Posted by: Rich H () on Sun Mar 16 17:52:42 2003

i am way confused on the whole top hand pull being pulled back to initiate the swing and just need someone to go more in depth with it for me...thanks.

Get into your stance...top hand take your thumb that is on the bat facing the pitcher and put it on the other side of the bat so that it is now facing the catcher. this is called the thumbless grip, which of course you would never use to hit, but will make this demonstration more effective. in this position freeze everything and just drop the rear elbow to your side(NOTHING ELSE MOVES!!) the wrist are frozen but they have to rotate to let the elbow down. the palm will end up face up. all this motion was from the shoulder joint. now bring the elbow back up to the starting position. the top hand is holding the bat with it's fingers. now drop the elbow again and at the same time pull the fingers back toward the catcher. this enhances the arch and the torque which translates into speed. when the elbow hits the side the torque is reversed and is now being applied toward the pitcher... hope this helps. Rich