Posted by: George () on Wed Aug 29 20:14:42 2007

> I'm working with some talented hitters. Both are catchers. One just signed Division 1 and the other is entering his senior year. Both generate some pretty good power and the ball jumps off their bats. I would describe both as rotational hitters who cut across the ball. Catcher 1 severely upper cuts and hits with lots of top spin and his balls don't carry. He does hit the ball extremely hard, though and has great hand eye coordination. Catcher 2 comes around the ball slightly and casts the bat. They both don't feel comfortable getting their hands back. I like to advocate as you stride, your hands should go back to the catcher. I can't get them to really get their hands back far enough. I really want catcher 1 to square up his stance and get his hands back and get more extension. He seems to roll over very quickly. With catcher 2 who kind of sweeps I had him concentrate on getting his hands back to a good hitting position and feeling the barrel and throwing the barrell. He looked very good today with lots of pop. What are your suggestions for these hitters.


cjsiak. Just a thought, but you might want to have them experiment with prelaunch torque. See Alfonso Soriano, David Ortiz, Paul Konerko. Also you might want to have them start like Manny Ramirez who starts with his hands up and uses a slight leg lift, which automatically takes the hands back as a load.