Swing the Bat!
The Swing
The swing involves the rotation of the hitter’s hips, shoulders, arms, and wrists to put the sweet spot of the bat on the ball with as much force as possible. There are four key positions (4-7) in the swing phase as shown below.
In the above sequence, three contact positions are shown at the back (5(a)), middle (5(b)), and front (5(c)) of the hitting zone. The hitting zone is the region where you want the bat's sweet spot to travel along the path of the pitch. The hitting zone should run roughly from about the middle of the plate to about 8 or so inches in front of the plate, about 16-24 inches total. At 90 mph, it takes a pitch only 1/100th of second to pass through the hitting zone, so that’s the margin for error you have in your timing. You must deliver the sweet spot to and through the hitting zone in the same 1/100th of second that the ball is passing through the hitting zone. With only a 1/100th of second margin for error, you can’t be sure where in the hitting zone your bat will contact the ball. So to give yourself the best chance of making solid contact, you want the sweet spot to travel up the full length of the hitting zone. Over the course of a season, that will translate into more hits.
POSITION 4: EXPLODE OPEN, KNOB TO BALL
From position 3 (pre-swing), fire the back hip around toward the pitcher, rolling the back foot over onto the point, heel high. The back elbow rides on the back hip as it rotates. Position 3 occurs as the hands get to the side of the hitter and the bat is pointing directly behind, knob end in front.
The photo at left is interesting because the ball is about 5 feet in front of home plate, yet the hitter is leading with the knob end of the bat with the barrel end pointed directly behind. At 90 mph, the ball is about 1/30th of a second from home plate.
The position 4 checkpoints are:
Another common mistake is “casting” or rotating the wrists too early. In the position 4 photo below, the bat is pointing to the rear, away from the pitcher, so it’s clear that the hitter’s wrists have not rotated yet. By position 5, the bat has rotated 90 degrees. By position 6, it has rotated a full 180 degrees from position 4 and is pointing straight ahead toward the pitcher. It’s mainly the wrists that rotate the bat 180 degrees from back (position 4) through the hitting zone to front (position 6), so it’s important not to use up your wrist rotation before position 4.
As you move into position 4, you make your final decision to swing or not. If you can stop and keep the barrel of the bat back, the umpire will not (should not) call a swinging strike. But once you fire the wrists to move to position 5, you are committed.
POSITION 5: CONTACT
Position 5 is where the bat meets the ball. From position 4, lock your front leg straight and complete your hip rotation, rolling your back foot onto the point, heel-high. Start to rotate your wrists to bring the sweet spot of the bat to the back end of the hitting zone. At the same time, start to extend the back arm forward toward the pitcher so the hands travel in a straight line parallel to the hitting zone, as shown on the photo sequence below. The movement of the back arm and the hand-path are critical. The extension of the back arm and hands forward toward the pitcher, rather than rotating them in front of your body, will keep the sweet spot in the hitting zone. If you don’t extend that back arm, the hands stop moving forward and the wrist rotation will carry the hands around in front of the hitter and pull the bat prematurely out of the hitting zone - a mistake known as “coming (or pulling) off the ball.”
Your hands should be in front of the barrel of the bat when it enters the back of the hitting zone (5a). If you contact the ball here, you will drive it to the opposite field. Continue to extend your back arm and hands forward as you accelerate the sweet spot through the hitting zone with your wrists. If you contact the ball in the middle of the hitting zone (5b) your hands should be even with the sweet spot and you’ll tend to drive the ball up the middle. If you contact the ball at the front of the hitting zone (5c), the hands will be slightly behind the barrel, and you’ll pull the ball. Keep the wrists flat (bottom hand palm-down, top hand palm-up) all the way through the hitting zone – do not roll the wrists over until the back arm is extended.
From contact (position 5), continue turning the wrists and extending your back arm until both arms are fully extend in an inverted V (the Power V) and the bat is pointing directly at the pitcher. In youth baseball or softball, few hitters get full extension into the Power V position. Getting into the Power V helps the hitter keep the bat in the hitting zone and hit through the ball, maximizing the force applied to the ball. The contact position (5) can be thought of as whipping the bat from position 4, with the bat pointing straight behind the hitter, through the hitting zone to position 6, with the bat pointing straight ahead, with the hands moving on a line between those positions.
