Hitting Mechanics: The Hands

I feel the most important part of your swing mechanics is having “strong hands”. Everybody has heard a coach say “keep your hands back” and that can’t be emphasized enough. What exactly does that mean? No matter what else happens during your swing, your hands must remain in a position to aggresively hit the ball.

During many players’ stride or “timing device” they will draw their hands up, in, and back to load for power. It is critical that your hands stay there and do not come forward to soon or especially drop below the hitting plane of the ball. Basically you are allowing gravity to do much of the work. It’s much easier to swing down than up.

Also, while drawing your hands back you have to be careful of what is called a “bat wrap”. Many players allow the head of the baseball bat to go beyond their head creating a very long swing. That is bad because it is that much further the barrel of the bat has to travel before being able to make contact. Ideally, you want your swing to be as short and compact as possible going from point “A” to “B”. By hitting down on the ball you actually create a back spin on the ball causing it to rise when it is a line-drive in the air. You do not want to have a dip in your swing, which is a common misconception in lower levels of play of something that should be done. I guess players and sometimes coaches think that if contact is made on the upside of the “dip” it will force the ball upward but that is not true. Or at least up in the way that you want the ball to be hit. It will cause a “top spin” in most cases that will result in ground balls that are weakly hit.

As your hands are loading they should actually create a circular motion known as “rotational force” which will torque the bat when your hands are drawn up,in, and back slightly. Your bottom hand will lead when you go to swing at the ball while your top hand will go back slightly, aiming the bat head back. It is a that point the bat is torqued and your hands are leading through the hitting zone creating a “whip” like effect. Keep in mind that your top hand should stay “strong” as it goes back slightly by not letting it drop lower than your bottom hand or at all. Your hands should be driven straight at the ball and they should stay inside the ball throughout your swing, which is very important to hit the ball with authority the “other way” and being able to go “with the pitch” to all parts of the outfield.

As your arms become extended your hands are still loaded because the bat head is back and above your hands. As you reach the point of contact your arms will come to a full extension and your hands will “slap” towards the ball bringing the bat head through the zone, then finishing with a strong follow through after contact.

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