Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jul 9 22:34:45 2002

>>> Jack recently wrote: "For those that do not believe the force of the top-hand with rotational mechanics is directed back toward the catcher during pre-launch or initiation, please explain what you think Bonds or Sheffield is doing with the top-hand that causes the bat-head to accelerate back toward the catcher. Do you seriously believe that thrusting the top-hand forward would cause the bat-head to accelerate backward? "

I have a feeling that this is directed toward some of my previous posts that seemed to occur when Jack was out of town (or away from the board). There seems to be a consistent mis-interpretation of my questions/assertions. I keep posing the the assertion that "pulling" to initiate THT does not really have a place in realistic hitting. When I suggest this, it is not a question of the bat accelerating back toward the catcher - I can see that it happens. It is the mechanism that I question and have yet to receive either a serious or adequate reply. Jack demonstrates on his tape a pulling mechanism that looks approximately like an archer pulling a bowstring. This requires that the top hand slide around the handle of the bat between initiation and contact. I am claiming that this does not occur, and am still seeking an example - any pro player that I can look at a slow motion clip that demonstrates this would be quite interesting. Every slow motion replay that I have seen from some of the best hitters clearly shows that the top hand does not slide around the bat handle and the hand is not in a position to "pull" with the fingers. Yet the acceleration of the bathead back toward the catcher is clearly occuring. I hate to keep repeating myself, but no one has provided an answer yet. So - what is the best method/drills to teach top hand grip/mechanics to initiate top hand torque? - pulling with the fingers just doesn't seem to be practical. Thanks, Daniel <<<

Hi Daniel

I apologize for the delay in responding to your post, and your patience is appreciated. You make a good point that a batter can apply tht without the need for the hands to slip around the bat. Barry Bonds is an excellent example. However, there have been many hitters whose swing suffers from using tht with a fixed grip. Below is a copy of a previous post that explains the reasons for my advocating a grip that would allow the top-hand to slip around the bat.

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“One of the most important things to remember about the "grip" - is not to grip tightly - at least not while using the top hand mechanics used by the better hitters today. The angle between the wrist can constantly change during the swing. Too tight a grip with both hands can cause the wrist to bind (or roll) and produce an inconsistent swing plane.

Some of the major mechanical flaws I am seeing while reviewing players’ swings begin with the grip. In fact, I found it necessary to add a video clip to the Swing Reviews explaining the problems a hitter gets into from gripping the bat too tight or wearing sticky batting gloves. When most batters initiate their swing with a high back elbow (to apply more top-hand-torque) the top of both hands are almost in-line. This means the angle between the wrist is from 145 to 180 degrees, but as the swing proceeds and the hands approach contact, this angle decreases to about 15 degrees. If the grip is too tight or the batter’s gloves (or bat handle) will not allow the top hand to rotate (or slip) around the bat there is going to be a large build-up of pressure on the wrists. Something will have to give!! This causes a decrease in bat speed and the bat wobbles in through the swing plane.”
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When doing video swing reviews, one of the first things I look for is whether the lead-wrist is forced to bend downward as the bat nears contact. For the reasons mentioned above, I find many hitters with a bent (or drooped) lead-wrist with batters who have a high back-elbow in their launch position. During my study of the swing, I found a “drooped wrist” led to a real reduction to a player’s hitting performance.

Why are Bonds and other good hitters able to exhibit tht and a fixed grip with no apparent problems? They take a grip with the wrist in the position you would want near the contact position. When the wrists are straight, the angle between them is only 15 to 20 degrees and the elbows are fairly close together at contact. Then, as the elbows separate in the launch position and the back-elbow elevates, you can see the wrist bending to allow for the fixed grip. Therefore, there is no pressure on the lead-wrist as the hands come back to the contact position. However, players whose wrists are straight and take a grip with a wide angle between the wrists in the launch position cannot maintain a fixed grip for the reasons mentioned above.

Daniel, when I have batters practice the “7-iron drill,” (as shown in The Final Arc) they have their wrists straight with high hands and back-elbow. From this position they must take a very loose grip and allow the top-hand to slip around the club. The same is true when they progress to using a fungal bat, and then a regular bat. Therefore, my students adopt a loose grip with straight wrists. However, as Bond’s grip proves, my way is not the only way to teach a good grip for tht.

Jack Mankin