Bat Speed -- Baseball Hitting Forum

Posted by: RQL () on Tue Oct 10 21:36:27 2000

> > > I followed your thread of a few weeks ago with interest. My 12 year old son is a very good example of this as he hits predominantly to left and left-center and tends to hit grounders to the right side.
> > > > > > > Can you give details and specifics of how you built up your left side strength and balanced your top hand action in your swing.
> > > > > > > What exercises? Weights? You mentioned one-handed swings. What else?
> > > > > > > We have already gone out and worked some on finding the contact point for hitting to the right side. This will be our winter project so I want to do it successfully.
> > > > > > > Thanks.
> > > >
> > > > It has nothing to do with you son throwing right and batting left. I am the #4 hitter at my high school and I pull the ball all the time. It has to do with his mechanics.He has to get the bat head out front.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > > TO #4 H.S. HITTER I 1ST STRESSED A DIFFERENT MECHANIC TO PULL THAN FOR GOING AWAY.BUT ALSO WHEN YOU ARE USE TO HITTING AWAY AND YOUR BOTTOM HAND IS DOMINANT YOU MUST CONSIDER THAT THE BOTTOM HAND KEEPS TRYING TO DOMINATE ALL THE WAY TO THE BALL AND YOU NEED TO ALLOW THE BACK ARM TO BALANCE OUT AT A POINT IN THE SWING SO YOU CAN EXTEND HIGH INSTEAD OF L;OW AND ELEVATE THE BALL.STRENGTH NEEDS TO BE BALANCED OUT BUT YOUR RIGHT THAT WHEN TRYING TO PULL WHEN YOU USUALLY GO THE OTHER WAY THERE WELL NEED TO BE SOME MECHANICS CHANGES OR ALL THE REAR ARM STRENGTH IN THE WORLD WONT HELP.IF YOU HAVE HAD THE PULL MECHANICS ALL YOUR LIFE ITS HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THAT LEAD ARM DOMINATES THE SWING PLANE WHENGOING THE OTHER WAY THEN TRYING TO STOP IT WHEN YOU TURN ON AN I.S. PITCH.
> > > > > >
> > > Still there is nothing wrong with hitting everything the other way. The guy that bats #3 at my H.S. is a strict push hitter but he does it with some power. You can be a very good push hitter.
> > > >
> > > I agree with both of you - Matt's mechanics need to be adjusted AND I am now seeing that he has dynamics and a throws right/bats left hitter that a righty/righty doesn't have. Since I am righty/righty, I just don't live in that world.
> > >
> > > He will probably always be a 'push' hitter to some degree and that is not a bad thing. But I think it is in his interests to have gap to gap doubles power. That is the dimension I would like to see added. What do you think?
> > > m.d. i will assume he is hitting up the middle to opp.field,if he is hitting mostly ground balls and line drives now tell me if he uses what i call an a-c ax swing in which his launch position is pretty much where his hands ars in stance.Some even point knob at pitcher and come straight to him with hands.If this is his swing i think we can work from there on the adjustments,if different tell me more.
>
> RQL - Yes, line drives and hard grounders from 3rd base line to up the middle. Only 2 balls pulled - both grounders to 2nd baseman. Only 1 popup in 25 at-bats this Autumn in his first season on the 'big' field.
> In your terms, Matt has an a-c ax swing. But doesn't pull the knob of the bat toward the pitcher.
