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[video=youtube;3G9hfzOvV9o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3G9hfzOvV9o[/video]
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I just posted the same video on another website a few days ago -- did you see it there ? One guy said he didnt like the video at all , says he teaches using the top hand to direct the upward angle of the bat at " 6 inches prior to contact" Hes a big " top hand to the ball guy " I'm not all . I dont think the top hand doesnt do anything but follow the lead of the bottom hand , because its the lead elbow ( bottom hand) that determines bat angle and bath. Or it least it SHOULD .
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Read about the tool the bat jack. It is used with the top hand. Grip is very important with the top hand.
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Yeah I'm a fan of the bat jack, I've ordered two and both got " borrowed" by kids I was helping out .. I agree about the grip but the guy on the other site said he instructs the lift or incline just prior to contact to be guided by the top hand . To me he seems like he gives preference to the top hand for providing proper bat path and angle while I think its the bottom hand ( Lead elbow really but where the lead elbow goes the bottom hand follows)
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A book, The Physics of Baseball by Robert K. Adair handles this subjects pretty well in my opinion. I adopted his examples of Reggie Jackson and Rod Carew. Jackson hit up on the ball as much as 14 to 20 degrees and hit many high towering home runs and a lot of high towering outs.
Carew was hitting balls at 8 to 10 degrees and although he hit his share of home runs he may be sliding into second base and Jackson was walking back to the dugout however both had their role to play for their teams and their hitting styles.
Adair pointed out the mean angle of the ball leaving the bat. So I took my tee and put it 4.5 feet from my net at 29.5 inches high. I used a long piece of wood and placed a contractor protractor on it and measured where 10 degrees would be and then 26 degrees. This put a line at 39 inches from the floor and 51 inches from the floor respectively. This gives us a target to hit in of 12 inches. The 39 inch line at 86 feet which is second base distance from home, puts the ball at about 7 to 9 feet high. This gets it out of the infield and if the ball is at the 51 inch line it could possibly be out of the park. Higher than 26 degrees it may be a pop up or may not leave the park.
The "BIG Zone" or the bat entering the hitting zone and exiting the zone. We use caution tape and two clothes pins at clinics and tie the tape on the net to a tee and then put a home plate under the tape. The hitter slowly loads, separates to toe touch, Elvis move and then box. The bat is now over the tape and this is your first opportunity to hit the ball and you put a clothes pin on the tape. Now continue to parallel to contact and when the bat pulls off the tape mark it with a clothes pin. Measure the distance between the clothes pins. This is the BIG Zone. Most hitters are less than 45 inches. When the proper mechanics and swing plane is understood you will see 50 to 55 inches very quickly!
AP has a 60 inch BIG Zone as measured through GQ the magazine 2008. Bustos has a 68 to 72 inch BIG Zone as measured by me and SBfamily as he and his daughter helps at clinics.
Most of you who play golf may practice at a driving range and they have targets and measurements so you know how far the ball went. You have a green with a flag so you know how the ball reacts.
By marking our nets we do the same thing. We even have a center line so we can tell what goes wrong in the swing as to pulling the ball when trying to hit a pitch up the middle. It gives instant feed back and we can correct the mechanics and try again.
We also teach situation hitting by showing them how to hit down on the ball and to hit targets on the net based on the results we are trying to achieve. It gives them a great understand on how the elevation of the lead elbow actually changes the flight of the ball.
We like using the Bat Jack as it encourages a good grip with the top and bottom hand.
With every thing we teach we make it measurable, observable and we can test to see if the hitter can see it, feel it and fix it. It makes it much easier to teach when you try to teach why the ball does not go where you want it to go and then show them how and they can see the results.
Dan hope things are going well for you and the family.
Carew was hitting balls at 8 to 10 degrees and although he hit his share of home runs he may be sliding into second base and Jackson was walking back to the dugout however both had their role to play for their teams and their hitting styles.
Adair pointed out the mean angle of the ball leaving the bat. So I took my tee and put it 4.5 feet from my net at 29.5 inches high. I used a long piece of wood and placed a contractor protractor on it and measured where 10 degrees would be and then 26 degrees. This put a line at 39 inches from the floor and 51 inches from the floor respectively. This gives us a target to hit in of 12 inches. The 39 inch line at 86 feet which is second base distance from home, puts the ball at about 7 to 9 feet high. This gets it out of the infield and if the ball is at the 51 inch line it could possibly be out of the park. Higher than 26 degrees it may be a pop up or may not leave the park.
The "BIG Zone" or the bat entering the hitting zone and exiting the zone. We use caution tape and two clothes pins at clinics and tie the tape on the net to a tee and then put a home plate under the tape. The hitter slowly loads, separates to toe touch, Elvis move and then box. The bat is now over the tape and this is your first opportunity to hit the ball and you put a clothes pin on the tape. Now continue to parallel to contact and when the bat pulls off the tape mark it with a clothes pin. Measure the distance between the clothes pins. This is the BIG Zone. Most hitters are less than 45 inches. When the proper mechanics and swing plane is understood you will see 50 to 55 inches very quickly!
AP has a 60 inch BIG Zone as measured through GQ the magazine 2008. Bustos has a 68 to 72 inch BIG Zone as measured by me and SBfamily as he and his daughter helps at clinics.
Most of you who play golf may practice at a driving range and they have targets and measurements so you know how far the ball went. You have a green with a flag so you know how the ball reacts.
By marking our nets we do the same thing. We even have a center line so we can tell what goes wrong in the swing as to pulling the ball when trying to hit a pitch up the middle. It gives instant feed back and we can correct the mechanics and try again.
We also teach situation hitting by showing them how to hit down on the ball and to hit targets on the net based on the results we are trying to achieve. It gives them a great understand on how the elevation of the lead elbow actually changes the flight of the ball.
We like using the Bat Jack as it encourages a good grip with the top and bottom hand.
With every thing we teach we make it measurable, observable and we can test to see if the hitter can see it, feel it and fix it. It makes it much easier to teach when you try to teach why the ball does not go where you want it to go and then show them how and they can see the results.
Dan hope things are going well for you and the family.
