Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Fri Dec 8 12:25:19 2000

I think now may be a good time to bring the discussion back to what the board was designed to accomplish - "A frank and open-minded discussion of the baseball/softball swing." It seems clear to me that discussing personalities can make little advancement to our understanding of the swing.
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> So, I will ask a question about a batting principle that has bothered me for some time. -- Why is hitting the "inside of the ball" called GOOD while hitting the "outside of the ball" is Taboo?
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> I am thinking of adding an article to my "Truism or Fallacy" list on the subject of hitting the outside pitch. Your input would be most helpful.
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> Jack Mankin
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Jack-

I find "hitting the inside of the ball" a good cue for some students to promote a circular handpath.Kids will have a tendency to drag the bat(fence drill type problem)which needs to be avoided.They can usually differentiate between the feeling of keeping the handpath from straightening and the reality that where the ball goes is a sign of where contact was actually made and may or may not confirm the ball was actually struck inside of center regardless of the feel.If there is good early batspeed the ball is more often hit flush or slightly to the outside,even when the cue of hitting the inside is used.One way to counter the bat dragging tendency is to make sure you try to get the bathead out as soon as possible via hand torque.