Note everything these great swings have in common. All of these things are described in detail below. These are imperative to hitting well with wood.
1. Starting with the grip.
2. Palm up, palm down at contact (NOT a roll, that's after contact)
3. Extension out front.
4. Head down, down, down, even after contact.
5. Look closely at the left elbow tucked close to the body on 1st 2 pics ( that is HUGE) It keeps your sweet spot in the contact zone longer.
6. Hands to the ball.
7. Now look at the lower half - Balance after the swing.
8. Hip rotation.
9. Left leg turned, up on toe.
10. Right leg rigid to allow hip to turn.
These guys all hit this way for a REASON. They are all great swings that are necessary for the best wooden bat hitting. You should all know most of this stuff by now, but those damn aluminum bats have gotten people at lower levels away from the best way to hit with wood. You'll notice all great hitters do all of these same things.
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Guys, here are some of my old ways that can help with wooden bat swings. Take the time to read it and utilize it.
You guys that know me know that I really work on hitting. Hitting is one of those things that can be overcoached and one should analyze each hitter individually. My teams have always hit really well because I make my guys work hard on it. It's especially tough with new, young teams that have never hit with wood. Although we don't have the time to work on it in most cases, swinging a wooden bat is still different than aluminum. You have to develop a shorter swing. You guys have to really work on this swing if you want to do well with wood. I’m obligated to teach you this, but it doesn’t come easy. You must be willing to change some things, but mostly it involves a lot of redundant, boring swings and drills. Not everyone is willing to put in the effort to become a great wooden bat hitter. But that’s what separates the men from the boys. That work ethic was a huge factor in you guys making the roster. I know most of you will be very successful with this adjustment. I think aluminum is the worst thing that has happened to baseball. Be that as it may, your job now is to make up for a loss of 15-20 % in power when converting to wood. We now have to increase your bat speed and power drastically. The vast majority of coaches at lower levels don’t but should make the young players work out with wood. Whether it’s funding, lack of knowledge, or just plain laziness doesn’t matter. The task at hand is to do everything we can to make up for that loss of power. That includes many different things that can be done inside during the winter. This conversion to wood involves several things which I’ll explain here.- One is a wooden bat has a much smaller sweet spot as you guys know. That’s why they are marked in practice. You must work on getting that spot to the ball. Because of this smaller area, we must change your long aluminum bat swings to a shorter swing that allows this smaller area of the bat to stay in the hitting zone a longer period of time. Now, you might say how much can this possibly matter? Remember always that very small increments of time saved are HUGE in baseball. That’s in every aspect of baseball. When you see a 90 MPH fastball, that little bit makes all the difference in the world. It gives you a fraction of a second more time to see the ball, and that can be everything.
You all should know by now what a short swing is and why you must develop it.
Now, most of you already have a great short swing that needs little or no adjustment. You can always work on shortening up a little more, say for a 2 strike count. Some of you still have a longer swing that will burn you in wooden bat baseball. Many people can recognize when someone has a long swing, but very few know exactly why it’s bad for a wooden bat and what to do about it. We must change your swing to a short swing. Why? Well, a short swing does many things.
– It allows the quickest path to the ball. The bat head accelerates much faster through the hitting zone. That means increased bat speed and power.
– It gives you more bat control for the better pitching you will see. You have better control of the strike zone along with more patience.
– You’ll utilize the very important power of your wrists at the proper time, not before like a long swing.
– You can start your swing later and your bat and sweet spot stays in the hitting zone longer to allow you more time to see and adjust to the ball. With a long swing, you must start your swing a lot sooner, that means less time to see the ball.
- With more time to see, you can more easily recognize the type and location of the pitch and take it wherever it is pitched.
–This is HUGE-- You will be able to drive the ball to the opposite field with power a lot better.
– Your timing is more forgiving.
– You won’t swing at bad pitches as much as you will have more time to make a decision.
– When you master it, your average will go up.
– You will strike out less.
– You will be ready and more confident in anticipating curves, offspeed pitches, or fastballs.
– You’ll have the correct extension, out front where it should be.
– The power lost switching from aluminum will be compensated for.
– Every good Major League hitter utilizes this swing. ( Bonds, Jeter for ex.)
– You must have this swing if you want to further your baseball career.
– There is less effort for a short swing so less chance for head movement.
- It allows you to stay balanced easier during and after your swing by minimizing that long, swooping movement.
Let us just go over the components of the swing for review:
Some of these things seem elementary, but they are FUNDAMENTALS and always need practiced:
1. The all important grip: So many hitters don’t realize the importance of the correct grip and some of you still don’t do it the right way every time. The proper grip allows the most resistance free path to the ball, and therefore maximizes your bat speed. If you grip too deep in your hand, you can feel your front elbow raise up and your wrist will roll BEFORE contact with the ball. That’s a fact, yet many hitters do it. It can be more comfortable to grip it deep as you hold it, but it will hamper your swing and speed. Don’t underestimate the importance of this. Remember, your most powerful swing starts here.
2. Balance: Of huge importance, of course. Remain balanced throughout your swing, even when transferring your weight. Start with even weight distribution while waiting for pitcher, then shift more of your weight ( 60/40 or 70/30) on back leg when timing pitcher. Use this weight shift as a timing mechanism of the PITCHER. ( You can start with your weight back if that’s your preference).
3. Stride: Your stride has to be easy, and small. It’s not a lunge and your weight must remain back. Everyone at some point has heard this “ Step away from your hands”. That means bring hands back into a ready to swing position as you take your stride. This is where you are timing the BALL, not the pitcher. Step onto your toe.
4. Hip turn: As your front heel goes down, your back heel comes up and starts your all important hip rotation. This is where your power comes from. Stiffen your front leg to assist the front part of your hip to stop and allow the full rotation of the back part.
5. The 1st part of the swing should be nothing but a pull of the bat across your chest until the knob hits around the front hip, then start the arc of the swing. Throw those hands to the ball and stay inside of the ball, including inside pitches. That will keep the inside pitch fair.
6. Contact, (palm up, palm down), then roll.
7. Extension out front.
8. Nice full follow through. Stay balanced after the swing. So many jump all over the place after the swing.
Now, with all of this said, some Coaches feel a need to change every new player that comes their way. I DON'T believe in that way of thinking.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it applies here many times.
Don't get me wrong, many need fixing, and the best hitters are always striving to get better.
You have to be careful how you handle hitters mechanics.
Sometimes it's only an hitting approach issue and not necessarily mechanics.
