Posted by: george stanley (saint_george13@yahoo.com) on Sun Dec 23 09:24:42 2007

> > > > > When my hands start to go to the ball, they are a little below my shoulder. Maybe about 1-2 inches. Will this always cause my to hit fly balls. my swing looks a lot like Bill Hall's, the Brewers centerfielder, in case taht mattters
> > > >
> > > > Joe,
> > > >
> > > > IMO your hands are fine where they start. The question I would have is what they do after they start. Do they loop down and then back up? At contact do they push down or flaten out?
> > > >
> > > > Graylon
> > >
> > > They form a kind of circle path
> >
> >
> > Joe,
> >
> > If your hands are forming a circle path that is from your rear shoulder to your waist and then back to you lead shoulder while in your swing, then the barrel will follow this same path and dip down through the path of the ball deep in the swing and then come up through the path at contact, causing you to swing up at the ball.
> >
> > If you can try to keep your hands at chest level as you swing, your adjustment to the location of the pitch will be done with the tilt of the shoulders and the hinging of the back knee, you will have a better chance of staying on a level plane to the pitch.
> >
> > A drill I like to use for this is the Epstein Enforcer drill. Some people don't like this drill but I think it has good results for certain instances and this is one of those instances.
> >
> > Graylon
>
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZIn77K0Z7E
> thats a video of me in fall ball this past year. ive learned much more about hitting since then, but thats the only game video i have. Hopefully in the spring ill have much more. But, I remember hitting that pitch. It was very high, and i remember throwing my hands at the ball. The ball was hit on a pretty good line.

hey joe!
do not ever underestimate the poewr of gravity... despite what anyone might tell you, to be coming up on a high pitch will slow you batspeed to the point you will not get thee in time... thus popping up, fouling off, or missing completely.. always keep your hands as high as comfortably possible.. from this vantage oint you will be coming down even if just the slightest bi will accelerate your bat enough to get you thee in time to drive the ball instead of popping it up. start with your hands eye-high before the pitch is released, & go from there.