Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Sep 7 16:53:34 2003

>>> Jack, You say that hand strength is not a big factor in the rotational swing, and that gripping the bat too tight can lead to problems. Don't you feel that even with a relaxed grip at stance, that a hitters hands will firm up at impact? If that is the case, would not hand strength be of benefit to the hitter? Just because a guy has strong hands does not mean that he will grip the bat too tight does it? Would it be better to have weak hands? <<<

Hi Doug

At one time I also thought that a strong body position and firm grip would aid in driving through the ball. But a number of tests ran by bat companies proved this not to be the case. They found that for a given bat speed, a bat swung as a free object (like on a rope) would hit a ball just as hard as a bat welded to a heavy flywheel. Therefore, the firmness of the grip at contact has no bearing on ball flight.

Jack Mankin