The key positional checkpoints of the Power V are:
The checkpoints for position 7 are:
This drill is designed to help the hitter learn the contact positions and the concept of extending through the hitting zone. You will need two batting tees, two rubber bands, and a friend, parent, or coach to help. I personally use this drill to teach the swing positions.
As the hitter improves, try this variant. Place a ball on one of the two tees and have the hitter get in his stance. When the coach says “Ready”, the hitter moves through positions 2 and 3 at regular speed (without stopping) and holds position 3. The coach then says “Swing” and hitter swings through and hits the ball. Vary the ball position from one tee to the other. The hitter should use the same swing to hit either ball. Try swinging at half-speed at first, then increase to full speed.
In the above sequence, three contact positions are shown at the back (5(a)), middle (5(b)), and front (5(c)) of the hitting zone. The hitting zone is the region where you want the bat's sweet spot to travel along the path of the pitch. The hitting zone should run roughly from about the middle of the plate to about 8 or so inches in front of the plate, about 16-24 inches total. At 90 mph, it takes a pitch only 1/100th of second to pass through the hitting zone, so that’s the margin for error you have in your timing. You must deliver the sweet spot to and through the hitting zone in the same 1/100th of second that the ball is passing through the hitting zone. With only a 1/100th of second margin for error, you can’t be sure where in the hitting zone your bat will contact the ball. So to give yourself the best chance of making solid contact, you want the sweet spot to travel up the full length of the hitting zone. Over the course of a season, that will translate into more hits.
POSITION 4: EXPLODE OPEN, KNOB TO BALL
From position 3 (pre-swing), fire the back hip around toward the pitcher, rolling the back foot over onto the point, heel high. The back elbow rides on the back hip as it rotates. Position 3 occurs as the hands get to the side of the hitter and the bat is pointing directly behind, knob end in front.The photo at left is interesting because the ball is about 5 feet in front of home plate, yet the hitter is leading with the knob end of the bat with the barrel end pointed directly behind. At 90 mph, the ball is about 1/30th of a second from home plate.
The position 4 checkpoints are:
- Back foot turns over on onto point, heel high
- Lock front leg straight as you turn the hips
- Back elbow rides on the back hip
- Shoulders start to rotate open
- Knob is in front with the barrel directly behind so the knob end of the bat is pointing toward the ball
- Keep the wrists cocked - do not start to rotate them yet
- Adjust your lean out over the plate to the height of the pitch: lower pitches require more lean and a lower back elbow, higher ones less lean and a higher back elbow
Another common mistake is “casting” or rotating the wrists too early. In the position 4 photo below, the bat is pointing to the rear, away from the pitcher, so it’s clear that the hitter’s wrists have not rotated yet. By position 5, the bat has rotated 90 degrees. By position 6, it has rotated a full 180 degrees from position 4 and is pointing straight ahead toward the pitcher. It’s mainly the wrists that rotate the bat 180 degrees from back (position 4) through the hitting zone to front (position 6), so it’s important not to use up your wrist rotation before position 4.
POSITION 5: CONTACT
Position 5 is where the bat meets the ball. From position 4, lock your front leg straight and complete your hip rotation, rolling your back foot onto the point, heel-high. Start to rotate your wrists to bring the sweet spot of the bat to the back end of the hitting zone. At the same time, start to extend the back arm forward toward the pitcher so the hands travel in a straight line parallel to the hitting zone, as shown on the photo sequence below. The movement of the back arm and the hand-path are critical. The extension of the back arm and hands forward toward the pitcher, rather than rotating them in front of your body, will keep the sweet spot in the hitting zone. If you don’t extend that back arm, the hands stop moving forward and the wrist rotation will carry the hands around in front of the hitter and pull the bat prematurely out of the hitting zone - a mistake known as “coming (or pulling) off the ball.”
