Bat Speed -- Baseball Hitting Forum

Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Wed May 7 08:47:15 2003

I'm in a bit of a rut right now to the point that I'm "just missing" way too many pitches. I've taken a look at my swing on video tape and have noted that from a crouched postion I'm "popping" my body upwards which then leads to an uppercut swing on pitches low in the strike zone. I've tried to stand more vertically in order to eliminate the popping and uppercut but it hasn't seemed to help. Anyone have any trick stances, drills, or anything that might alleviate the popping and uppercut?

This can definitely be a tough one.Ted Wiliams advice get on top more/level out the swing,etc. is good for a pro who gets rotation started well(rotating,not swaying).In that case,guys are leaning back too much/lifting the ball too much,lengthening the swing from a shallow "U" to a steepr "V".

If you are not a pro,it's more likely you are not getting rotation started well,which I personally find more difficult with a more upright axis.You can break the sway instead of rotate habit more easily if you bend at the waist more as for a low ball,moreso(encourage full rotation more) for the inside low ball you really need to turn on.Work on the basics of getting rotation started.Body needs to be twisting/separating into toe touch.Weight needs to get somewhat forward by toe touch.Epstein type cues for rotating include tilting the body back and dipping the shoulder.You have to learn this as a feel distinct from "backside collapse" and "keeping too much weight back".Work on this basic move for inside low and then graduate to other locations.

Jack points out the importance of the handpath/sequence.Another thing that messes up rotation is the top hand push at initiation or what Lau Jr would call "top hand dominance".You can try open top hand drills,or you can delay your hand loading slightly so the top hand doesn't mess things up.Or you can take the top hand out of it by resting the bat on the deltoid.

I would experiment with these various things and see if that helps.

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> I'm in a bit of a rut right now to the point that I'm "just missing" way too many pitches.  I've taken a look at my swing on video tape and have noted that from a crouched postion I'm "popping" my body upwards which then leads to an uppercut swing on pitches low in the strike zone.  I've tried to stand more vertically in order to eliminate the popping and uppercut but it hasn't seemed to help.  Anyone have any trick stances, drills, or anything that might alleviate the popping and uppercut?
> 
> This can definitely be a tough one.Ted Wiliams advice get on top more/level out the swing,etc. is good for a pro who gets rotation started well(rotating,not swaying).In that case,guys are leaning back too much/lifting the ball too much,lengthening the swing from a shallow "U" to a steepr "V".
> 
> If you are not a pro,it's more likely you are not getting rotation started well,which I personally find more difficult with a more upright axis.You can break the sway instead of rotate habit more easily if you bend at the waist more as for a low ball,moreso(encourage full rotation more) for the inside low ball you really need to turn on.Work on the basics of getting rotation started.Body needs to be twisting/separating into toe touch.Weight needs to get somewhat forward by toe touch.Epstein type cues for rotating include tilting the body back and dipping the shoulder.You have to learn this as a feel distinct from "backside collapse" and "keeping too much weight back".Work on this basic move for inside low and then graduate to other locations.
> 
> Jack points out the importance of the handpath/sequence.Another thing that messes up rotation is the top hand push at initiation or what Lau Jr would call "top hand dominance".You can try open top hand drills,or you can delay your hand loading slightly so the top hand doesn't mess things up.Or you can take the top hand out of it by resting the bat on the deltoid.
> 
> I would experiment with these various things and see if that helps.

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