Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu May 6 09:09:47 2010

>>> Thanks everyone! The information on this site has helped me immensely over the last couple of years. There is one thing still bothering me:

How firmly should the top hand hold the bat ? Should the fingers keep the bat pressed against the top part of the palm throughout the entire swing or can the bat swivel in the hand. For example I find I let end fingers unroll slightly when the back elbow is brought up/back and then tighten up during the swing.

I have played recreational (but competitive!) league baseball in Australia for 35 seasons (summer + winter leagues) without much batting instruction, and am seeing week by week improvement as I slowly untrain my bad habits. My 6 year old son has started TeeBall and I plan to use all the information on this site to get him swinging properly from the start. <<<

Hi Dan

I recommend to my hitters to grip the bat in the fingers with just enough pressure to keep the bat from flying free. This is especially true for the top-hand. I suggest having the fingers loosely wrapped around the handle as THT is being initiated. This allows the knuckles to realign as the elbow lowers.

Below is a link to Archive posts on this topic. If you have further questions, feel free to ask.

Jack's Archives -- "The Grip"

Jack Mankin