Posted by: Dan (daniel.miechels@gmail.com) on Sun May 9 18:53:47 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.
>
> <a href="http://www.batspeed.com/products05.html#2A">Jack's Archives -- "The Grip"</a>
>
> Jack Mankin

Thanks Jack!
That's the information I was looking for, my problem was caused by having my knuckles wrongly aligned at launch (ie. small angle between forearms). When I tried to bring my back elbow up and back, I was pulling the bottom half of my top hand off the bat. It's also a very weak wrist position for THT.
Now that I align the knuckles correctly and allow the bat to turn in the top hand through the swing, it's all falling into place.