Posted by: Andy () on Thu Feb 14 09:17:23 2008

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> > Jimmy,
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> > Overemphasizing keeping the head down to see the ball puts undue stress on the neck muscles. That was the point of the original post. Of course, every batter wants to see the ball as long as possible. But having the head "down" at contact puts hitters in an restrivtive posture. I see many youth hitters overemphasize having their head looking down at home plate, and they have very unnatural, unathletic swings.
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> > The eyes can track the ball without the head moving much. Head still is a better cue than head down.
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> I agree that overemphasizing isn't going to help anyone. Looking down at home plate isn't going to help either. What does help is having your head position in a manner that your face is comfortably facing the hitting zone which is in front of the hitter.
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> Watch any video of Major League hitters and you will see their head in the position that I advocate...on the ball in the hitting zone.
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> Jimmy


This is the position that I would consider as down...
http://www.cincinnati.com/reds/springtraining/img/ivan150x200.jpg

In this position the eyes can see the ball as long as possible, and the head is not restricting the other body parts from moving fluidly.