Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Oct 4 19:01:35 2000

>>>The batter you used to demonstrate the hitting mechanics is obviously Sammy Sosa during the homerun derby. The thing is that there is only one Sammy. Not everyone is as strong as him or as athleticly gifted. In his swing he has a slight uppercut to the ball. How do you overcome that? When adding the power to the ball you naturally upper-cut, how do correct that part of the swing?
I agree with what you teach, I hit the same way myself but because I am not as good as Sammy yet I miss balls I shouldn't because of that slight upper-cut. How do I fix it?<<<

Hi Tony

Welcome to the site. This post is related to the subject below, "It's just a turn." Both subjects are centered around the angle of the swing plane at contact. --- When referring to a swing as "level", we should also ask the question, "level in reference to what?" Since the ball is angling downward in reference to the ground, the bat would stay in-line with the balls flight longer with a "slight upper-cut." A bat swung level (parallel) with the ground would be cutting through balls line of flight, which offers a shorter time-frame for making contact.

So Tony, I would doubt that the "slight upper-cut" in your swing is causing you to miss balls. I have conducted film reviews of many hitters and the results reveal that the bat waving in the swing plane (bat going above and below the plane) is the biggest culprit of missed balls or balls not hit squarely. The premature wrist-roll and the grip that leads to a bind in the wrists are most often at fault for an irregular swing plane.

Jack Mankin