bat grip & swing questions...

M

Mr. Roper

Addicted to Softballfans
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this is how i grip the bat (middle knuckles lined up and both thumb tips pressed against the handle, also lined up). i was told this was an ideal way to grip the bat and it has worked out ok for me. is there a better way i'm unaware of? i was told "boxing" your knuckles was bad. true?

also, when swinging, as i'm coming over the plate do i want my thumbs pressing forward? my natural movement is to sort of roll my hands so, by the time i make contact with the ball, my thumbs are more on top of the bat than pressing behind it. i feel like that can't be right. it seems like i'm losing power that way. suggestions?

also (if it matters), i generally drop my pinky - just not in this photo.
 
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22kj22

22kj22

UrMoufSNIFsofFart
That is the grip I use when I golf. How well do you hit with this grip and is it comfortable? I myself use an overlap. My bottom hand has two fingers and a thumb and my top hand only my index finger and my thumb touch the bat and the rest of my hand is resting on my lower hand. This technique works great for me with power, especially whiplash and bat speed.
 
M

Mr. Roper

Addicted to Softballfans
22kj22 said:
That is the grip I use when I golf. How well do you hit with this grip and is it comfortable? I myself use an overlap. My bottom hand has two fingers and a thumb and my top hand only my index finger and my thumb touch the bat and the rest of my hand is resting on my lower hand. This technique works great for me with power, especially whiplash and bat speed.
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ha. same here. it works ok. i feel like it has given me better hits than my power would have allowed. it took some getting used to, but now holding the bat any other way feels awkward. i've tried different overlaps, but i really don't like how they feel. i feel like i have no control over the bat. i just drop the one pinky and wrap my ring finger around the knob.
 
22kj22

22kj22

UrMoufSNIFsofFart
What type of hitter are you? I know a lot of guys who hit .700 and above that use a similar technique and just try to roll their hands. It amazes me to see how consistant they are with a grip like this but I'm a power guy who drives in runs so I can't really trash talk em!!!
 
M

Mr. Roper

Addicted to Softballfans
22kj22 said:
What type of hitter are you? I know a lot of guys who hit .700 and above that use a similar technique and just try to roll their hands. It amazes me to see how consistant they are with a grip like this but I'm a power guy who drives in runs so I can't really trash talk em!!!
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definitely not power. more of a for-avg hitter. although lately i haven't even been much of that which is why i was hoping someone could point out something i might be doing wrong with my technique.
 
22kj22

22kj22

UrMoufSNIFsofFart
A video always gets great feedback on here ive seen. I guess I can try to offer advice if I understand your hitting problems a little better. Are you popping up? Not making solid contact? Hitting right at defenders? I would definitely recommend BP and try dropping a finger or two every 5 hits or so, this is how I found what worked best for me.
 
M

Mr. Roper

Addicted to Softballfans
22kj22 said:
A video always gets great feedback on here ive seen. I guess I can try to offer advice if I understand your hitting problems a little better. Are you popping up? Not making solid contact? Hitting right at defenders? I would definitely recommend BP and try dropping a finger or two every 5 hits or so, this is how I found what worked best for me.
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i don't think it's my swing cuz (brag post!) i've had several different people tell me i have a nice swing. i feel like it's something in my grip or how i'm connecting with the ball. i've been getting a lot of dinky grounders and popups and even straight up whiffs. it could be i'm just swinging too hard. i play in one league with short fences where HRs are outs and i've swung at like 50% power hoping to keep the ball in play and still sent the ball over, so i've thought maybe if i focus more on technique than power i might see results. i don't know. but i figure if i could get feedback on my grip and bat position at contact i could break it down from there.
 
Schiffy

Schiffy

Active Member
sounds like you're just not keeping youlr head down and eyes on the ball... dinky grounders could be from pulling your head last minute, which in turn is pulling your body up and putting the bat just on top of the ball... could also account for whiffs and getting under it.
 
D

Dump Truck

Manager
ok, professional. I can only hit a ball 350 with the wind helping me. I think you missed my point of guys thinking to much instead of just going up and hitting the damn ball. By the way the 350 shot is with a real bat not a "cheater" bat
 
jdbaker82

jdbaker82

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Dump Truck said:
ok, professional. I can only hit a ball 350 with the wind helping me. I think you missed my point of guys thinking to much instead of just going up and hitting the damn ball. By the way the 350 shot is with a real bat not a "cheater" bat
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Sorry but just going up to the plate and hitting the ball is just an ignorant statement the guy is asking for advice and you decided to be a D bag no one has a perfect swing without plenty of practice and probably at some point advice and tips from others.
 
