Reverse Hand Drill

[BoardMember]

Funny you should ask Tewks. I had aleady prepared this gif of your HUGELY beneficial drill:

I was going to start a thread with a thumbs up recomendation for this drill........You are (were) obviously a pretty high level hitter at some point......I'm guessing of course..........

Here's what I see happening in your drill.......ALL GOOD.......

1.) You are NOT twisting the handle on top of your forearm early toward contact and prematurely CASTING the barrel.......

2.) You are purposely holding the hinge angles of your arms/bat, and using the hips to turn the torso/shoulders to contact as the angles remain unbroken and you avoid any push.....

3.) You are NOT dumping the barrel UNDER your rear arm which NEVER results in the knob pointing above your lead arm.

4.) AND MOST IMPORTANTLY IMO........Whether you know it or not......YOU ARE TRAINING YOUR LEAD ELBOW/ARM PROPERLY......

IMO, this is the BIGGEST flaw I see in hitters......AND in HI theory.......

Five Frame Swing would benefit from paying close attention to HUGE the differences in what your lead elbow does depending on location of the ball........And how EARLY your lead elbow/arm is working......

One of his pet-peaves about my video was the OVER EXAGERATION of getting the lead elbow above the knob, because he doesn't fully understand the lead arm function.

It's very apparent to me that you are MAKING SURE that your lead elbow STAYS OUT OF THE WAY of the impending turn-back of the knob so the barrel WILL FLOW UNIMPEDED.......Even though these are inessence non-release practice swings........

Virtually HALF of my Terminal Velocity 2 video is dedicated to the EXACT actions you are displaying here.........

So......Yes......I'm pleased to see you performing this drill........

On a scale of 1-10 I give it a 10........

As compared to this.....Which I give a 0.......

I was also going to comment on this clip you posted of Manny.......Make NO mistake that the reason he squares this ball is because his shoulders have rotated over 150 degrees from launch to contact.........Very similar to you in the left side of the comparison.....And how that happens is VERY significant IMO........

More to come for you to digest in the next post...............

 

[Tewks]

I'm ready.

 

[Tewks]

I did play Division I and independent baseball... but this swing is much more representative of swings I took in my career that I could not explain or recreate in a training environment until fairly recently.

I worked my butt off to make my "old" swing work during my career. Effortless power was a mistake - yet it is exactly what I felt on the best hit balls of my career. And I see (feel it!) it in Bustos at 0:48 in the clip posted earlier. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XcLqUAVVoA

If anybody has access to ask her what this swing felt like, I would love to hear her talk about it.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Boardmember, I just watched your "terminal velocity" video. After watching the video, I am very curious about what your take is on the drill I posted.


To the forum... I try to be direct. Please let me know if it comes off as confrontational. That is not my intent. The content on this site is obviously read by many. From where I stand, I have tried to provide detailed content, ask questions, explain myself upon request, and ask other to explain themselves. While I am not a current or former MLB hitting instructor, I do believe that basing hitting research and discussion on MLB hitters, especially the best hitters, promotes better understanding of hitting mechanics.

If anybody has a SB swing library I can tap into, please let me know!

Only have time to post a few clips ....

Alissa Haber - World Cup 2009:

Ashley Charter - World Cup 2009:

Ashley Hansen:

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Mendoza:

Watson:

Niki Williams - HR

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

CO, still waiting on the GIF. From "go" to contact.

SB Coaches:
I've never hit a riseball. Are you supposed to swing down to hit it? If yes, wouldn't this be a major departure from baseball swing mechanics?

Tewks .... the answer is "no", you are not supposed to swing down on a rise ball.

Without getting into the details .... a "riseball" can be considered and "anti-dropball". It basically doesn't drop to the same extent as a dropball. A good riseball will basically be relatively flat as it crosses the plate.

Here is Caitlin Benji hitting a rise-ball.

 

[Tewks]

Five Frame,

Thanks!

This is what I see:
What jumps out at me already is most of the softball players above have loads that are very subtle compared to what I see MLB players doing. It looks like there is a big emphasis on the positive move, and little emphasis on rhythm with the hands. In my opinion, the hand pivot point can be used as a sort of positive move for the hands. In the Manny clip that has been posted, I see his bat tipping forward during his load. I see (and feel) this happening because his top hand is pronating, causing the elbow to come up. I see this happening a little bit in Niki Williams above. As I see it (but don't know for certain because I haven't personally spoken with any of these athletes) Caitlin Benji just starts from more tipped the position, but doesn't get a "running start" (as some call it) like Williams or Manny and many, many top MLB players that I see this in.


BM. I just watched your terminal velocity video again. I do not believe the top hand is the pivot point. I believe the pivot point is the inside the handle of the bat, between the hands. If the top hand was the pivot point, I believe the top hand would absolutely, 100% need to swivel or the bat wouldn't go anywhere. Do you agree to that? I also don't believe the pivot point provides power to the swing, but that it merely allows the barrel to accelerate to contact on a pendulum. Further, I believe the rear hip then provides additional speed (whip) and power while the hands do not move in relation to the body.

In your demonstration of the "HI swing", to me it looks like you lean back, not tilt. This causes the barrel to dump, not the hand pivot point. Early on, my biggest issue with the "HI swing" was the lean back because I did not understand tilt and how the rear hip drive causes/provides the tilt. (I'm not sure "everybody" is on the same page with what tilt is...)


SBFamily - HI is definitely not a "polite" forum. Think of it as a cross between a religious war and a baseball clubhouse. It is certainly not for everybody. Just be prepared and forewarned.

 

[SBFAMILY]

But taking someones post of a kid hitting and putting it on another site without permission is crossing the line in my books. Why I and many other will not post any of our players swings on here. I will keep using RVP and four frame to see what my players are doing while looking at the best in the world without getting all the negative comments. Plus I'm not sure without a parents permission you can post swings like some are doing on here without a release..

 

[Tewks]

But taking someones post of a kid hitting and putting it on another site without permission is crossing the line in my books. Why I and many other will not post any of our players swings on here. I will keep using RVP and four frame to see what my players are doing while looking at the best in the world without getting all the negative comments. Plus I'm not sure without a parents permission you can post swings like some are doing on here without a release..

I believe somebody posted Carterball's swing from HI without permission. (It may have been pulled from BBF - either way it is CB's son post without permission.) I do not post my players swings without permission, which is why I posted myself.

If there isn't something already, perhaps the terms of conditions should be amended so that videos cannot be pulled and posted elsewhere. IP addressed can be tracked down if prosecution is required.

 

[1chapterahead]

I like the reverse hand drill! It teaches you what you SHOULD be doing with the TOP hand when it's NOT reversed!