One of the most important but often over looked aspects of the swing is the grip. A proper grip can go a long way in helping the hitter perform proper mechanics, while an improper grip can negatively effect the hitter’s ability perform these mechanics. So how can this be? How can something as simple as how you hold the bat have such a strong influence over the rest of your swing?First of all, we have to understand that every part of our swing is connected to every other part of our swing. What we do in one aspect of the swing will impact another aspect of the swing somewhere down the line. As such our goal should be to set ourselves up in such a way that we make it as easy as possible for ourselves to perform proper mechanics.
The strongest position we can be in when we are at the point of contact is the palm up/palm down position. As a hitter we need to do what we can to enable ourselves to get into this position as easily and as quickly and as possible. If you see the picture above you will notice that the back elbow is almost against the ribs at the point of contact. This is that strong position I mentioned above. In order to get into that position quickly and easily we have to make sure that we have the proper grip.
The proper grip is having what I call our “door knocking knuckles” lined up. When a hitter grips the bat he should place the handle in his fingers as opposed to in his palms. This lines up the knuckles and allows for maximum control of the bat. As you can see in the photo above when the knuckles are properly aligned the back elbow will drop. This allows for the hitter to get into the palm up/palm down position much easier.
Too often I hear coach and parents instructing their athletes to put their “elbow up”. They are inadvertently making it more difficult for their hitter to hit. When the back elbow is up it causes improper knuckle alignment. As such the hitter never truly reaches a good palm up/palm down position. In addition, the elbow at some point needs to get into the position above, if the elbow is up the barrel of the bat must drop in order to get into the palm up/palm down position. This will cause the hitter to pop the ball up or hit more weak groundballs.
Making sure that our knuckles are in proper alignment and dropping the back elbow is an easy fix that can produce good results. Remember that all great hitters have repeatable swings. Make sure to put yourself in the best position to repeat proper mechanics and avoid mechanical breakdown.
