Posted by: grc () on Sat Feb 16 08:11:36 2002

Many of my h.s. hitters have been taught to push out at the o.s. pitch and let the barrel drag.Some can do this but they seem satisfied if they just hit it that way,many times not hard enough for a hit.I find that their hands are near the front of the plate and their barrel is near the back of plate.I have started doing straight toss and getting them to stay back and hit the back of the ball even with the lead knee.They swing just like it is inside but wait longer and have a little larger swing radius,just like getting a tighter swing radius on the inside corner pitch.They are finding that they more consistently hit the ball hard.My biggest problem is staying back and not getting fooled off speed.Any thoughts on how you can keep them back so I can compare to what I'm doing.
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> > > > > RQL-
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> > > > > I think you just need to keep working on having them hit this ball hard.This will be a much quicker swing to the ball than their old push swing,so it does take some adjusting,but that just comes from recognizing the location and trusting your mechanics.I think a key "feel" difference is an emphasis on extension for this location as opposed to turning on the ball for the inside location.The extension cue for outside location(even though extension happens after contact)is important to prevent decelerating("giving up on swing")before contact.The right kind of extension comes when "connection" of the front upper arm is maintained until after contact.
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> > > > > The "wait on the ball" or "let it get deep cues" are a little risky because they are inaccurate.Torso turn (relative to the inside pitch)IS delayed,but this is made up for by more tht/Bathead "extension"(again relative to the inside/"L" still in back elbow mechanics).The desired contact point is still perpendicular to the pitch with maximum batspeed.So in any case make sure you don't encourage trying to push the contact spot back or disconnection of the front upper arm.
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> > > > > If you avoid these suboptimal cue interpretations,then lots of practice until it becomes automatic should improve the tendency to be early.Stick with it.
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> > > > >>Tom,I have found that my better hitters do not hit the dead back of the ball middle/in ,they hit the outside of it and pull it hard,however they hit it just at the front of plate or slightly forward.The key is they have the barrel a little ahead of hands.Now when they take the os pitch and hit it near the back corner of the plate to half way up to front corner then they really hit it hard up the middle.they have taken the same swing I believe just with more extension as you said,but it seems to me they have hit it further back as we see on the tee.Do you feel the middle in pitch is hit at the back of the ball perpendicular,if so how do we pull it.I feel the extension cue is good idea to stress but if they try to hit back of ball on inside they will jam won't they.Remember where Piazza hit his way inside fb in series,off the foul pole.Please expand on this if you have time.
> > > Hey Tom and Rql
> > > For me, to have any power on the outside pitch, i have to get extended. If my back elbow is in the power L on the outside pitch then its just a lazy pop up to the right fielder. My back arm needs to become near fully extended for me to carry the fence going to opposite field.
> > > The Hitman
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> > i have previously referenced a number of clips showing major leaguers fully extended on the outside pitch....respectfully, grc...
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> grc-
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> This begs the question- What is extension? or "full" extension?
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> ?the hands turning the bat until it is lined up with the arms?
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> ?the arms coming away from the body?
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> ?the "L" coming out of the back elbow?
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> ?the arms creating a "V"?
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> ?just before or after wrist roll?
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> My thinking is that for middle in you have the bht type hand action with more hooking of the handpath as the location moves inside and a full torso turn with "L" in the back elbow at contact.
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> Some(?most)require the tht type hand action to reach the outside pitch.Less torso turn and "L" coming out of back elbow before contact.
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> In either case there needs to be tight connection.This is assured if the handpath remains circular or hooking,however for the outside pitch there is great danger of disconnection unless the upper front arm stays tight against the torso through contact.If you look at the players you see near/at extension,they should not have "casted" the front upper arm away from the torso prior to contact or they will have decelerated before contact which lessens power and ruins timing of the swing(duration of swing becomes inconsistent and timing error increases).Ideally(to optimize timing),the sweetspot of the bat is positioned to make contact for the outside location perpendicular to the line of the pitch(optimizing timing error by excellent batspeed and aiming for contact in the middle of the zone that produces a fair ball with as short a swing radius as possible)by less torso turn and more bathead "extension".This is a more difficult swing to "time" because there is less time over which the torso is energized from energy transfer from the lower body,and the bathead must be swung out further to transfer energy to the bat before contact."Extension" is because the bathead is swung further out and the hands can get slightly away from the axis of rotation only if some flex at the front elbow comes out before contact,but without the upper front arm casting.


tom....at http://www.setpro.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000618.html i pointed out several specific examples and specific frames.....with ulead's gif animator program it makes it so much easier to point to specific frames.....to me, full extension is the top arm being straight....on the other hand, on an inside pitch it isn't necessary for the top arm to be fully extended because of full hip rotation ....
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> How do you interpret the "extension" you see in video?