For Review

[BatSpinner]

Not the best quality of video, but you get the jist.

I have been taking some of the things brought up on here and trying to apply them. Lately I have been concentrating on letting my lower half start before my hands, and getting my elbow to the slot.

[BatSpinner]

A link would help....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlv_ZvRRS2U

[Jake Patterson]

A link would help....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlv_ZvRRS2U

Your bat path seems flat. The head of the bat should be pointing slightly down. Check Abreu -
27560

[BatSpinner]

Would that be a front shoulder issue?

Trying to rework it after a bunch of years one way is difficult.

[Jake Patterson]

Would that be a front shoulder issue?

Trying to rework it after a bunch of years one way is difficult.

I think your positure needs to be tilted a bit. See this:
27562

Compliments of Paul Nyman

[jbooth]

Would that be a front shoulder issue?

Trying to rework it after a bunch of years one way is difficult.

I think it's a pretty good swing. Your lower half looks good to me. The swing appears flat, IMO, because several of the pitches were pretty high, and others outside.

Hard to tell in full speed from this angle, but it looks like you are early on most pitches, and pulling outside pitches. Your hands seem, from this angle, to be going toward the pitcher too long.

The hands should fire off the back shoulder after rotation of the shoulder and go to your left. I think you did it on some, but not on others. If you are early on a pitch, that's what happens. You straighten out the elbows and move the hands at the pitcher to slow the bat down. Exactly, why the cue "take the hands to the ball" is a bad idea. Take them "inside the ball" (to your left), with an initially bent front elbow. The front elbow straightens to move the sweet spot to the ball. If you don't have to reach for the ball, the elbow should be bent as it starts left.

Like this;

see how his bent elbow and hands, both go away from the ball. He doesn't straighten the elbow and push the hands toward center field, the bent elbow and the hands go to right field.

http://firstpickclub.com/video/bonds5.gif

[Jake Patterson]

Jim,
Look at the third pitch. It seems to be at about the belly button. Bat Spinner looks like he dips to keep his bat path flat. A product of a linear teacher???

[BatSpinner]

Jim,
A product of a linear teacher???

That is an understatement. Swing down on the ball, hands to the ball...and on and on...

[BatSpinner]

I think it's a pretty good swing.

Thanks.

Your lower half looks good to me. The swing appears flat, IMO, because several of the pitches were pretty high, and others outside.

Yes a lot of them were belt high.


The hands should fire off the back shoulder after rotation of the shoulder and go to your left. I think you did it on some, but not on others. If you are early on a pitch, that's what happens. You straighten out the elbows and move the hands at the pitcher to slow the bat down.

I have never thought about straightening out the arms to slow the bat head down, but this is exactly what I'm doing.


Exactly, why the cue "take the hands to the ball" is a bad idea. Take them "inside the ball" (to your left), with an initially bent front elbow. The front elbow straightens to move the sweet spot to the ball. If you don't have to reach for the ball, the elbow should be bent as it starts left.

Those cues are very helpful. I was always taught to hit the inside half of it, but this cue of taking the hands inside the ball is more of a 'power' or 'drive the ball' mentality than hitting the inside half of the baseball.

[jbooth]

Those cues are very helpful. I was always taught to hit the inside half of it, but this cue of taking the hands inside the ball is more of a 'power' or 'drive the ball' mentality than hitting the inside half of the baseball.

This is a good example of misapplying a cue. The cue "hit the inside half of the ball" is simply a different way to think about keeping the hands inside. You took it to mean literally hit the inside of the ball, and you wound up pushing the bat at the ball.

The change of direction of the knob is what accelerates the bathead. If you just send the hands in a straight line, the head will not whip and accelerate. It has to be pushed with force form the hands, and unless you are a gorilla, you won't get the head going as fast as you can by pulling the handle in.