Posted by: Dave A (oxagin@hotmail.com) on Mon Jul 19 12:28:03 2004

>>> Can you describe how you see the grip relating to droopy bottom wrist at contact (interfereing with palms up/down)? <<<
> >
> > Hi Tom
> >
> > A number of years ago while charting the swings of professional players, I noted a very interesting flaw occurring with some of the hitters. Just before and during contact, the lead-wrist would suddenly turn downward. I referred to this flaw as the “Wrist Droop.” Reflecting, I probably should have termed the flaw ‘knuckle droop’ because the lead-wrist is actually being forced upward.
> >
> > For some time I could not figure out what caused the lead-wrist to turn downward just before contact with some batters. However, I did notice that batting performance dropped considerably for hitters who exhibited the “Wrist Droop.” The Dodger’s Mike Marshall stands out most in my mind. He was having a good year (late 1980’s), but when the flaw appeared, his production really declined. I’m not sure he even finished the season.
> >
> > One day as I studied a hitter with the flaw, it suddenly dawned on me what was causing the wrist to droop. It was the hitter’s grip. – Almost all batters who exhibit the flaw have the back-elbow elevated as they prepare to initiate the swing. When the wrists remain fairly straight, a high back-elbow produces an angle of 130 to 160 degrees between the top and bottom wrist. However, as the hands approach the palm-up/palm-down position at contact, the angle between the wrists should be around 20 or 30 degrees.
> >
> > Whenever a batter has a wide angle between the wrists at launch, he must allow one of the hands to rotate around the bat to attain a narrow angle (20 to 30) by contact. However, if the batter starts with 100+degrees and grips the bat tight enough so neither hand can slip, something has to give. The “Wrist Droop” occurs as the lead-wrist is forced to rotate up-ward giving it a droopy appearance.
> >
> > Jack Mankin
> >
> Hi Jack,
>
> I believe that the grip has nothing to do with how effectively a hitter hits. Although I do not have the article on hand, I believe that one scientific argument stated that the grip becomes very light at contact, thereby making the notion of how well it is "supported" irrelevant. If this is so, then it follows that gripping the bat incorrectly cannot affect a hitter's performance to the degree that you stated. For anecdotal proff, just watch Ruth and Gehrig--they both choked the bat, as did the father of rotational hitting, Ted Williams.
>
> Any thoughts Jack, or JJA?
>
> Sincerely,
> BHL
> Knight1285@aol.com
>
> Some of your ideas do help hitters; however, I believe publishing volumes on correct and incorrect grips will do more harm than good, sine, at contact, how a hitter swings a bat holds "primacy" over how a hitter grips a bat.

BHL, you are completely wrong on this one. Jack pointed out the wrist droop flaw in my swing when he did my swing review analysis. It is much easier to see in slow motion from a frontal camera view. You will notice not just the knuckles drooping but the swing plane drooping. When I changed my grip and barely gripped the bat with my top hand in my stance things started to clear up. You can notice Sosa doing this in his stance, his top hand is barely on the bat at times.

Another point you are wrong in is when you mentioned Ruth, Gherig and Williams. They all did not use batting gloves which today are commonly sticky to help you "grip the bat", therefore their hands would slide more naturally. Not to mention they commonly picked up dirt and rubbed it in their palms before stepping in the batters box which also allows the bat to slide more. They also could "choke" the bat in their stance but maybe their muscles reacted differently when they started the swing.