Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Feb 1 23:00:02 2001

>>>Does anyone think hitting a lot off of a tee can hurt your mechanics?

I feel like when I go long periods without hitting live pitching but just a lot off the tee my swing is not as good. Should I just not swing when I cannot get to the cadges? <<<

Hi Bill

Although I spend more time hitting a heavy bag than off the tee, I also find that going too long without live pitching can cause problems with my mechanics. After a while my motions become to deliberate – not fluid enough – too direct, like throwing darts. So, I find it helpful to self-toss balls and hit them into a net – like hitting infield/outfield practice. This seems to allow rhythm back into my swing.

I have noticed that many players have better and more fluid mechanics while hitting balls (self-toss) to their friends than they exhibit during batting practice. --- Take a video of a player with batting problems and note the difference from self-toss to the batting cage. --- Do boys still get togather (no coach in sight) and just hit balls to each other?

Jack Mankin