> Last night, we did some Tee work. One handed/top hand swings were a really new thing for him. They felt and looked different. He used a lighter bat. He had to bring his hips through a lot more - a lot more back-side work. Then did some hitting off the Tee to pull/drive balls to the right side. The combination of the two drills seemed to have a good effect. But this will need a lot of repetitive practice. M.D.,your son was similar to me but if not knob 1st then how does he swing?OK,top side the front arm is controling and pulling longer with out rotating.the barrell head path to the ball is down and more likely to hit ground ball to second when he gets out front and the weight shift approach uses the back hip mostly pushing the hip open to point to short or between short and pitcher up the middle. So when you want to pull your hips are cutting off early and the lead arm is pulling linearly to far but your mind is what is telling your body it wants to pull but with this mechanic you end up just getting the bat head a little out front of the hands and that angle with the a-c swing down hits the ground ball right to 2nd base.if he uses those same mechanics up the middle opp.field then he can hit consistent line drives and ground balls to other side because the hips are opening to exactly where they are suppose to and the lead arm is controling and leading the barrel head or easily keeping the barrel head perpendicular to the ball to go back up the middle.this with a probable right eye dominant may allow him to have a little closed stance and see the ball well still and enhance is middle out hitting but hinder his pull hitting.You say he needed back side work but consider this his lead hip may not be use to rotating as much as the rear.A cue is to twist on inside using bothmore the same.Also the front shoulder needs to pull back more with the twist, it is use to pulling forward, staying in longer,inside outing.How does he hold his bat in stance, knob direction.dont change any of that hes working on enough but it helps to know.anyway he has to find that contact point that well pull the ball into the hole not to second and put it into muscle memory.Man on 1st, and 2nd goes up the middle more for 2, theres a big hole to pull a ground ball and the runner goes to 3rd, then everyone bunching up the middle in his old strength area.The area in the back to work on to me is the elbow,and slo mo tape here is your best chance of telling whats really going on.For me the elbow seemed to get pushed more forward and not drop much, there by keeping the downward slant to the hands and the bat head above the hands longer going down.However if you want him to hit the ball over the 2nd basemans head into gap or further he will need to pull down further with back elbow more vertical and an earlier punch like motion forward from there this tends to get the hands more parallel to the ground {the vert. elbow} called launch position and supposedly the beginning of the swing.This gets the bat on the plane of the ball often coming up slightly at ball while ball comes down slightly.{10 degrees}this lifts the ball up.controling this backside elbow, torso twist and pulling back with lead shoulder while controling the plane of the swing for me with front shoulder to bottom hand is the task at hand.going from one style o.s. pitchto middle then another style inside is tough and I used the idea in my mind look away and react in.I never knew till slo mo film that my lifting HRs had my bat head below hands and back shoulder below front .On his top hand tee work see if he can drive that rear elbow down near his back hipand pull with the lead hip back or twist and pull back with lead shoulder.

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> > > > I followed your thread of a few weeks ago with interest. My 12 year old son is a very good example of this as he hits predominantly to left and left-center and tends to hit grounders to the right side. 
> > > > > > > > Can you give details and specifics of how you built up your left side strength and balanced your top hand action in your swing.
> > > > > > > > What exercises? Weights? You mentioned one-handed swings. What else?
> > > > > > > > We have already gone out and worked some on finding the contact point for hitting to the right side. This will be our winter project so I want to do it successfully.
> > > > > > > > Thanks.
> > > > > 
> > > > > It has nothing to do with you son throwing right and batting left. I am the #4 hitter at my high school and I pull the ball all the time. It has to do with his mechanics.He has to get the bat head out front.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > TO #4 H.S. HITTER I 1ST STRESSED A DIFFERENT MECHANIC TO PULL THAN FOR GOING AWAY.BUT ALSO WHEN YOU ARE USE TO HITTING AWAY AND YOUR BOTTOM HAND IS DOMINANT YOU MUST CONSIDER THAT THE BOTTOM HAND KEEPS TRYING TO DOMINATE ALL THE WAY TO THE BALL AND YOU NEED TO ALLOW THE BACK ARM TO BALANCE OUT AT A POINT IN THE SWING SO YOU CAN EXTEND HIGH INSTEAD OF L;OW AND ELEVATE THE BALL.STRENGTH NEEDS TO BE BALANCED OUT BUT YOUR RIGHT THAT WHEN TRYING TO PULL WHEN YOU USUALLY GO THE OTHER WAY THERE WELL NEED TO BE SOME MECHANICS CHANGES OR ALL THE REAR ARM STRENGTH IN THE WORLD  WONT HELP.IF YOU HAVE HAD THE PULL MECHANICS ALL YOUR LIFE ITS HARD TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THAT LEAD ARM DOMINATES THE SWING PLANE WHENGOING THE OTHER WAY THEN TRYING TO STOP IT WHEN YOU  TURN ON AN I.S. PITCH.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > Still there is nothing wrong with hitting everything the other way. The guy that bats #3 at my H.S. is a strict push hitter but he does it with some power. You can be a very good push hitter.
