Link: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

Bamabuzzard · May 15, 2018

I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

I'm not sure how y'all were taught to hit as youngsters, but the most popular method during my time was "Swing down on the ball", or "chopping down" on the ball. This is no longer as popular of a method as it was in the mid 80's to early 90's. But there are still some coaches, especially on the youth level who teach this method. Personally, I do not endorse nor teach this method of hitting. But I would love to get some of y'alls thoughts on this topic.

https://www.beabetterhitter.com/hit-baseball-stop-swinging-down/

gman4tide · May 15, 2018

Re: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

I went thru a time of being "taught" that...and went thru a time "teaching" "swinging down". Both were more of a way to keep from dropping hands/back shoulder and swinging "up".

Bamabuzzard · May 15, 2018

Re: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

gman4tide said:
I went thru a time of being "taught" that...and went thru a time "teaching" "swinging down". Both were more of a way to keep from dropping hands/back shoulder and swinging "up".

Yeah, the intent never was literally to get them to "swing down" but in their attempt to swing down they actually put the barrel on the same plane as the ball. Which doesn't actually happen if the hitter literally is able to swing down.

However, there are coaches whose intent is for them to literally swing down and there are a lot of players who are literally able to swing downward. Their thought process is the downward path of the barrel at contact creates backspin and lift. The problem is (as the article and diagram shows) the hitter has to be perfect on everything. There's no room for error. Also, (and this is just my own personal opinion) I've not found any hitting expert say this. But the "swing down" method inherently promotes "casting" the bat with the back arm. Because when attempting to swing down you can "feel" your back elbow and arm "wanting" to push outward. Where as a "hands inside the ball" to get to "palm up/palm down" almost forces that back elbow to "slot" up against the torso preventing the "casting" motion. Again, that's just my own personal thought.

crimsonkelly · May 15, 2018

Re: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

Yea, I remember as a high school graduate in 1995 it was swing down to create backspin on the ball. What I could have been

We preach hands above the ball, top hand palm facing up and more important that all of that is launch angle. :biggrin:
ok, that launch angle is a joke, but we talk about driving the ball from gap to gap which really is launch angle in disguise.

Bamabuzzard · May 16, 2018

Re: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

crimsonkelly said:
Yea, I remember as a high school graduate in 1995 it was swing down to create backspin on the ball. What I could have been

We preach hands above the ball, top hand palm facing up and more important that all of that is launch angle. :biggrin:
ok, that launch angle is a joke, but we talk about driving the ball from gap to gap which really is launch angle in disguise.

Yep, for YEARS a lot of us were taught the barrel should stay above the hands. But that simply isn't true. Unless the hitter is swinging at a ball above his shoulders, the hands should dang near always be slightly above the barrel and hands should be slightly above the ball.

crimsonkelly · May 16, 2018

Re: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

2 of the best hitters to walk the planet in my opinion....

What is most telling that most teach is keep your weight back. But look above and the back foot is off the ground during contact but ends up there, that is the hard part!

Bamabuzzard · May 16, 2018

Re: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

crimsonkelly said:
2 of the best hitters to walk the planet in my opinion....

What is most telling that most teach is keep your weight back. But look above and the back foot is off the ground during contact but ends up there, that is the hard part!

My college baseball coach played in the SF Giants system (never made it to the bigs) and addressed this concept with us. It's not important to "keep your weight back" but to keep your core together or "intact" through the swing to contact. Both Griffey Jr and Trout's weight has transferred to the inside part of their front leg but their upper body and lower body are "together" at the point of contact. There's barely any weight at all on their backside.

Tug Tide · May 18, 2018

Re: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

Ted Williams:
“Swing level and run like the devil”

Search

Link: I thought this might be a good topic of discussion. "Swinging down on the ball".

Bamabuzzard

FB Moderator

gman4tide

All-SEC

Bamabuzzard

FB Moderator

crimsonkelly

All-American

Bamabuzzard

FB Moderator

crimsonkelly

All-American

Bamabuzzard

FB Moderator

Tug Tide

All-American

New Posts

Latest threads

TideFans.shop - NEW Stuff!