Posted by: The Hitting Guru (hitman3527@aol.com) on Thu Jan 5 20:13:36 2006

> My son is seven and I'm trying to get some input on a proper bat grip. I read opposing opinions and wanted some general feedback from the forum on the proper grip and the what could result from an IMPROPER grip.

The result of an improper grip could cause a player to prematurely roll over his top hand or cause him to pop up unecessarily if he is using a choke grip. Any grip that inhibits batspeed is not warranted.

There are no absolutes in this regard, as a lot has to do with what feels comfortable. And often what is comfortable leads to success. But as a general rule, line the back knuckles of the top hand with the middle nuckles of the bottom hand fingers. This is known as the standard grip. (See Dusty Baker's book "You can teach Hitting".)