Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Jul 12 22:28:06 2001

>>> If I "pull" the bat back toward the catcher at the beginning of the top hand torque(with raised back elbow) - my top hand must rotate around the handle to be in a hitting position by contact. With a wood bat - this is possible. With an aluminum softball bat with a leather grip - it's rather difficult because my hand doesn't slide and rotate very well on the leather. If I hold my top hand in a hitting position from the start (with a low back elbow), I can initiate top hand torque by pushing the bat back toward the catcher with my palm (toward the base of the thumb). This seems to be a better way to go with a "grippy" handle. Does anyone else have this problem? Is there some mechanical reason not to do this? Am I breaking a kinetic chain or losing power that I don't realize? Thanks, Daniel. <<<

Hi Daniel

I agree the leather grip on bats presents a real problem while applying top-hand-torque. But I do not think the modification to your mechanics you outlined is the answer. There are batters who wear "grippy" batting gloves that do not seem to have a problem. They must have a very light grip with the top hand. I also think that would be your best bet.

For those who do not understand the problem, I am re-posting an article on the "grip" I made earlier.

>>>One of the most important things to remember about the "grip" - is not to grip tightly - at least not while using the top hand mechanics used by the better hitters today. The angle between the wrist can constantly change during the swing. Too tight a grip with both hands can cause the wrist to bind (or roll) and produce an inconsistent swing plane.

Some of the major mechanical flaws I am seeing while reviewing players’ swings start with the grip. In fact, I found it necessary to add a video clip to the Swing Reviews explaining the problems a hitter gets into from gripping the bat to tight or wearing sticky batting gloves. --- When most batters initiate their swing with a high back elbow (to apply more top-hand-torque) the top of both hands are almost in-line. This means the angle between the wrist is from 145 to 180 degrees. But as the swing proceeds and the hands approach contact, this angle decreases to about 15 degrees. If the grip is too tight or the batter’s gloves (or bat handle) will not allow the top hand to rotate (or slip) around the bat there is going to be a large build-up of pressure on the wrists. Something will have to give!! This causes a decrease in bat speed and the bat wobbles in through the swing plain. --- That's why Big Mac grips the bat very, very lightly with his top hand.

So, there is no one “grip” or “knuckle alignment” a batter can maintain from initiation to contact if he plans to use top-hand-torque (raised back elbow) to start the swing and bottom-hand-torque to finish it. The batter must hold the bat lightly with the fingers of the top-hand and allow the fingers to roll (or slip) around the bat as the swing proceeds. A normal grip of the bottom-hand will keep the bat from flying free. <<<

Jack Mankin