D

Dump Truck

Manager
jdbaker82 said:
Sorry but just going up to the plate and hitting the ball is just an ignorant statement the guy is asking for advice and you decided to be a D bag no one has a perfect swing without plenty of practice and probably at some point advice and tips from others.
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You just answered it, get out there and hit the damn ball during bp. I like how you can easily get offended through a forum....WEAK.
 
nickdangerous

nickdangerous

Manager
Is the grip comfortable for you? That's the main concern if it's not try something different nothing will rob you of success more than not feeling comfortable at the plate
 
M

Mr. Roper

Addicted to Softballfans
Schiffy said:
sounds like you're just not keeping youlr head down and eyes on the ball... dinky grounders could be from pulling your head last minute, which in turn is pulling your body up and putting the bat just on top of the ball... could also account for whiffs and getting under it.
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you might be right. i'll work on that. thanks.

TWmccoy said:
That grip looks uncomfortable as hell. You should at least drop the pinky on the bottom hand. I bet the knob digs into the bottom hand as your wrists roll. Also, I'd bet that keeping your thumbs on the handle like that is severely limiting your wrist snap.
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try reading the OP one more time. especially the last sentence.

jdbaker82 said:
Sorry but just going up to the plate and hitting the ball is just an ignorant statement the guy is asking for advice and you decided to be a D bag no one has a perfect swing without plenty of practice and probably at some point advice and tips from others.
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DumpTruck is one of several cool guys on the board. they don't know **** and have nothing constructive to say so they just troll all day long....

Devil Dog said:
Hairy Vanilla Gorilla Knuckles
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...like this guy ^ ^ ^
 
M

Mr. Roper

Addicted to Softballfans
nickdangerous said:
Is the grip comfortable for you? That's the main concern if it's not try something different nothing will rob you of success more than not feeling comfortable at the plate
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it's comfortable. like i said, during play i drop the pinky and i hold it much more relaxed so it's not as tense as the pic might make it look.

do you have a different technique? i'm open to suggestions.
 
D

Dump Truck

Manager
ok, since many of you are getting hurt feelings by what I'm saying here goes....the thumbs are horrible for a hitting position. what you have is basically a golf swing where you are trying to keep your wrist from breaking and rolling over. I swing with a pinky off the handle and would definitely recommend the prohitter thumb guard that you see many players using. That thumb guard will not help you hit for power but will keep the bat in your finger tips and and put your thumb in the correct hitting position.


cant wait to hear the replies on this one
 
nickdangerous

nickdangerous

Manager
me personally I pretty much line up my mid knuckles with the big knuckles on my hands. (I think that's what you meant by boxing your knuckles .) I angle my bottom hand slightly so that the side of my hand is covering the knob just a bit. I keep my top hand straight and solid with no overlap between my two hands. I suppose the top hand is what I'm using to control the bat. However I'm not really a power hitter so my goal is to keep a level swing so I'm not sure this grip would be functional for you. Not sure if that's a good explanation I've never really thought about it before.
 
nickdangerous

nickdangerous

Manager
actually there is a very lil bit of overlap between the index finger on my bottom hand and the pinky on my top hand. the index finger covers about half of the pinky.
 
BORCH94

BORCH94

Addicted to Softballfans
Dump Truck said:
ok, professional. I can only hit a ball 350 with the wind helping me. I think you missed my point of guys thinking to much instead of just going up and hitting the damn ball. By the way the 350 shot is with a real bat not a "cheater" bat
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I wish I could give you a nice slow clap... it's not like a 350 homerun is hit everyday with a real bat. :rolleyes:
 
M

Mr. Roper

Addicted to Softballfans
nickdangerous said:
me personally I pretty much line up my mid knuckles with the big knuckles on my hands. (I think that's what you meant by boxing your knuckles .) I angle my bottom hand slightly so that the side of my hand is covering the knob just a bit. I keep my top hand straight and solid with no overlap between my two hands. I suppose the top hand is what I'm using to control the bat. However I'm not really a power hitter so my goal is to keep a level swing so I'm not sure this grip would be functional for you. Not sure if that's a good explanation I've never really thought about it before.
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that is what i meant. i was told you shouldn't do that - that you should keep the bat in your fingers, not in your palms. maybe somebody with more knowledge can explain the differences.

Dump Truck said:
ok, since many of you are getting hurt feelings by what I'm saying here goes....the thumbs are horrible for a hitting position. what you have is basically a golf swing where you are trying to keep your wrist from breaking and rolling over. I swing with a pinky off the handle and would definitely recommend the prohitter thumb guard that you see many players using. That thumb guard will not help you hit for power but will keep the bat in your finger tips and and put your thumb in the correct hitting position.


cant wait to hear the replies on this one
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i considered getting one of those to see if it would make any difference, but have no clue how they work.
 
nickdangerous

nickdangerous

Manager
Mr. Roper said:
that is what i meant. i was told you shouldn't do that - that you should keep the bat in your fingers, not in your palms. maybe somebody with more knowledge can explain the differences.



I don't really hold it in my palms though. Only the pads of my hands and bottom portion of my fingers.
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