quote:IMO the idea of staying on top of the ball all started when someone caught on to the fact that most fastballs are missed below the ball. That was before there were so many sinker ball pitchers.
PG; I agree but going a step further it is relative to the era when the high fastball was used more. Good hitters like fastballs and good power hitters love high fastballs. The cue "stay on top" in that instance, is just a reminder to not dip/drop down (with knee and hips) as your first move to the ball or it will be by you whereas to elevate a lower pitch hitters drop to get to the plane of the baseball if they want to elevate the ball in that particular situation.
So match happens from the initial set-up, where the hands and barrel are above the baseball "strike" pitch, to the movements required to match the bat barrel to the arrival point of the center of the baseball in the strike zone. Although the barrel must "move down" to get the ball you wouldn't want someone teaching to "swing down."
I like how I once heard Barry Bonds describe hitting; "it's like catching a baseball with your glove except that you are catching it with the sweetspot of the bat."