Turning the barrel 7

pattar said:

Some kids just push their hands across their body before anything else is done to get the barrel to the ball. Those kids need to be able to develop a feel for working the barrel around their hands/forearms in addition to the direction "feel" which is often implicit/intuitive in developing hitters swings. Swing should appear to be taking place on the catcher's side of the body and not vice versa (stolen from FP26 who stole from Tewks.. ) An absolute is HL hitters getting the barrel behind the ball (as Mudder's stated) as early as possible. Cannot do that with a swing which is initially all translation of the hands.

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Just providing some visuals for "catcher's side of the body". Pattar explained it well...

fanboi22 said:

I can only assume that this was turn the knob forward? not the barrel?

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I personally have found that talking to a hitter about the end of the bat that's not going to be hitting the ball unnecessary at best, problematic at worst. With the cue (thought process) of TTB, and since they only thing they can really turn it with is their hands hold the handle at or near the knob...no real need IMO to talk about the handle, because they can't TTB w/o it some other way anyhow.

Because unfortunately (from my personal experience), most times, regardless of all of the words that might precede and/or accompany anything with the words "knob (or hands) forward"...you're almost guaranteed the hitter will only hear "knob forward", and literally take the knob (hands) forward instead of, or prior to TTB, and nothing but bad things happen with that technique/mechanics. Again...JMO, OMMV.

FP26 said:

Personally I consider a "running start" a separate but related topic. I see the running start as more of a "style" component that has a lot to do with the angle of the barrel during the move-out. For example, Pujols tends to keep his barrel more vertical, and then 'levels' it somewhat prior to launch. By comparison, some other hitters don't get the barrel vertical and therefore tend not to 'reposition' it very much before launch. Either method can be effective, but each of these hitters are TTB, IMO.

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Thanks, so you are saying that a change of plane in the swing is not an absolute and not necessary on a high level swing? So though Pujols may start in a more vertical position that then needs to get turned into a horizontal postition has no bearing on the quality of the swing?

fanboi22 said:

Thanks, so you are saying that a change of plane in the swing is not an absolute and not necessary on a high level swing? So though Pujols may start in a more vertical position that then needs to get turned into a horizontal postition has no bearing on the quality of the swing?

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Fanboi22,

just some advice but don’t get to caught up with concerning yourself with what’s “high level” and what isn’t..... It is a rabbit hole that you don’t want to go down trust me.... Just try to emulate what the pros or even good softball players are doing. There are very very few that will ever reach “high level” status. The HL swing is just something that someone came up with long ago that they believe all the great hitters do.


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DRDRODD said:

Fanboi22,

just some advice but don’t get to caught up with concerning yourself with what’s “high level” and what isn’t..... It is a rabbit hole that you don’t want to go down trust me.... Just try to emulate what the pros or even good softball players are doing. There are very very few that will ever reach “high level” status. The HL swing is just something that someone came up with long ago that they believe all the great hitters do.


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10-4. thanks for the advice.

DRDRODD said:

Fanboi22,

just some advice but don’t get to caught up with concerning yourself with what’s “high level” and what isn’t..... It is a rabbit hole that you don’t want to go down trust me.... Just try to emulate what the pros or even good softball players are doing. There are very very few that will ever reach “high level” status. The HL swing is just something that someone came up with long ago that they believe all the great hitters do.


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I think you are a great dude DRODD. But I so disagree!

Initially it's definitely a challenging process. But when you gain a deeper understanding it is without a doubt attainable.

Spartans21 said:

I think you are a great dude DRODD. But I so disagree!

Initially it's definitely a challenging process. But when you gain a deeper understanding it is without a doubt attainable.

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I never said it wasn’t...... The point is that high level is in the eye of the beholder and almost everyone has a different opinion on what HL is...... hence why very few actually achieve it because the so called gurus must declare them HL..... just look at the other site lol it is a $&@! Show.... So who is right??? I have only been on this site for like 4 years and I have never seen someone say that she is high level.... If you have some students that are I would love to see them.


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DRDRODD said:

I have only been on this site for like 4 years and I have never seen someone say that she is high level.... .


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If Kelly Kretschman's Dad posted her swing on here I am sure that would change. If it will make you feel better, I can call your DD's swing HL...

pattar said:

If Kelly Kretschman's Dad posted her swing on here I am sure that would change. If it will make you feel better, I can call your DD's swing HL...

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lol thanks Patar!


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DRDRODD said:

lol thanks Patar!


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I think both you and Spartans21 are correct to a certain extent tbh. Nothing wrong with picking a model swing/swing theory as a goal and working towards that. However there is a lot more that goes into being
a HL hitter than having a HL swing, whatever that is. Athletic ability, vision, plate discipline, etc. JD Martinez's swing was God awful in his early MLB days but he got there with that swing. Now some might say well the fact that he made it to MLB means his swing was HL but look what happened when he changed it...I had a kid on my D3 team who had a sweet swing...looking back he had all of the attributes one associates with a HL swing. He hit over .400 his Jr. and Sr. years. He was also a mediocre at best athlete. He couldn't run, his arm poor and I played hoop with him sometimes in the offseason and lets just say he wasn't any good. He played in the Cape Cod league after his Jr. season and hit like .150....