Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Mar 25 20:25:18 2002

This question is regarding a slowpitch softball swing. I'm not necessarily looking to hit homeruns. Just looking to hit the ball hard and level. I have found that by keeping by back elbow down towrd my side before the start of my swing, promotes a much more level swing, thus allowing me to hit hard line drives. Whereas, when I used to keep my back elbow up (almost parallel to the ground), I found that I had a wave in my swing, which caused my hitting to be inconsistent. I know it's all about personal preference and if you want to hit homeruns you have to have a slight upswing, but I would rather have a higher average with little to no homeruns, rather than a lower average with a couple dingers.
Does my elbow theory sound correct?

Hi Randy

I would say that your theory is probably correct for a good majority of hitters. Few hitters have the mechanics to take advantage of the leverage a high elbow offers. Most hitters’ mechanics extend the hands away from the back-shoulder as they initiate their swing. For a raised elbow to be of value, the top-hand should be pulling back toward the catcher as the elbow lowers. A raised elbow offers a strong position for pulling the top-hand back, like an archer pulling back on the bow string.--- Below is an e-mail I just wrote describing the value of top-hand torque, it may add to this discussion.
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“Average hitters, from the Little Leagues to the Pros, launch their swings with a fairly static bat. This means that at the start of the swing, much of their energy is spent overcoming the inertia of a motionless bat. This gets the batter behind the power curve (bat dragging) right from the start. The best hitters, like Barry Bonds, have the bat-head cocked more forward toward the pitcher as they read the incoming pitch. Then, they accelerate the bat-head back toward the normal launch position by pulling the top-hand back toward the catcher. This means they already have an accelerated bat-head (not static) as they initiate the full swing. --- That is "pre-launch or top-hand torque."

PS: Cocking the bat-head forward just to bring it back to a static launch position is of no value - the bat-head MUST continue to accelerate through initiation and the lag position.”
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Randy, you are also correct in pointing out that a “wave or dip” can occur in the swing plane when using a high elbow. I have stressed many times that batters attempting to use top-hand-torque MUST NOT grip the bat too tight with the top-hand or what you have described can occur. --- As the elbow raises, the angle between the wrist also increases. With the Back-arm parallel to the ground, the angle between the wrist may be 130 to 160 degrees. At contact (palm-up, palm-down position), the angle should only be 15 to 30 degrees. If the hands are not allowed to slip, or rotate, around the bat, serious wrist binds occur. That can definitely cause waves or dips in the swing plane.

Jack Mankin