Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu May 25 13:56:05 2006

>>> My daughter consistently hits balls foul down the left field line (she is a right handed batter), but the balls she hits fair are usually weak grounders or pop-ups. In previous posting that I have read, you say....

"If the batters is pulling the ball foul to often, we normally think of it as a timing issue and advise the batter to let the ball get in deeper before initiating the swing. However, this advice does not always work because many times it is not solely a timing problem. Much of the problem is often rooted in the batter’s swing mechanics generating bat speed to late in the swing.""

I am confused, wouldn't generating bat speed late in the swing result is balls being hit more towards the right side of the field for a right handed batter??? <<<

Hi Softball Dad

You are correct. Generating bat speed late in the swing ‘normally’ results in most balls being hit toward the right side. In fact, hitting the ball to the opposite field is what most linear batting coaches teach. They know from experience that batters whose mechanics extend the knob (rather than swing the bat-head) can run into a host of problems trying to pull the ball.

I think the best way to explain why linear hitters run into problems pulling the ball would be to review a clip of a batter performing a drill that promotes knob extension and the late acceleration of the bat-head – the “Fence Drill.” --http://firstpickclub.com/video/fencedrill.mpg – Note: I have a good number of clips of batters performing this drill and this clip is representative of what they all show.

A key reason why linear batters have problems pulling the ball is because: --- by the time the bat-head has rotated around to the pull position, the hands are arcing away from the plate toward the shortstop. Frame the above clip forward and note how far inward the hands have traveled as the bat approaches perpendicular (position to hit the ball straightaway). This means the meat-of-the-bat is also being pulled away from the contact zone. This is also what I see when doing video analysis of hitters who complain they are constantly striking out or hitting the ball weakly off the end of the bat.

I will follow this post with one that explains why good rotational transfer mechanics allow the batter to successfully pull the ball – even outside pitches.

Jack Mankin