you...that's the first thing I saw. The kid's swing is less the problem than trying to make contact on an inside pitch behind the front foot like she's doing. Trying to hit an inside pitch up the middle or opposite field is like trying to pull an outside pitch; not going to work very well. Move her back a bit, get the barrel around, and pull that pitch to LF. Throw front toss, and get her reacting to the location, inside vs outside.

Work=wins said:

I agree Tex.Don't throw the hands. Throw the barrel. Whip the barrel. Use the top hand.

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Cool. Sorry if I misinterpreted your response. Not used to people agreeing with me.


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FiveFrameSwing said:

It's an arm swing. Needs to learn to capture transition of the barrel with the hips & core.

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I was asked to follow up on this. Hence the following three posts ....

Learn to use the "main engine". Some refer to this as the "hips", but it is much more than that and includes the core/torso.



It can be thought of as gears ... e.g., two orthogonal spoke wheels that mesh.



Here's a view of a left-handed batter ...

Here's an example of Ken Griffy ....




Now let's take another look at this same swing and highlight two frames ...




Keep watching those two frames being toggled back and forth in the middle of the swing.

That's the main engine. That's the "hands being taken off the shelf with the main engine" (i.e., we "walk-away-from-the-hands", "we move forward and place the hands on the shelf" ... and then we use the 'main engine' to "take the hands off the shelf"). It's a combination of torso 'rotation' and 'lateral side bend' (and yes ... also lumbar lordosis, or arching of the lower back).

You can break the 'main engine' down into separate movements to better understand it and master it.

In golf the motion below is referred to as "lateral side bend". Go to Youtube and search for 'golf' and 'lateral side bend' ... you should be able to find several videos on the topic. It's the same notion in the softball/baseball swing.

So dumb it down a bit for young hitters ... help them capture the feel of the 'main engine'.

Get a hitter to learn to perform 'lateral side bends' .... bending back to the catcher. Get a feel for the contraction taking place.



Also perform simple 'side rotations' towards the pitcher/ball ....




These motions by themselves are pretty simple and straight forward movements.

Then work on combining them ... performing both a 'lateral side bend' and a 'side rotation' at the same time ... and at high speed. Attempt to do this for a short distance to capture the initial feel.

Get this down and your hitters will be on their way to hitting the ball with authority.




This is important.

Your students have to be the ones to accept ownership for mastering the 'main engine'. Learning occurs when someone wants to learn, not when someone wants to teach.

FiveFrameSwing said:

Here's an example of Ken Griffy ....

Now let's take another look at this same swing and highlight two frames ...

Keep watching those two frames being toggled back and forth in the middle of the swing.

That's the main engine. That's the "hands being taken off the shelf with the main engine" (i.e., we "walk-away-from-the-hands", "we move forward and place the hands on the shelf" ... and then we use the 'main engine' to "take the hands off the shelf"). It's a combination of torso 'rotation' and 'lateral side bend' (and yes ... also lumbar lordosis, or arching of the lower back).

Click to expand...

I've never heard anyone mention the hands on the shelf. I've used that myself as an analogy. Just never heard anyone else use that analogy.