Posted by: Scott W. (stwinton@netzero.net) on Sun Jul 16 21:33:08 2006

> > What can I do to stop bat wrap with my 12 y.o.? He has no problem seeing the ball but batting is inconsistent due to his wrapping the bat far behind his head. Was told this by a reputable HS coach, said his strength and bat speed are incredible for his age and size but the bat wrap is going to end his hitting if not stopped. Help.
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> Not True. If a kid has the strength and or athletic ability, the bat wrap is not a bad thing. Carl Yastremski and Julio Franco wrapped the bat their entire careers. Franco is about 47 and still in the major leagues.


Guru...
Yaz and Franco are the extremes...most mortals that will never play at the MLB level CANNOT get away with it. Jim Lafeaver (sp?) talks about this (type of rap)in a good way (had him demo it on me about 10 years about in Europe) about being strong and being able to keep the 'cocked' angle of the top hand wrist up until contact, me and another college coach tipped our hat to him but both agreed that it in most cases for the players we coach, it would lead to a long/barred out path to the baseball. Point being, you have to be VERY strong to get away with it!

Tell your son on his load to take the bat back into the launch position with his top hand, that should keep the bathead from getting to far around/behind his head. He probably loads with the bottom hand.

Do a ball drop (not soft toss) drill with him…big time rappers can’t do it.