Albert Pujol's Unsual Grip

[ArmWhip]

I have to raise this issue, for months now I have been looking at AP's grip and it is unlike most other baseball grips and goes against much of what is commonly accepted and taught. For some reason AP's grip is never noticed or talked about and given his position as probably the best hitter in baseball there might be something to be learned from examining what he does.

Looking at his right hand at contact you can see that it is not 'palm up'. Also, looking at his left hand at contact you can see how the bat is gripped in his fingers. In fact at contact his grip looks more like a 'strong' golf grip than a typical baseball grip.



It's amazing how similar the grips look, especially on some of the low pitches.

 

[softballphreak]

I have to raise this issue, for months now I have been looking at AP's grip and it is unlike most other baseball grips and goes against much of what is commonly accepted and taught. For some reason AP's grip is never noticed or talked about and given his position as probably the best hitter in baseball there might be something to be learned from examining what he does.

Looking at his right hand at contact you can see that it is not 'palm up'. Also, looking at his left hand at contact you can see how the bat is gripped in his fingers. In fact at contact his grip looks more like a 'strong' golf grip than a typical baseball grip.

It is palm up in the way it relates to hitting. Palm up relative to the plane of the pitch; not palm up relative to the ground necessarily.

Great collection of pictures!

 

[cshilt]

This is exactly how Crystl teaches the grip. If the palms are flat level to the ground then there is nothing pushing against the bat handle. The muscle between her thumb and index finger is so strong. This grip probably adds 3-5 mph to ball exit velocity.

 

[Jim]

This is exactly how Crystl teaches the grip. If the palms are flat level to the ground then there is nothing pushing against the bat handle. The muscle between her thumb and index finger is so strong. This grip probably adds 3-5 mph to ball exit velocity.

You can develop this exact grip by using this product.
The Bat Jack Grip Trainer - Baseball / Softball Swing Aid Develops Proper Bat Grip For Hitting

 

[ArmWhip]

It is palm up in the way it relates to hitting. Palm up relative to the plane of the pitch; not palm up relative to the ground necessarily.

AP's right palm is not palm up relative to the pitch, the fact that you can see the 'V' formed by the thumb and forefinger means that the palm is behind the bat, maybe pushing it. His palms are almost at right angles to each other, this also means that his doorknocker knuckles are aligned at contact or maybe even rotated away from being aligned. In many of the photos you can see both Nike logos that are on the back of his gloves, proof that his palms are not on the same plane.

 

[softballphreak]

AP's right palm is not palm up relative to the pitch, the fact that you can see the 'V' formed by the thumb and forefinger means that the palm is behind the bat, maybe pushing it. His palms are almost at right angles to each other, this also means that his doorknocker knuckles are aligned at contact or maybe even rotated away from being aligned. In many of the photos you can see both Nike logos that are on the back of his gloves, proof that his palms are not on the same plane.

The right palm has the same angle as the bat. IOW, it's on the same plane as the bat which should be on the same plane as the pitch.

The right palm and left palm (or knuckles) will not necessarily stay aligned with each other throughout the swing.

Are we talking about the same thing? I do notice the bat handle appears to be deep into the right hand grip.

 

[CoogansBluff]

The right palm has the same angle as the bat. IOW, it's on the same plane as the bat which should be on the same plane as the pitch.

The right palm and left palm (or knuckles) will not necessarily stay aligned with each other throughout the swing.

I agree w/ this. If the bat is tilted downward at contact, as it should be, then the hands (palms) also will be tilted downward. But it's still the same palm up/down concept. I think you'd see this on most every MLB hitter. Not unique to Pujols.

 

[Wellphyt]

Wow! I often wonder where some of the ideas on hitting today originate from. When did palm-up/palm-down start to mean that the palms are level to the ground? Someone had to come up with that definition, right? Where does the idea come from that Pujols has an unusual grip?

Pujols' left hand is his bottom hand, right?

"The bottom hand holds the bat as you would a hammer or a golf club, the index finger slightly open."
--Ted Williams, "The Science of Hitting", page 34, Copy Right 1970

Isn't that pretty much what Pujols is doing?

Regarding palm-up/palm-down, the original definition had nothing to do with the position of the palms relative to the ground. Palm-up/palm-down originally meant that the impact of bat on ball is reached not with the wrist rolling, but with the wrist square and unbroken as they would be at impact when an ax is swung on a tree.

If you look carefully at the photos of Pujols, you will see his palms in different positions at impact depending on whether he is making contact deep or out in front. If a hitter is early their wrist will begin to roll into contact. If a hitter is a little late or on time they will make contact with the wrist unbroken, or before they begin to roll.

IMO Pujols is doing what Ted described back in 1970, which is to try and make contact before the wrist roll. IMO most MLB hitters try and do the same thing.

 

[Mr T]

You can develop this exact grip by using this product.
The Bat Jack Grip Trainer - Baseball / Softball Swing Aid Develops Proper Bat Grip For Hitting

Getting confused again. I thought we had a great discussion about grip last week. First off, Jim's device sounds effective but I thought it promoted not using the muscle between the thumb and index finger.

And cshilt, if you are talking about increasing bat speed it makes sense to me but if I understand correctly the ball-bat collision lasts less than a millisecond and there is no "pushing" on the ball. The person could disappear the moment the bat connected to the ball, i.e. the grip at that point is meaningless.

 

[softballphreak]

Getting confused again. I thought we had a great discussion about grip last week. First off, Jim's device sounds effective but I thought it promoted not using the muscle between the thumb and index finger.

And cshilt, if you are talking about increasing bat speed it makes sense to me but if I understand correctly the ball-bat collision lasts less than a millisecond and there is no "pushing" on the ball. The person could disappear the moment the bat connected to the ball, i.e. the grip at that point is meaningless.

When using the "reverse hand drill" (partially supported one-armed swing) the top hand cannot restrict the swing. Therefore, there can be more impact at the point of contact; resulting in a ball being hit further than if hit with both hands on the bat. The top hand is essential for helping guide the bat, though.

There are and have been batters that only have one arm that are able to hit the ball hard.

I'm not so sure that a focused grip exactly at the point of contact is not a good thing. I suspect there is much benefit with such a focus. Falls right in line with the instruction I teach to kiai at the point of contact. Some elite tennis players, i.e., do that.