Posted by: Andy () on Sun Oct 10 15:19:49 2004

Hi JACK,
> I'm looking forward to talking with you in regards to certain issues pertaining to the swing plane.I just have a few questions that i 'm sure you can shade some light on.I would like you to explain what type of swing plane would you advise a hitter that really can't drive the ball out of the park?Would you promote this type of hitter to focuse on a slight uppercut?I would think this would produce more fly balls that could be caught.I would think that this type of hitter would be better at approaching the swing to level off ,this would produce line drives and ground balls.I'm confused on this subject because i don't here a lot about these types of hitters being important here on this web site.I think the goal is to make solid contact whether you approach the swing leveling out or slightly up do you agree?I ask you,if the ultimate batting tee teaches a hitter to practice both types of swings wouldn't this be a useful device?

A slight uppercut IS a line-drive swing. If a hitter hits the center of the ball at 10 degrees, the ball leaves the bat around 10 degrees, it's a line drive to the outfield. If a hitter hits the center of the ball at 0 degrees (level to the ground), that ball's probably hitting the ground before the pitcher's mound, ground ball. I like to ask kids, if you could catch the ball on the bat and throw it at any trajectory, what angle do you want? They usually describe a line-drive trajectory, maybe a ball one-hopping to an outfielder. I then tell them to keep the bat moving on that plane roughly a foot before contact and a foot after contact. See the Garciaparra clip on youthbaseballcoaching.com for the effect of catching and throwing the ball at a line-drive angle. A fly ball is a 45 degree trajectory, it's more about hitting the bottom of the ball than anything else.