> > > > >
> > > > I agree with both of you - Matt's mechanics need to be adjusted AND I am now seeing that he has dynamics and a throws right/bats left hitter that a righty/righty doesn't have. Since I am righty/righty, I just don't live in that world.
> > > > 
> > > > He will probably always be a 'push' hitter to some degree and that is not a bad thing. But I think it is in his interests to have gap to gap doubles power. That is the dimension I would like to see added. What do you think?
> > > >                                                                                                                                            m.d. i will assume he is hitting up the middle to opp.field,if he is hitting mostly ground balls and line drives now tell me if he uses what i call an a-c ax swing in which his launch position is pretty much where his hands ars in stance.Some even point knob at pitcher and come straight to him with hands.If this is his swing i think we can work from there on the adjustments,if different tell me more.
> > 
> > RQL - Yes, line drives and hard grounders from 3rd base line to up the middle. Only 2 balls pulled - both grounders to 2nd baseman. Only 1 popup in 25 at-bats this Autumn in his first season on the 'big' field. 
> > In your terms, Matt has an a-c ax swing. But doesn't pull the knob of the bat toward the pitcher.
> > Last night, we did some Tee work. One handed/top hand swings were a really new thing for him. They felt and looked different. He used a lighter bat. He had to bring his hips through a lot more - a lot more back-side work.  Then did some hitting off the Tee to pull/drive balls to the right side. The combination of the two drills seemed to have a good effect. But this will need a lot of repetitive practice.                                                                   M.D.,your son was similar to me but if not knob 1st then how does he swing?OK,top side the front arm is controling and pulling longer with out rotating.the barrell head path to the ball is down and more likely to hit ground ball to second when he gets out front and the weight shift approach uses the back hip mostly pushing the hip open to point to short or between short and pitcher up the middle. So when you want to pull your hips are cutting off early and the lead arm is pulling linearly to far but your mind is what is telling your body it wants to pull but with this mechanic you end up just getting the bat head a little out front of the hands and that angle with the a-c swing down hits the ground ball right to 2nd base.if he uses those same mechanics up the middle opp.field then he can hit consistent line drives and ground balls to other side because the hips are opening to exactly where they are suppose to and the lead arm is controling and leading the barrel head or easily keeping the barrel head perpendicular to the ball to go back up the middle.this with a probable right eye dominant may allow him to have a little closed stance and see the ball well still and enhance is middle out hitting but hinder his pull hitting.You say he needed back side work but consider this his lead hip may not be use to rotating as much as the rear.A cue is to twist on inside using bothmore the same.Also the front shoulder needs to pull back more with the twist, it is use to pulling forward, staying in longer,inside outing.How does he hold his bat in stance, knob direction.dont change any of that hes working on enough but it helps to know.anyway he has to find that contact point that well pull the ball into the hole not to second and put it into muscle memory.Man on 1st, and 2nd goes up the middle more for 2, theres a big hole to pull a ground ball and the runner goes to 3rd, then everyone bunching up the middle in his old strength area.The area in the back to work on to me is the elbow,and slo mo tape here is your best chance of telling whats really going on.For me the elbow seemed to get pushed more forward and not drop much, there by keeping the downward slant to the hands and the bat head above the hands longer going down.However if you want him to hit the ball over the 2nd basemans head into gap or further he will need to pull down further with back elbow more vertical and an earlier punch like motion forward from there this tends to get the hands more parallel to the ground {the vert. elbow} called launch position and supposedly the beginning of the swing.This gets the bat on the plane of the ball often coming up slightly at ball while ball comes down slightly.{10 degrees}this lifts the ball up.controling this backside elbow, torso twist and pulling back with lead shoulder while controling the plane of the swing for me with front shoulder to bottom hand is the task at hand.going from one style o.s. pitchto middle then another style inside is tough and I used the idea in my mind look away and react in.I never knew till slo mo film that my lifting HRs had my bat head below hands and back shoulder below front .On his top hand tee work see if he can drive that rear elbow down near his back hipand pull with the lead hip back or twist and pull back with lead shoulder.

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