Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Mon Aug 26 05:50:45 2002

When batting should your door knocking knuckles be lined up? Will this keep you from falling prey to your hands working against each other during the swing?
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> > > As in most things, opinions vary. As always, check the best MLB hitters to see what they are doing. Not what they say to do necessarily, but what are the ACTUALLY doing.
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> > > Mark H.
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> Thanks. I was just watching a special on television where the Toronto Blue Jays batting instructor (his name eludes me at this time) was teaching this method. And I was wondering if it was widely accepted as the trademark hand positioning of major leaguers and minor leaguers alike.
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> John
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> > The best MLB hitters do it various ways, just as the best of them stride differently, extend to various derees differently, etc

John-
the grip varies from door-knockers lined up, to top hand door-knockers in between the door-knockers and the punching knuckles, to door-knockers lined up with the punching knuckles.
Dusty Baker in his hitting book suggests that you go with lining up the door-knockers but that the other extreme is more for power hitters.
Interestingly there is reasonable agreement that at contact, good hitters are palm-up, palm-down. Check your knuckles when in that position. They are door-knockers lined up with the punching knuckles or pretty close to that.
Jack has maintained that if you line up the door knockers, the top hand must rotate slightly around the bat handle to avoid wrist bind.

Maybe you should start from a comfortable contact point and use that grip.