Does heavyer mean slower? No Not Girls!

[mm'spapa]

I hear a lot of people say to use a heavy bat to slow down a hitter who is always swings early. T/F?

 

[quincy]

As a short-term solution only.

 

[Ken Krause]

I disagree with that line of thought. The problem isn't that the swing is too fast. It's that it's too early. Those are two different problems. You keep using a bat that's too heavy and you'll train yourself to have a slow swing, which will hurt you down the road.

Better to learn to start later and maintain a quick swing. For example, if the hitter always starts her load when the pitcher's hand is over her head, and she is early, try waiting until the pitcher is at 9:00, or maybe even at release depending on how early the hitter had been, before starting the load. Put the focus on getting the front foot down at the right time - which varies with each pitcher and hitter - and the swing will be on time.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

 

[mann]

Quote 'getting the front foot down early, is true, the best hitters do that"


Its HOW, they do this

 

[quandofloo]

I explained the reverse to one of my kids this way. If you keep lightening and shortening the bat to catch up to faster pitching then you will end up swinging a twig. There is always a faster pitcher so you may as well fix the underlying swing issue.

 

[mann]

Quote 'getting the front foot down early, is true, the best hitters do that"


Its HOW, they do this

Mike Trout fixed his swing by getting his foot down early.
Front foot key to Trout's timing at the plate | MLB.com

Trout has a high leg kick, and if he gets it down early enough,(his foot) it's a lot easier for him to identify pitches and stay within the strike zone because he doesn't have as many moving parts when he's starting his swing

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