Hitting and Hitters Discussion Choking Up on the Bat

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For years I have heard players told to choke up on the bat. Usually that means that the bat it too big for the batter. This brings up a point as to whether the right size bat is important or whether it is o.k. to choke up on the bat.

I recently learned that the Rockettech bat head was created for a specific reason. I learned that in order for the bat to work to its potential, the batter should not choke up on the bat.

I am curious as to what others think about this.

 

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I'm not much of a mathematician, but choking up on the bat does take away from the leverage and energy that will be transfered to the ball.
But if you can't catch up with the speed of the pitcher, I can't see having 3-5 different weights and sizes of bats in your bag to offset the speed changes, so choking up a little will will help.

 

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I saw last season a pitiful excuse of a high school coach make the batter choke up to the top of the grip for regular hitting and the big flaw here was she kept fanning on the ball as the bat couldn't reach past the middle of the plate. Smart, huh? I had a college coach who happens to wear a national championship ring simply put it that one needs to pick the heaviest bat they can manage WITHOUT sacrificing any speed off their swing. Choking up any more is pretty much for slappers. Also choking up can adversly affect when your wrists break and start their roll on the swing.

 

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What are GOOD reasons for choking up? Speed of pitcher is one. Are there others?

 

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I have always believed as a player and as a "sometimes" coach, that the biggest heaviest bat that you can zip thru the zone is what is best. More mass plus speed = good things when ball meets bat. I would NEVER place anything higher in priority though than bat speed, personally, IMHO.

I also believe that choking up an inch or less helps tremendously with bat control. When I did choke up for bat control, 1/4-1/2 inch was my preference, just enough to gain greater leverage & command of the bat, without sacrificing too much bat leverage with ball. A preferred combo for me versus fast pitching (baseball & later men's fastpich softball), as well as junk ballers.

If you want to hit home runs, and can live with some strikouts & pop-ups (high risk/reward), choose the heaviest bat that you can still get quickly thru the zone and don't choke up. Swing for the fences.

If you want to strike the ball firmly & consistently, hit line drives, with good power, gappers to showcase your jets, then take the above approach but choke up a 1/4 to 1/2 inch (amazing what a tiny bit can accomplish). Hit the ball as hard as you can and let God (the god of YOUR choice of course ) sort out the rest.

If you want to simply be a contact hitter, and have quicks, get the ball in play cause chaos, choke up more (slap, choke & poke, etc.).

Of course, bat choice (RT?, Synergy?, etc), swing plane/trajectory, swing style & teachings, etc., also have an impact and are variables/factors as well.

 

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If you choke up to get better speed against a good pitcher you are only puting a band-aid on a problem. If you are an older girl with decent experience and development then you should know when to start your swing sooner, not swing faster. I say work on reconizing when to start to commit the swing as it's a timing issue, not a bat speed one.

 

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Pickledad, you made some very good points. ?My dd is a "die hard" Rocketech-er. ?She loves that bat and hitting has always been where she shined! ?She's confident and approaches the plate with the intention of sending that ball to the green. ?Maintaining her place as 4th batter, it was usually safe to say she'd clear the bases every time she was up to bat. ?THEN, midway into our season this summer, we purchased her a new Rocketech. ?She's a nice sized girl, 5'7", 155lbs, and strong, so we thought it was in her best interest to move her up a bat size, from a 23oz to a 24oz (33 x 24). ?Doesn't seem like a big deal, one measely ounce, but it is. ?Though she was able to pull off a handful of home runs and a moderate amount of base hits, she popped those balls up more than ever, with the heavier bat. ?She's been so discouraged with the pop-ups, and frankly, so have I (as her coach). ?I'm still fairly sure she needs the heavier bat, but eliminating the pop-ups has been difficult. ?Any suggestions?

 

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Like anything else too there is good and bad in choking up. Choking up a few fingers can help you get better bat control in the middle of an at bat but if you choke too much the knob will cuff your hands.

I definitly agree with swinging the biggest bat you can but bat speed is king now a days. Back 20 years ago it was not uncommon for major leaguers to swing 36 and 38 ounce bats. even be fore that you had hammerin hank swinging a 36 ounce and Babe Ruth swinging a a 38 ounce. Today most of the big guys are swinging 30-33 ounce bats to generate more bat speed.

As for choking up there are all kinds of great hitters in their era that used heavy bats but choked up half a palm. The two most notable are Barry Bonds and the greatest hitter of all time Ted Williams. Choking up does/did not increase these guys bat speed, it gives/gave them better bat control and the barrell of the bat below their hands keeps them from breaking thier wrist too early in the swing.

I know this is comparing baseball and softball but hitting is hitting. Check it out on the web, just search ted williams or barry bonds choke up and read what they are saying and other big hitters names show up as well.

 

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The increase length of the bat may be more of an issue than the weight increase. My DD now swings a Rockettech. She got one a couple of years ago and move to a Synergy. I am convinced the increase in lenght from 32" to 33" got her more than the weight.

She now swings a 32" Rockettech.

 

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I disagree about the bat speed issue, hockeybuckeye. When kids start facing the better pitchers that can throw upper 50's to around 60 and above, the slow bats really show. Good pitch recognition is one thing, but having a girl start her swing sooner is a death sentence. Ask any college pitcher with a killer change-up how well she likes that type of batter. Those are the batters that literally look like their arms are going to break because they got suckered by a crafty change. There are better ways.

Nothing beats a quick, compact swing. By the time a kid is 16 or so, even if she's only 5'2", she should be able to swing a 33" bat - otherwise hit the weight room and build some core and upper body strength. Bat speed IS king. The longer you can wait to decide if a pitch is "your pitch to hit", the better your chances of making solid contact. If you start swinging the bat just as the pitch leaves the pitcher's hand, you're playing a guessing game - one you'll lose more than win.

