Posted by: sportsdoc7 (sportsdoc7@msn.com) on Fri Dec 7 18:02:12 2007

> Here is the age old question coaches at all levels preach. Why is the home run looked down upon and put into hitters heads that they shouldn't try to achieve. Often coaches get upset when they have a hitter who is hitting bombs at batting practice instead of line drive singles and ground balls. Many coaches think that it will mess a hitters swing up if that is what he tries to do. I'm here to tell you that it makes the kids swing better. If he is hitting bombs he is probably producing a great deal of bat speed because the ball is only traveling 50 mph during bp. Let the kid swing it, why not let kids achieve the highest award anyone could get through an at bat. I know many will dis agree.

Mike, as long as the youngster is maintaining good mechanics it is probably OK to let him swing for the fence in BP. However, since the ball is traveling slower in BP more batspeed will be needed to achieve the energy necessary to hit it out of the park. The youngster may lose his form trying to create more batspeed. Also, batspeed is not the only thing that contributes to hitting the ball out of the park. Angle of the swing also contributes. Line drive hitters tend to have a 5 to 10 degree upper cut while home run hitters have close to a 20 degree upper cut. If the youngster has to change his mechanics to achieve the 20 degree uppercut (a swing not natural to him because he had to change his mechanics to achieve it), then he is probably not benefitting as much as he could from BP by staying with his natural swing. Also, timing becomes crucial when using an uppercut to hit home runs. That is why power hitters tend to K more often than line drive hitters. If they are late they will be under the ball whereas a hitter with less of an uppercut, when he is late, will still hit the ball relatively squarely, but to the opposite field . In summary, BP should be used to perfect a swing and if anything is done during BP which sacrifices form and mechanics then it is probably not good overall--unless the youngster wants to permanently change his mechanics and become a home run hitter rather than a line drive hitter.

Merry Christmas.

Sportsdoc7