It came to my attention that players that are in the habit of releasing their top hand for whatever reason they do so may need to be careful not to be releasing prematurely.
Players may fall in love with this technique, and allow it to creep earlier and earlier into their swing. It does not take much to release after contact or on the follow through to then find oneself releasing at contact or even before contact.
Obviously you do not want to release before contact, but I have seen excellent hitters allow this defect to creep in over time.
Not only is the top hand the hand that imparts power into the swing, thereby losing substantial power when releasing prematurely, but releasing the top hand before contact also allows the club head to change position resulting in miss hit balls.
If you are experiencing a loss of power or a lot of miss hit balls, check some film to verify that you are not releasing early.
As a scout recently said, "you spend a lot of time in the gym to build those muscles, what's the point if you are going to let go of the bat?"
Original Post