What helped my DD (& son) is a VERY fast baseball batting cage. Get in the fastest cage, and work to pull your hits (third base for RH). Then immediately get in the s-l-o-w (I mean REALLY slow) and force yourself to "sit and wait" and hit opposite (first base). You're ahead of the fast pitches, and "sitting back" and waiting on the change-up. Alternate between the two several reps (or until you run out of $5 bills like me). The key is a quick, powerful swing. Most RH kids will hit the fast pitches to right (late swing) and pull the change-ups left (early swing). Work until you are opposite. I think this is a great timing drill.

Good luck!

 

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Great idea.

 

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Sammy, I disagree that you disagree but I think you missed my point. If one does not have good bat speed then it can only be three possibillities, a bat that's too heavy or not enough strength to swing it. The bat is easily corrected but if you arn't that strong even with a lighter bat the you have no option than to change your timing. Reconizing the pitch so not to always fall victim to the change up is all part of the development as a batter as well. The third is bad form or technique so you take too long to get the bat on plane such as not swinging hands inside or starting with the bat over you shoulder so your swing loops.

 

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No harm in disagreement, hockeybuckeye ... it would sure be a boring world if we all agreed on everything!

Yep - I agree about the three things you mentioned about the cause of the slow bat - bat weight, strength, technique. Actually, all three can be addressed from a young age.

You typically see younger girls, especially the small framed ones, really struggle with even a 19 or 20 oz. bat. But the pitching is usually lots slower, so things kind of equal out. Watching a typical rec game, you see all the bad habits that carry into later years, even into high school (yikes!). Upright stance, no bat loading, loopy arm swing with the classic wrist roll - topped off with a back slap with the bat.

If a girl goes the more competitive travel ball route, with college ball ambitions, it's a must to correct that stuff as soon as possible. Bat weight = get a lighter bat, a feather weight if necessary. You can't really do anything much about strength until about 14, so fix the rest with diligent work on good swing mechanics. Don't choke up on the bat until good swing mechanics are ingrained and automatic.

For the sake of example, I'm going to reference the Slammers. I'm a neutral party, and I don't know any of the coaches, families or team members. I just happened to see them play this summer. Regardless of opinions on this forum of the coaches of that team, no one can disagree that those young kids have been taught EXCELLENT swing mechanics. That can and should be worked on in Ohio. A simple start is to study some of the literally hundreds of FREE video clips of Olympic and college fastpitch swings available on the internet. Then have your DD try to emulate that type of swing.

Instead of choking up on the bat, work on a good load (scapula loading, or reverse turn) and "maintaining the box" formed by the arms/bat. Those two things alone will help dramatically with dropping hands (pop-ups). The body swings the bat, and the arms are just along for the ride. You'd be surprised how heavy a bat the average girl can swing when she quits using a loopy arm swing and starts using a good rotational "full body" swing.

 

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It all sounds good to me Sammy. It's interesting you mention the Slammers as I think the same way about their mechanics. I'm not affiliated with them but I've watched them play a few games this year and the best example on that team I've seen is the smallest girl who is Bigtrain's DD. Her technique is so flawless she uses a 33/23 synergy if I'm not mistaken. It looks way too big for a girl of her stature but she definatly uses it to great effect. And since I went and used the "B" word he says "Hi" from Oklahoma City but lets not get that topic going again.

 

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What I was trying to say is the knob on the Rockettech is patented as it is a smaller diameter than other bats and when held at the knob it will lock it up in your bottom hand or cause friction against the hand or glove.

An easy way to feel it for yourself is too come to the contact point with the hands choked up about one inch above the knob of the bat and then have someone use only the little finger and gently try to push the bat rearward.

Now try it with the knob held against the baby finger of the bottom hand and you and the person holding the bat should feel the difference in resistance. Remember we are holding the bat in our hand where the fingers join at the palm of the hand. Crystl does not hold the bat with the thumb or index finger and only uses the three fingers, baby, ring and social finger.

Crystl and Howard demonstrated this at their clinic.

 

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Good post Sammy. We have been doing the baseball cage for years and it works! Luvthegame. Sounds like you were at the same camp with Howard and Bustos. My DD went to this grip have them hold the bat with the last three fingers. It really helped bat speed and wrist action. Howard is a very good teacher and back up everything via computer images. I also agree about bat size and how some kids cannot hit a change up. It more than just bat speed.

 

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I realize each player needs to find the bat that suits them, but really, the best bats are?????

 

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softballaddiction, there are a ton of current and archived postsings on bats and one's topic subject shouldn't be changed but as you're new I'll give you a quick answer. The best bat it really whatever one suits you best. Bats like the Rockettech is an "end loaded" bat with most of the weight located towards the end of the bat which gives it power but some girls feel that it makes it harder to get bat speed up quickly. Bats like the Synergy are "balanced bats" with the weight more evenly distributed along it's length which some like the feel of better so it's just a matter of personal preference as the top end performance of all bats are kept to pretty much the same standards for legal use by the sanctioning bodies such as ASA, NSA, ect.

 

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IMO, choking up in competitive ball should only be done in special situations like bunting, push-bunting, slapping, expert place hitting, etc. - only by advanced players. If choking up is being used to overcome a too heavy bat, get a lighter bat.

The batting cage drill I mentioned is only to learn the feel of keeping everything back (weight, hands, etc.) until the last possible moment, then literally exploding - attacking the pitch. This is the mark of a consistent power hitter.