I have to ask this

Our high School Varsity coach has one thing that he focuses on more than any other when it comes to hitters.
Knuckles must be lined up or according to him they will absoultly not be able to hit period.

According to him if this is done then all other things will just happen he says that it is THEE single most important part of hitting.

He pretty much disregards any player who does not do it.

Example: We were at a game and a girl came to the plate against us I saw that the way she stood and held the bat she had loads of power. I said so and advised that he back up the outfield. His response was "She has her hands all wrong she wont even get around on our pitcher" The first pitch cleared the fence by 20 ft."Dumb Luck" he said. The next time she came up The ball hit the fence in the air and never went more than 8 ft off the ground." Luckiest Kid I ever saw" was his response.

So here is where I am at on this I dont buy this line up thing I never have.

I have just simply seen too many girls hit like The one mentioned and not do it.

So do you guys really key on this? How much stock do you put into it?

I am all open to sugestions.

I teach the exact opposite of this guy. Everyone needs to be flexible and open to change.

I have asked the question that you are asking and I am certain that I can trust my sources.

My top hand knocker knuckles are above the bottom knuckles of my bottom hand. I call this "offset."

I assume you are talking the grip from a hitter's stance.

Do you seen the pros lining up their knuckles in their stance?

I think FFS has done a good job of illustrating that lining up the knocker knuckles isn't necessary to be a good hitter. However, for discussion purposes it might be helpful to some to explore why a coach would teach such a thing.

I would suggest getting in your batting stance holding the bat the way you normally do. Then line up your knocker knuckles. What happens? Notice what happens to your back elbow. It wants to tuck down doesn't it?

In his "On Target" dvds Epstein suggest lining up the knocker knuckles while the student is learning and doing his drills starting with the bat on the deltoid. Lining up the knocker knuckles when the bat is on the deltoid ensures that the elbow will stay tucked during the drills. Perhaps the coach has Epstein's dvds.

On his old message board Epstein elaborated on the knocker knuckle issue, and even posted a picture of the grip that he used. As I recall, his top hand knocker knuckles where lined up in-between his bottom hand knocker knuckles and upper knuckles.