Posted by: Alex (ftblboy@hotmail.com) on Wed Mar 26 10:24:57 2008

> I would love to see a close up of that grip. I have it on VHS at home but could not find it on the net. An amazing amount of power can be generated by overlapping the hands. I really cannot see how he could apply THT with the grip he was using.
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> > I guess my point is that the bat head accelerates past the hands naturally without the application of torque, so why apply the torque early in the swing? I have experimented extensively with actively applying torque to the bat and I was able to generate some decent power with it. However, it caused the bathead to be too circular and not in the hitting zone long enough. Also, the initiation of top hand torque early in the swing caused the bat head to often dip and cause weak fly balls.
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> > Recently, I have just been letting my hands go and concentrating on good lower body rotational mechanics. The results have been stunning. My batspeed has increased 7 MPH and I can hit a softball up in the lights on a 300 ft field.
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> > The mechanics I use for my upper body is simply initiating the hands in the proper direction (away from the body) and letting the hands go in a natural path without any conscious torquing of the bat.
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> > I believe there are 2 primary keys to creating mad pop:
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> > 1.the straightening of the front leg just before impact is crucial to getting a rapid hip turn. The straightening of this leg is one of the keys to power that is often overlooked and a weakness in many hitters mechanics. This is probably the single most important thing I have learned about creating power with the lower body.
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> > 2. There cannot be any separation of the hips and shoulder. Both must turn together and in unison.
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> > I think Jack's animation of Sosa (I believe it is his swing- link below) is very telling. Just before impact the left leg bars and this thrusts the back hip forward and it creates mad pop. His belt line actually rises about 3-4 inches just before impact. This is the thing that great hitters do best. When the hips turn fast, the shoulders turn fast, and this action is imparted to the hands with a sling shot effect. Eventually this energy is transferred to the bat head (no active application of THT needed, IMO.....just let those hands go and maintain a firm but loose grip).
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> > That's the way I see it and thousands of hours of batting practice has led me to this conclusion.
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> > http://www.batspeed.com/mechanics.html
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> Hi,
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> I agree with some of the things mentioned.
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> I don't think one needs to drive the hips with the front leg. Rotation causes the front leg to straighten if you are turning the hips. To much front leg stuff causes the backside to become weaker, and you don't get that good turn to swing the gate. It can be done and you might be getting good batspeed from doing it.
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> Shawn

Shawn I have found that if i get out on my front leg... even with great lower body rotation..... that the ball goes straight up. I also have found to get that great golf ball like hit. The one where the ball rises as it goes is to put your hips through a split second before your shoulders and hands. Also a good tip on holding the bat whether it is baseball or softball is to grip the bat with your pinky finger off the end of the bat. This gives your hand that great "whipping" action that you want in a great power swing.
Alex