Here’s the position 5 checklist:
- Hips rotated to front facing pitcher, back foot up on point, heel high (if you’re on the bottom of the toes instead the point, you have too much weight on the back foot)
- Upper body vertically aligned above the back knee (“nose over knee”)
- Front leg locked straight, angled out front
- Back elbow still near back hip; will start to break contact as you extend your arms
- Hands ahead of bat barrel at the back of the hitting zone, even with the barrel at the center of the hitting zone, and slightly behind the barrel at the front of the hitting zone.
- Wrists flat through hitting zone: bottom hand palm-down, top hand palm-up.
- Head down and still
From contact (position 5), continue turning the wrists and extending your back arm until both arms are fully extend in an inverted V (the Power V) and the bat is pointing directly at the pitcher. In youth baseball or softball, few hitters get full extension into the Power V position. Getting into the Power V helps the hitter keep the bat in the hitting zone and hit through the ball, maximizing the force applied to the ball. The contact position (5) can be thought of as whipping the bat from position 4, with the bat pointing straight behind the hitter, through the hitting zone to position 6, with the bat pointing straight ahead, with the hands moving on a line between those positions.
The key positional checkpoints of the Power V are:
- The lower body is in the same position as in position 5
- The arms are fully extended forward into the “Power V”, bat pointing toward the pitcher
- The hands and arms are moving in front of the body in a circular path again
- The wrists are just starting to roll over
POSITION 7: THE FOLLOW-THROUGH
After position 6 (the Power V), complete the shoulder rotation until the back shoulder has rotated completely to the front and the bat is behind your head. Some pro hitters release the bat with their upper hand after position 6, such as shown in the position 7 photo at the top of the page. It’s OK to do that as long as you don’t do it before you get full extension into the Power V. However, I recommend that youth players hold on to the bat with both hands in the follow-through. The checkpoints for position 7 are:
- Back shoulder rotated completely to front
- Both hands on bat, finish near the back ear
- Lower body in same position as positions 4 and 5
This drill is designed to help the hitter learn the contact positions and the concept of extending through the hitting zone. You will need two batting tees, two rubber bands, and a friend, parent, or coach to help. I personally use this drill to teach the swing positions.
- Place the rubber bands onto the barrel of the bat about 3 inches apart centered on the sweet spot. The rubber bands will serve as a visual cue to help the hitter keep the sweet spot in the hitting zone.
- Set up the two tees. Place one about over the middle of the plate. Place the other about 8 inches in front of the plate and about two inches higher than the other tee. The two tees mark the hitting zone. Place a ball on each tee (it can be a regular ball, a batting machine ball, or a whiffle ball)
- Set up in your regular stance (position 1)
- The coach calls out “2” and you move into position 2 and hold it
- Do the same for positions 3 then 4. Make corrections as needed.
- When the coach calls out “5a”, move to the contact position with the ball at the back end of the hitting zone (the tee in the middle of the plate) and hold it. Check your position against the position 5 checkpoints. Be sure your hands are ahead of the barrel of the bat and that the sweet spot (as marked by the rubber bands) is on the ball
- When the coach calls out “5b”, gently knock the ball off the first tee, extend your back arm and hands forward toward the pitcher while rotating the wrists and keeping the sweet spot in the hitting zone, and put the sweet spot on the ball at the front of the hitting zone (you may) and hold it. Again, check your position against the checkpoints. Your hands should be a bit behind the bat barrel and you should have the sweet spot still on the ball.
- When the coach calls out ”6”, gently hit through the ball on the tee and fully extend in to the power V position.
- Finally, on “7” complete your swing to the follow-through position
As the hitter improves, try this variant. Place a ball on one of the two tees and have the hitter get in his stance. When the coach says “Ready”, the hitter moves through positions 2 and 3 at regular speed (without stopping) and holds position 3. The coach then says “Swing” and hitter swings through and hits the ball. Vary the ball position from one tee to the other. The hitter should use the same swing to hit either ball. Try swinging at half-speed at first, then increase to full speed.
