Learning the long ball! Have questions.

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Extra Hitter
FCBDC507-79FE-405E-9719-2FE532A5199D.jpeg Earlier this year I was using a team bat, and mistimed the ball - but I sent it to the fence. I am pretty sure it was a 26oz balanced bat.

Ever since then I was hooked!

I have never needed or gone yard ever. That one swing got me so close I could taste it.

I am the stereo typical lead off batter that hits to all fields with a high OBP. I mainly swing the team bat and it’s usually a lightweight balanced bat.

I have been experimenting with 3 very old bats. Ive noticed 26oz bats did not help me with distance, so I moved up in weight 28oz. The end loaded bat use to wreak havoc on my elbow. After some specific muscle training - not so much now.

I finally put to test my swing and went yard twice. 1 left field (inside pitch) and 1 right field (outside pitch).

Mind you, I am not using new technology bats - which I plan on changing. So I am shopping around.

Does ****s’s or any other store sell bat warranties?

In the beginning all 3 bats would give me equal distance. I only used the end loaded during the game. I think my swing finally advanced to take advance of the end load.

Is there a specific technical swing going from an balanced to an end load? I feel I can squeeze out 20ft more.

Will going 30oz add more distance? I kind of want a bat that no one else on the team will swing.

Thanks in advance for all the help
 
Country469

Country469

Well-Known Member
Those bats are not bad bats at all, if anything they are probably broken in far past the legal standard.

You aren't a home run hitter sorry, if it takes this much effort, its not for you
 
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Extra Hitter
Country469 said:
Those bats are not bad bats at all, if anything they are probably broken in far past the legal standard.

You aren't a home run hitter sorry, if it takes this much effort, its not for you
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Sorry if i wasnt clear. I was swinging these bats specifically for BP and off a tee. It is true, I am far from a home run hitter - but I am curious to try. The Miken end load was pretty much new, tested and passed our league standards too.
 
Redsfan

Redsfan

Well-Known Member
How come everyone wants to be something they are not? You say your not a HR hitter but you want to be. I understand wanting to get better but there are certain roles on a team and if you are asking these questions you probably play at a level where you need to play your role. I doubt you play unlimited HR conference.
 
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Extra Hitter
Redsfan said:
How come everyone wants to be something they are not? You say your not a HR hitter but you want to be. I understand wanting to get better but there are certain roles on a team and if you are asking these questions you probably play at a level where you need you play your role. I doubt you play unlimited HR conference.
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I know my role on the team, and I can honestly say I play that role pretty well.

I hit to very specific open locations on the field. That 1 miss-hit went higher and further than normal.

The problem is my hits aren't pushing in the runners when I feel they should be. Especially when I specifically hit behind certain people who are on base, to give them the best possible jump.

When I haphazardly hit the fence one day, I just so happened to clear the bases. I don't really need to clear the fence, but would like to consistently hit the fence when warranted. Which means changing my swing and my bat.
 
T

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Extra Hitter
Redsfan said:
If you are getting hits and they still aren't scoring maybe a "base running for dummies" class for your teammates might help. Haha
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or that! I am pretty much trying to manufacture runs in a totally new way to me.

Country469 said:
OP - accidentally hit the fence once, now I need to be a home run hitter

Everyone else- no, shut up and do what you did before
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Never before have I tried hit the fence - TRUE.
Never before have I wanted hit the fence - TRUE.

It just so happened that I did it one day. For the sake of a timeline, this was happened preseason. Since then I have practiced this on my own, in cages and off a tee (without asking questions and doing my research). Only into the 2nd half of the season did I try swinging differently in a game, but I did so jokingly. I tried at least 1 swing a game (only during blowouts) and I was horrible. I was so bad and it wreaked havoc on my elbow that I could ONLY do 1 swing.

I continued to practice. I have asked my buddy questions who use to bat behind me. He is the typical home run guy that always batted behind me. My ONLY goal was to get on base before him. Those times were fun. I would get on base, then walk home. He no longer plays and now lives in a different state. He can only teach me so much from a distance. I have taken everything he has taught me to the cages.

We are now into Fall ball (new season) I recently I went into a game (finally with confidence) with 1 specific mindset - all inside/outside pitches were going to the fence. Now I've cleared it twice in a game, but still hitting/getting on base when needed. To be clear, I still know my role - but I am no longer willing to settle for a getting on base when runs can/should be scored. 1 of the 2 home runs that day was a walk-off. They thought the 1st one was fluke and they still knew me to have zero capability of going yard. They were wrong (at least for that game).

I feel I have gone as far as I can on my own, now I am asking questions.

So now I am looking to advance even more. I think I am capable of learning a new trick.

It took me a complete season to learn to go oppo. Going oppo was foreign to me, I pulled everything and exploited my speed - but I felt was a 1 trick pony. I was forced to learn/advance because the opposing teams would put a massive shift of on me. Other teams would remove the 2nd baseman and dared me to hit it to the hole. I COULDN'T and it was killing me. It took me many moons, but I changed my swing. I learned from my coach and the guy who hit behind me - this was before forums like this existed. I can honestly say they were probably the best 2 oppo hitters I have met in my life. The coach would destroy the 2nd basemen. The guy who hit behind me had double knee replacement surgery, so he couldnt run as fast as before. He had this nasty slice/spin on the ball which made it unfieldable (something I want to learn one day). Conveniently I always batted in front of them. They connect, I score (from whatever bag I was on). Those teams I strictly stuck to my role, never needed to go beyond. It was fun too.

