DD Bat Drag ?

[PaulN]

The truth? The truth about the fix for 'bat drag'???

It's incredibly simple ... which may be why some folks are confused ... they can't believe that something they have struggled with has such a simple fix.

The fix is simply to never drag the barrel in the first place. Turn the barrel to contact.

Please explain what "Turn the barrel to contact" means i.e. your interpretation of the words " Turn the barrel to contact".

And how does this qualify as a "truth"?

 

[RayR]

I know - just messing around...

I shouldn't have said "the only way", but you get it, that keeping the shoulder up is not a good thing. It causes you to have to compensate in some other way, that is not good, in order to get the barrel to the ball.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Paul, it is a mentality that one does not “pull the barrel to contact”, “drag the barrel to contact”, or “push the barrel to contact”, … but instead “turns the barrel to contact”. That is the mentality I want a hitter struggling with ‘bat drag’ to have at swing initiation.

The opposite extreme is to have a feel of inactive hands in which the barrel is dragged along the length of the barrel.

 

[RayR]

Just wanted to throw this clip back into the discussion - I think most of us have had a swing at one point in our lives where we made an adjustment on an inside location like this one and wondered what the heck just happened....

If your hands are in control - your body will support...

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Just wanted to throw this clip back into the discussion - I think most of us have had a swing at one point in our lives where we made an adjustment on an inside location like this one and wondered what the heck just happened....

If your hands are in control - your body will support...

Very nice MTS.

 

[PaulN]

Paul, it is a mentality that one does not “pull the barrel to contact”, “drag the barrel to contact”, or “push the barrel to contact”, … but instead “turns the barrel to contact”. That is the mentality I want a hitter struggling with ‘bat drag’ to have at swing initiation.

The opposite extreme is to have a feel of inactive hands in which the barrel is dragged along the length of the barrel.

I need more specifics as to what or should I say how one goes about turning the barrel into contact as opposed to pulling the barrel, dragging the barrel a pushing the barrel.

Using the clip of Longoria explain how it's done or is that a trade secret??

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Trade secret?

Yeah ... that's it ... I forgot to claim that 'bat drag' was complicated ... go all over the Internet and create a phobia about the hands ... and then sell a "Fixing Bat Drag webbook" for $14.95.

Seriously though ... I'll often direct a kid to turn the barrel, and they do just that ... pretty much like what took place on page 1 of this thread ... and the clean-up of bat drag is generally what you see.

Now ... if you are alluding to the notion that the body is used in concert with the hands to get the job going ... then yes ... of course. But honestly, from a simplistic view point ... instructing a kid to turn the barrel has the result that you see here and it can clean up bat drag without the struggle we've seen many go through.

 

[softballphreak]

What I have discovered with teaching tilt. It only has to be taught because someone taught it right out of them by telling them to keep their shoulders flat or don't drop your back shoulder.

Yep, the old (but still taught) "swing level" cue is one of them.

 

[tom.guerry]

whatever you do, do not try to turn the bat in the plane of the shoulders by turning the shoulders and using the box formation. that is a guarantee of a long dragging swing with late batspeed forcing early/premature adjustment.

 

[HYP]

whatever you do, do not try to turn the bat in the plane of the shoulders by turning the shoulders and using the box formation. that is a guarantee of a long dragging swing with late batspeed forcing early/premature adjustment.

Definition of bat drag!

Shoulders line up with what the hands are doing. The hands do not line up with what the shoulders are doing.