Posted by: Melvin () on Mon Feb 10 14:00:03 2003

I'm trusting this one will set everyone off...and here's the zinger. My buddy and I think "top hand torque" is not initiated by the "top hand" but rather the rear elbow. We've been Batspeed.com fanatics for a few years and are devout rotational coaches, so don't accuse us of going linear...it won't happen. But in dissecting the drills and getting the kids to think about top hand, we ran into lots of problems, until a few weeks ago when someone posted the Barry Bonds frame-by-frame on USA Today.
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> After literally spending several hours with Bonds frame #3 and #4, we determined that the top hand did nothing until well after the oar-lock was established, and then contributed some lateral flexion driving the top hand around the bottom as the bottom pulled back.
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> What we did see, is that the barrel of the bat developed momentum by a lowering of the rear elbow with a stiff wrist (ie the wrist did not rotate around the forearm axis, it did nothing) as the hips and shoulders rotated. This is also mentioned in Jack's frame-by-frame analysis on Frame #1...but not neccessarily emphasized. We now think it is the core mechanic. In adjusting the kids, we have "closed" the grip (top 'door knockers' on last knuckles) and been a tad firmer with the top hand/wrist, while loosening the bottom hand. We are also 'bracing off' the lead leg from a slightly deeper stance to drive more energy into the hip rotation. When we make these adjustments together with our bottom hand techniques, the bat speed jumps and the hand path smooths out. We're exited.
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> If Jack and John could throw some light on this I'd appreciate it.
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> Thanks.
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> Andy

Folks

This poster nailed it. Manipulating the back elbow into the so-called slot while maintaining a stationary top hand is the key to best of all swings: the one that gets the bat head moving before a swing decision.

Also, the back elbow in good hitters doesn't slid into the slot, it fires in there in a chicken-wing fashion, as though trying to strike the batter on his own chin. Direction can change based on pitch location, though. As always, the elbow moves, but the hands don't go forward.

To maximize bat speed, elite hitters add radial deviation of the bottom wrist at the same time they move the elbow while keeping the hands stationary.

Of course you have to coordinate all this with the stride or timing move and stretch position, but that's not too hard.

Melvin