I took what I learned from them, and because of them teams have to play me straight up. New teams think I am strictly an oppo hitter, as its the first card in the deck I usually show. Then they open up and give me everything down the line. You can get what happens next. I like to play chess when I am at bat and I take what I am given.

Is it too far fetched that a table setter can also clear the base paths? It's not a rhetorical question, but I will also answer this. If I didn't practice this, then I feel this would be clearly out of reach. Every small improvement/timing I needed for distance - I have worked on it. If I didn't practice or didn't feel I was capable - I wouldn't be hear asking.

I already know I have a very specific swing for the fence and it can only be inside our outside. Not every pitch is going over the fence. All other pitches for me will be gap balls. I know I will never hit it over the center field fence too. I will still take an easy double when they give me a clear path for it.

I think I may be a more disciplined batter than some may believe. I actually work/practice what I hate/dread. All pitchers who know me, know I hate the high/inside deep ball. It is my achilles heal - but I constantly work on it. The pitch that went over the left field fence and just inside the pole was just that - high/inside deep ball. If I can hit the pitch I hate the most/the pitch I avoid over the fence... I think I just need more practice doing it.

Even if I stay the course, showing a deep foul shot beyond the fence will push the fielders even more back - at least in the corners. Which should give the 'table setter' more room to play.

All I am looking for is ways to advance and advance my team - thats all. I am not sure what else I can say to help my cause. Thanks.
 
TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Hitting HRs is fun, plain and simple. Not all people are HR hitters, but I see nothing wrong with this guy attempting to train himself to hit HRs every once in a while. The key is knowing your role, and not attempting to blow every pitch you see out of the park. No one likes a guy who hits solos or 2 run shots when they aren't needed.

The bat you use isn't nearly as important as technique. Today's bats are all hot. You simply have to find an endload and barrel length that suits you. You want to take a level swing and drive the ball with backspin. Dipping and taking a huge uppercut is one of the biggest mistakes guys make while trying to hit HRs. You'll end up either rolling the ball over or hitting weak popups with an uppercut. I know an uppercut feels natural to lift the ball, but it won't help increase your HR hitting prowess.

Pitch selection is also key. Know which pitches you can hit out, and which you can't. Don't swing at really high stuff, nor go lunging at low/short pitches.

Lastly, don't get too "pull happy" when going for HRs. By that I mean trying to jerk every ball you see to LF hard. Its an easy habit to fall into. You'll end up swinging early on everything and hitting lots of grounders. Remember to go with the pitch and let the ball get to you before you swing at it. If the pitch is on the outer half of the plate, don't pull it.

Putting lots of work in will yield results. Practice using different bats and hitting different types of pitches (high, low, inside, outside) to figure out which pitches you can drive out most consistently. Again, know when to swing for the fence and when not to. If no one's on base, don't do it. If the wind is howling in at 30 MPH, don't do it. With practice you'll figure out which conditions you can hit bombs in, and which you can't. You can also work on changing where you stand in the batter's box depending on who's pitching and what you're trying to do in a certain AB.

Swinging level (not uppercut) and swinging at good pitches are the two most important things to keep in mind when going for HRs.
 
TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Country469 said:
OP - accidentally hit the fence once, now I need to be a home run hitter

Everyone else- no, shut up and do what you did before
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Sadly, its addictive. I see guys hit a ball out and then fly out the next 17 times trying to do it again. They lose all sense of patience and their swing goes to absolute crap. Trying for HRs is definitely not for everyone, even in today's world of hot bats.

I completely agree that MOST base hitters are better off not really delving into the HR swing. Their batting averages always end up taking a huge hit as their flyball frequency goes through the roof.
 
Country469

Country469

Well-Known Member
General rule of thumb for the plate, if you have to try hard to do something or change natural stuff to do it, its usually not in your best interest to do so.

With today's technology, if you can't do it at all times, save the bombs for someone who can (or below C someone will blow one out with a dumbass swing in the 3rd inning)
 
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Bobby Buggs

Bobby Buggs

SBF Site Sponsor
Hey Dot, lets talk about the elbow issue. I killed my bottom hand elbow using a pretty endloaded bat this summer. Its been a couple weeks now and I can finally hold a glass of water in that hand it got so bad. How did you resolve yours.
 
