Posted by: () on Fri Apr 19 09:30:58 2002

Thorp and Chip:

You both make good points. "Level" is a highly relative word, as is the term "shoulder drop". Both Jack M. and Mike E. indicate as much, i.e. regarding the "level swing" .. "level in respect to what?". Safe to say, there are some margin points where the shoulder is either in alignment, or has dropped (i.e. uppercut swing).

Perhaps the problem is the reference point. Perhaps the shoulders should be level in regards to the pitch trajectory? On an overhand curve, sinker, or two-seam pitch that tails down, perhaps the batters shoulders will be juxtaposed to the path of the oncoming ball. On a fastball, with a flatter trajectory, his/her shoulders might be almost level with the ground.

Then there is the timing issue. Certainly, as the batter opens up (with the "bottom-hand" arm, or lead arm extended, as it pulls the bat forward), and the bat head nears the end of it trajectory, the "top-hand" shoulder is going to dip a bit. An early dip is clearly bad, while a late dip is obviously part of the swing.

So, I guess I'd have to say that the shoulders are never completely level, except perhaps, as Chip points out, on a high pitch where the bat head might be level to the shoulders.

Well, I'm talking in circles now, and not sure if I'm helping Duane out much. I'd say in summary that:

* An early shoulder dip is bad news, as it will cause an upper-cut swing in which the bat will fail to properly match the trajectory of the ball.

* An early shoulder dip is probably indicative of either early opening of the left shoulder (linear) and/or improper rotation about a horizontal axis (centered on the belly button), rather than a vertical axis. If we can't come to a common description of what constitutes a "problem", we can't help Duane (or others) fix the problem. I think we'd all agree that we've seen hitters "upper-cutting" due to an excessive early shoulder drop, and that a swing that moves up over the ball trajectory is not a good thing for the players batting average. Guys, if "early shoulder dip" doesn't describe what we want to correct, what does?

* A good "fix" drill for linear hitters is the two-tee drill. Coaches (this on included) usually use this drill to teach batters to "swing down" on a pitch (front tee lower than back tee), to develop and "inside-out" swing (tees side-by-side, at about the same level). I'd recommend the first variation, but keep the front tee slightly higher than the rear. If the batter "upper cuts", he/she'll hit the front ball. If the bat matches the trajectory of where a pitched ball would be, he/she'll hit the forward ball cleanly. Obviously, as I said in my first post, the first step is to ensure the batter starts with a proper hitting stance.

* The best fix for rotational hitters would seem to be drills to emphasize proper rotation of the hips and shoulders, and/or top-hand drills to ensure the hands drop early in the swing (during the inward turn), and not the entire shoulder. Others on this site have more experience with rotational hitting theory, and can better speak to this.

Good luck.. Scott