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hi all, fairly new to the boards. my son was a graduating senior this past year and is a left handed first baseman. He has a very unusual batting quark that has me puzzled. He holds his hands with a space between them on the bat. He says that this gives him more bat speed through the zone. Now so far in the past 2 years of him doing this, hes had no problem, but as he advances through bigger and better things is this a concern at all? thanks
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Blue-

Not that you actually have any clients at all... you prob def don't have any playing at a high level anywhere... and i assume the majority of the people on here do not work with major leaguers.. which means they swing metal...

so show me the youth player who generates enough velocity that his bat bends.... we all know wood can bend... we've seen it in tv when a hurricane come and blows trees...
actually dog... your pic does not show a batter getting the "whip" effect in his swing - though wood bends... that bat is bending at contact... in effect, that is nothing more than the coefficient of restitution (COR) which is just the the bend with reference to the ratio of incoming velocity to outgoing velocity (impact)....

surly this thread wasn't talking about how much bend someone can get at the point of impact... but more so the "whip" of the bat through the hitting zone - as it tries to reach the point of impact... aluminum bats will do the same (at impact)... i.e. the "trampoline effect"...
thought discussion was as bat was traveling to make contact...
Last edited by Diablo con Huevos
As a fisherman, and a fly fisherman as well, it should be noted that much of the action that creates "whip" in a fishing rod to enable one to cast is generated by wrist action. I believe that swinging a bat can involve a similar action with great success resulting in average and power. In fly fishing you shoot the line with wrist action as you cast (you actually cast the line, not the fly). All correct casts utilize the wrist.
Last edited by floridafan
quote:
Originally posted by floridafan:
As a fisherman, and a fly fisherman as well, it should be noted that much of the action that creates "whip" in a fishing rod to enable one to cast is generated by wrist action. I believe that swinging a bat can involve a similar action with great success resulting in average and power. In fly fishing you shoot the line with wrist action as you cast (you actually cast the line, not the fly). All correct casts utilize the wrist.




Floridafan,

Absolutely right! I believe Ted Williams learned this many years ago and it helped him become a better hitter. I don't think he put the video of him fly fishing in his hitting tape just to throw it in, I think he was giving us clues.
dog-
yes, wood bends... major leaguers can generate that power with wood... where is your youth kid bending his bat...

and the b.s. the bat manufactures tell us about bats bending perfectly and the "whipping" back right before contact - are you kidding? that is the marketing behind selling those bats to the dads that think it is the bat that makes the player...

ask any physics teacher at any institution if that "bend" in an aluminum bat "with the perfect swing" can even be tested to be proven true or false.... it is a sales gimmick by the bat people.... stop drinking their Kool-Aid...

feel free to put another pic of another major leaguer on here swinging another wood bat....

Another major league player that hit with his hands apart was Roger Maris. Maris dismisses the fact that a hands apart grip robs you of power. 61 in 61 was pretty damn good! I was a First Team All American in college. I also gripped the bat with my hands apart. I started doing it when I was 18. I used it in college, and continued to do so the rest of my career. Wood bats or Aluminum, it didn’t matter. I can only share why I did it, and how it worked for me. I weighed 178 pounds and swung a 35”-33 ounce  Aluminum bat, my junior and senior year in college. Same with wood. Aluminum bats back then were heavy and not very balanced. This was in 1976. There were no Easton Big Barrel Bats yet. I worked very hard at strengthening my hands, forearms, triceps, shoulders, etc. The number one thing, a hands apart grip did for me, was keep me Palm Up-Palm down throughtout my swing. Top hand palm up, bottom hand palm down.  I was able to keep the barrel through the contact area a long time. It’s commonly called   “ Staying thru the ball”, and all good hitters do that. Eventually the top hand rolls over in following through, but it was well after contact. I was not a top hand release guy.  Prior to going to that grip, I was too top hand dominate. I rolled my top hand over too often. It also allowed me to have very good bat control, and bat speed. I hit for average, I used the whole field, and I hit for power. I didn’t strike out much, and I didn’t walk much. Simply put, I didn’t get cheated! My goal was to hit the ball hard somewhere. That grip allowed me to do that with pretty good consistency. I just felt my hands worked better about an inch or so apart. I felt stronger with my hands that way. I swung a 48 ounce lead bat in practice. Not BP, but dry swings and during soft toss Id use it. So again, I can only speak for myself. I got very good results with my hands apart. I don’t know why Manny Ramirez or Maris used it, but it worked for them as well. It’s pretty much what’s comfortable and what works for individual hitters. Hope this helped. Good luck!! 

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