Uppercut Swing

[Ken Krause]

I know what this is, but how do you use it effectively if one is attempting to match the plane of the swing to the plane of the pitch? Thanks.

Here's what I do. When I set up the line, I will usually anchor the end by the hitter around the knees of thighs. I hold the end you pull around my stomach, which sets up a downward plane.

From there I have the hitter take a swing without using the ball. Her goal is stay connected, then have the bat lightly slide along the string for as long as she can. Once she reaches extension, she finishes. Sliding the bat along the swing demonstrates getting on-plane.

The next step is to shoot the ball at them. Amazing how many young hitters can get on-plane without the ball but swing under the string when the ball is coming. Most likely it has to do with dropping the hands to swing across instead of staying connected to the back shoulder and swinging from the top down.

Hope that description helps you visualize it.

 

[Darrick Brown]

Regarding level shoulders. Too much tilt means you have a zero chance to hit a riseball. Should the shoulders be prefectly level? Well, a little tilt is ok as long as we can still get the hands through a strike up in the zone. You should see my swing, I tend to have a little tilt, and if you throw me up in the strike zone chances are good that it's gone. Too much tilt I will own you with the rise ball. One of my big rivals in college had kids that would just tilt and try to hit homeruns and we beat them with a steady diet of riseballs. I am sure you can show me clips where a hitter beats the odds and still hits a high pitch out with too much tilt but collapsing the backside isn't what I like to teach.

 

[Darrick Brown]

As far as the zip line is concerned I thought it was a gimmick as well. I think I stated in a different discussion that Derek Jeter is from my hometown and I played against him my whole life. His old travel team the Maroons is part of my training business. We tested it out with some of our older kids and we got very good results.

 

[Flash101]

Ken - zip line

Thank you - that's helpful.

 

[Scummer]

Regarding level shoulders. Too much tilt means you have a zero chance to hit a riseball. Should the shoulders be prefectly level? Well, a little tilt is ok as long as we can still get the hands through a strike up in the zone. You should see my swing, I tend to have a little tilt, and if you throw me up in the strike zone chances are good that it's gone. Too much tilt I will own you with the rise ball. One of my big rivals in college had kids that would just tilt and try to hit homeruns and we beat them with a steady diet of riseballs. I am sure you can show me clips where a hitter beats the odds and still hits a high pitch out with too much tilt but collapsing the backside isn't what I like to teach.

Shouldn't the tilt of the shoulders should be dependant upon the location of the pitch? The higher the pitch, the less the tilt, and the lower the pitch, the greater the tilt. The hands should be coming off the shoulder and you bring the hands to the ball. If that is true, then the shoulder need to bring the hands to the ball. You don't drop the hands to get to a low pitch, you tilt more.

 

[Mark H]

Not sure if you are talking about the same tilt DB is but I agree with you.

 

[Scummer]

Not sure if you are talking about the same tilt DB is but I agree with you.

Was DB talking about tilting backwards towards the catcher? I'm not a fan of that either - seems to me you are taking away forward momentum from the swing at contact. I am a newbie to all of this so my apologies for my ignorance. I just went through some of the other posts, and you (Mark) and others have really shown me how little I know. Sincerely - my head hurts with all the terms and analysis you have all gone through - regardless of what theory you all support, I think you all would be great coaches to help my daughter advance. I'm going to mostly sit back and read for now on as I realize I have little to offer in terms of intelligent, well-studied insight. The one thing I do have a question about though - is what is the definition of an elite hitter? I see many references and clips to them. I think my ideal elite hitter is different than some. When I see clips of ex-Red Adam Dunn as an elite hitter I begin to laugh - or get nauseated - not sure which reflex is stronger. I am actually a Reds fan, and though he can hit a long home run, my idea of an elite hitter is not one who leads the league in strike outs (even if he is one of the top home run hitters). He is in the pros and therefore is an elite hitter by default, but I'm talking about the best of the best. My elite hitter is someone who hits for average and power - A-Rod and Bernie Williams come to mind. I am a huge fan of Sean Casey which shows I also take BA over power. So why am I saying this? It seems like many are looking for the perfect swing. Does the perfect swing differ based on the type of hitter you want to be? Does linear lend to higher average and rotational lend to more power? Does a combo of linear with rotational lend to power and average? This is what is going through my head and what I'll be trying to determine while reading your posts. Thanks very much to all of you for being so informative regardless of which theory or school you support.

 

[Darrick Brown]

Scummer, first of all nobody is on here trying to show up anybody else or determine who is better. We all love softball and love to talk about it and this forum gives us the opportunity to talk to other coaches, instructors, and parents. Don't hesitate to post. I think the hardest part is explaining through a post when your job everyday is simply showing with live examples. My point above was to watch too much tilt backwards or collapse of the backside. Also, yes there are posts that are mind boggling and are very scientific. Understand that everybody has their own terminology depending on the tools or software they use to improve their knowledge on the swing. Ask questions (we all do) if you don't understand and by all means post.

 

[Mark H]

Scummer,

I'd say you sound pretty sharp so far. My elite hitter definition would be high ops=slugging% plus obp. Given you seem to have an appetite for reading I would suggest Siggy's Hitting Clips - ImageEvent the analysis page on this link as well as the two working links at the bottom of the page.

 

[Scummer]

Thanks Mark, a couple quick questions about the analysis page. I'm looking at Ortiz's right (front) elbow in #14. The caption states he is remaining in the box, but it appears to me that elbow is doing the exact same thing as the guy is doing in #19 in the 'fence drill' and supposedly doing it incorrectly. I do not see the difference between 16 and 19 - where should I be looking?
Also, in #18, it says he is disconnecting. Is this because he brings his hands through in a linear motion which creates space between hands and shoulder since the shoulder is rotating? I too thought that was supposed to be how we do it. I thought the body rotates while the hands travel on a linear motion to the ball. Should they remain the same distance from the body/shoulder and therefore come through in a curved motion such as what the shoulder does?