Striding to the Ball

It is sometimes taught in little league that a hitter should stride toward the pitch just
as he begins his swing. Many coaches buy into this theory because they see it work
at that level. The reason it works down there is because pitchers are just trying to
throw the ball over the plate. Most of the time, the pitchers aren't throwing very hard.
Therefore, even the 12 year old hitter has sufficient time to react to the fastball.
Now, all he has to do is time it, step to it and swing. At that level, contact is success.
As this hitter gets older, he has developed a habit that is very difficult to break.

First of all, let's explain why we need to break it.

1) As hitters get older, they begin to face pitchers that are no longer just trying to
throw the ball over the plate. Instead, they are now trying to use their pitches to get
hitters out.  Hitters are now seeing, different pitch locations, speed changes, waste
pitches, etc... Once a hitter strides to the ball, he has committed himself to that pitch.
Very rarely will you see a stride without a swing to follow. This habit will put a hitter
out in front of a lot of pitches. The only pitch he really has a chance of making good
contact with is the gift down the heart of the plate, waist-high.

2) This one is short and simple. What do we tell our hitters to keep still when they
hit? Their head, correct! How can you stride toward a pitch without your head
moving forward as well? When your head moves so do your eyes. We've all heard
that saying, "You can't hit what you can't see."

3) On the page titled, The Approach Part One, we discussed the role of the back hip
and how it helps the hitter square up to the ball. In order for the back hip to perform
this role, the hitter's weight needs to be on the back leg. It is impossible to stride
forward and clear the back hip so that your hands can square the bat to the ball.
Instead, the hands get away from the body causing the arms to extend prematurely.
This is known as casting the hands and is discussed in the next section.

CORRECTIVE MEASURE: If you have a hitter who can't break the habit of striding to
the ball as he swings the bat, widen out his stance a bit. A lot of times a hitter will
stride because his stance is too narrow. He does not feel powerful and he strides as
an attempt to put his lower half into a powerful position.

Widen his stance (Feet more than shoulder width). If he feels the need to do
something with his front foot, have him pick it up and put it down as he loads his
hands. However, the front foot should be down before he begins his approach to the
ball. This needs to be a soft landing as well, to assure that his weight is staying back.

Casting the Hands

This is one of the most common flaws in hitting. One of the reasons is that a lot of
other mechanical flaws will result in a cast. You can recognize a cast by watching a
hitter from behind as he hits off of a tee. If the barrel of the bat is flying away from
his shoulder on the initial approach, then he is casting his hands. This action results
in a long, slow and weak swing path. It is very difficult to catch up to a good fastball
with an approach like this.

This approach will also prevent a hitter from staying inside the baseball. Instead, the
barrel is wrapping around the baseball. This makes it virtually impossible to hit a ball
the other way. Casting also causes the bat to travel around the hitting zone opposed
to through it.

Why do hitters pull their head off of the ball???

As coaches we preach, “Don’t pull your head out!!” However, I have come to the
conclusion that hitters do not intentionally pull their head off of the ball. Instead, if
you want to cure this problem, teach the proper swing-path.  When a hitter casts his
barrel around the ball his momentum is moving him in a twisting motion. The force
behind this motion will cause not only his trunk to twist, but his head will also go
along for the ride as well. Keep in mind, this improper swing path can be caused by
two things: 1) Casting the barrel away from the body too soon, or 2) not opening up
the back hip to allow your hands to work toward, or inside the baseball.

CORRECTIVE MEASURE: Spend a lot of time drilling the outside pitch. Make sure
that your hitter is seeing the ball deep into the zone. This will allow him to hit the ball
the other way. Use a tee and front soft toss to drill this concept. This will assure that
the ball is in the correct location.

Asking your hitter to hit the ball the other way is one of the best things you can do to
help him learn to use his hands correctly. It is almost impossible to hit the ball the
other way without staying inside of it.


Leveling off Too Soon

Hitters are constantly told by coaches to take a level swing. Mechanically speaking,
what is a level swing? I like to describe a level swing as one where the barrel of the
bat is level at the point of contact. A palm-up/palm-down position at contact best
describes a level swing. One common flaw that I see a lot is hitters who level their
bat off to soon. This usually happens during the initial part of their forward
approach. It's almost as if they are trying to get the barrel of the bat onto the same
horizontal plane as the baseball.

This poses a multitude of problems:

1)  The top hand no longer stays on top. If your top hand drops even or below your
bottom hand before you've reached your contact point, it pretty much becomes non-
existent. The top hand allows the hitter to apply the push factor. When the bat levels
off prematurely, the bottom hand is now in control causing the bat to be pulled
through the hitting zone.  

2) Leveling off early is actually adding another step to your swing. Instead of the
barrel traveling from it's starting position down to the baseball, it's moving from
starting position, to waist height, then to the ball. This is long and slow. Good luck
with the fastball!!

3) You're automatically creating a cast. As soon as space develops between your
back shoulder and the barrel of the bat, you no longer have control of that barrel. As
your hands approach the ball, the weight of the barrel is going to whip it away from
you causing you to hit around the baseball.

4) Leveling the barrel off too early will cause the front elbow to come up. When the
front elbow rises, so does the front shoulder. The law of opposites will now come into
play. When the front shoulder comes up, the back shoulder will automatically drop.



CORRECTIVE MEASURE: First of all, emphasize to your hitters that it is important to
keep the front shoulder down on his approach. It is very difficult to drop the barrel on
the initial part of your swing when the front shoulder is down. This will keep the hitter
on top of the baseball.

It also helps to keep a tight top hand grip on the bat as the approach begins. The
top hand is the one that controls what the barrel does. The bottom hand guides the
top hand to the contact point.
COMMON FLAWS
Front arm bar
arm-bar is when a hitter’s front arm becomes extended across is chest when
loading his hands.  This is similar to a golfer’s front arm as he loads up to drive
a golf ball.  This is a result of too much movement with the bottom hand when
loading.  This problem makes it difficult to execute a short approach and
therefore leads to a bad swing-path.  

Corrective Measure: To correct this flaw, tell your hitter to use his top hand to
bring his bat to the power slot, while the bottom hand just goes for the ride.



Bat Wrap

When loading his hands, be sure your hitter’s bat stays on a 45-degree angle
off of his back shoulder.  Many hitters will cock their wrists, causing the bat to
wrap behind their neck with the knob pointed toward the backstop.  This flaw will
automatically lead a hitter to break his wrists early causing him to immediately
cast the bat away from his shoulder.

Corrective Measure: To correct this problem, tell your hitter that the knob of his
bat should be pointing toward the catcher’s mask before his approach to the ball.
HITmore.net
Casting the Hands
Front arm bar
Bat Wrap
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