Normy

Normy

Well-Known Member
Chicks dig the long ball. Most coach's generally dig getting on base and having a decent batting average. If you can do both consistently, great. If not, go with option B like me and be chickless.
 
dunkky

dunkky

Well-Known Member
Bobby Buggs said:
Hey Dot, lets talk about the elbow issue. I killed my bottom hand elbow using a pretty endloaded bat this summer. Its been a couple weeks now and I can finally hold a glass of water in that hand it got so bad. How did you resolve yours.
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Thank me later. lol. Seriously, it works. Reason why good number of professional athletics are into it.

https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/cupping-therapy#1

https://www.amazon.com/Professional...t=&hvlocphy=9026945&hvtargid=pla-405660648168
 
Chris_R

Chris_R

I Thought I Reacted Well
TWmccoy said:
Sadly, its addictive. I see guys hit a ball out and then fly out the next 17 times trying to do it again. They lose all sense of patience and their swing goes to absolute crap. Trying for HRs is definitely not for everyone, even in today's world of hot bats.
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I fall into that "trap" at least 3-4 times a year. I'm generally a line drive hitter, but every so often the planets align and I put the perfect cut on a good ball, and drop a no doubter....then my swing is F'ed for a few more AB's after that :D
 
T

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Extra Hitter
Bobby Buggs said:
Hey Dot, lets talk about the elbow issue. I killed my bottom hand elbow using a pretty endloaded bat this summer. Its been a couple weeks now and I can finally hold a glass of water in that hand it got so bad. How did you resolve yours.
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I had 2 problems, nerve and muscle.

Outside of softball, I already hand problems because I pitched and played baseball too much. I threw too much junk. I do computer work/mouse work - so that adds to my issues.

At one point it got so bad I sought out a doctor/physical therapist. They asked me a few questions and they quickly found out the problem by opening and closing my elbow. There was a nerve problem.

I found out rest my elbow on a specific nerve (inside my elbow). That nerve from what I remember caused havoc on my entire arm. At my desk at work I put pressure on that nerve. Sleeping on my stomach with my arms compressed/bent under me put more load on that nerve. Basically I strained that nerve 24/7.

At work I no longer rest my arm or any my arms on that nerve. I also learned my arm is at rest at 30degrees. I have a sleeping cast which prevents me from sleeping on my stomach, and also puts my arm/nerve completely at rest. THIS WAS HUGE!

For batting my issue was with my top hand. My top hand is also my throwing hand. One thing is for certain, I stop everything when it starts to hurt. Before I would just pop some ibuprofen + and energy drink and keep playing. All of which just aggravated it more.

One of my biggest problems I found is that I would squeeze the hell out of the bat with my top hand. So the slightest reverb from the bat (which always seem to be the end loaded one) would punish me. My timing was way off for distance, I wasn't hitting the sweetspot and I was hitting too far near the end of the bat. Every hit around the end of the bat added to my issues. So I fixed my timing and found the sweetspot.

I would also squeeze the $HIT outta ball on a deep SS grounder made things worse. I prefer to play 3rd when there is a decent SS available, so all my throwing movements are forward. I unconsciously squeeze the ball less playing 3rd. Squeezing a racquetball helped here.

I found a couple of videos (which I have to find them again) are from this forum. There were some big hitters on YouTube that posted videos. The quickly indicated what muscle strengthening exercises that do not help with softball specific movements. I found out fell into that incorrect training category in many different ways, and refocused on training my muscles the softball specific way. I had to unlearn many things too.

Being an OBP guy, I have never focused on hitting it hard (my hardest) unless it was down the 3rd baseline and I needed to smash it past them. I had to retrain my whole body, especially my arms to EXPLODE (quicker movements) on the ball. The video went on to explain certain weight exercises/movements where needed to be quick and it wasn't how heavy/much you can lift/push.

In guy in the video also explained close grip/close grip bench would help, as well as dips. It took me a while to figure out what specific movements exposed my problems. The close grip and dips exposed them, so that's what I concentrated on. I worked on it until it stopped hurting. ONLY until after that did I attempt to swing hard again.

There were other exercises too, but with limited time I can only do so much. So those 2 specific exercises greatly improve my health and allowed me to stay on the field.

Hope this helps.
 
TWmccoy

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
On the bat, your top hand shouldn't really be squeezing at all. Your top hand is to guide the bat, not really push. If you're throttling the bat with your top hand, you need to stop. You'll lose so much batspeed that way. Plus, you'll probably end up snapping your wrists at the wrong time. Good wrist snap is an integral part of an effective swing. Be it for HRs or whatever.
 
T

T Dot

Extra Hitter
TWmccoy said:
On the bat, your top hand shouldn't really be squeezing at all. Your top hand is to guide the bat, not really push. If you're throttling the bat with your top hand, you need to stop. You'll lose so much batspeed that way. Plus, you'll probably end up snapping your wrists at the wrong time. Good wrist snap is an integral part of an effective swing. Be it for HRs or whatever.
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YUP! I painfully learned that lesson. It was the reason why I rolled over low outside short pitches that I tried to strike hard. In the beginning it was my ‘way’ of hitting a ball harder than I was accustomed to. I also learned it did decrease my bat speed.

Though, it’s how I forcefully guide a pitch over SS and 2B. More specifically it’s how I forcefully place a pitch that wasn’t designed to go over the 2B. It’s my inside-out swing.

I have learned a new routine to open both hands and all fingers before a pitch. It allows my top hand to stay loose throughout the swing. Something I also learned from YouTube.

This has long been corrected.
 
swingnmiss

swingnmiss

#1 IN YOUR HEARTS
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