Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed May 26 11:37:09 2010

>>> I was wondering.....as I am overhauling my swing, I am finding that when I take my stride and turn inward my hands are going back and UP! They are ending up around ear level and sometimes higher. Any suggestions on how to keep the hands down? It isn't consistent at this point, as I can tell in BP when I am hitting the towering pop ups I have elevated my hands too high as it is giving me a massive uppercut. But when they stay down, I am really driving the ball well and have seen a tremendous improvement in the way the ball rockets off the bat! (Thanks Jack and John for the lessons!!!).

So, is there a drill that I can practice to keep the hands from elevating and is it okay to start from the inward turn and go from there or am I going to lose too much by eliminating the stride? <<<

Hi Joseph

Having the hands to high in the launch is a problem I find in many new students. In order to rotate the hands that high (ear level) normally requires the lead-elbow to be bent 90 degrees or so. Launching to swing from that position does not produce maximum results. For one thing, the trajectory of the arms and shoulder rotation is far more vertical (like a Ferris-wheel) than the swing plane which is about 45 degree. Maximum energy is transferred when the lead-arm, shoulders and bat all rotate in the same plane.

Secondly, launching the swing with a boxed lead-arm normally results in the batter breaking one of my Absolute rules -- The angle of the lead-elbow 'must' remain constant from initiation to contact.-- Most of these batters make contact with a fairly straight lead-arm and the straightening out of the elbow during rotation is a killer (see video below).

Joseph, here are my recommendation. (1) Have no more than a 20-degree bend in your lead-elbow during your inward turn. You should find it more difficult to get your hands to high with a straighter arm and it is closer to your contact angle. The hands should be about shoulder high when you initiate rotation.

(2) Think of your "inward turn" and shoulders rotating more like a tilted 'Merry-go-round' than a 'Ferris-wheel'. Study Sosa's rotation and swing plane angle below. -- All these suggestions are for both "stride" or "No-stride."

4 Good Hitters -- Lead-Arm

Poor use of the lead-arm

Sosa -- Swing Plane

Jack Mankin