Key to Hitting: The Power of the Top Hand!! Part of the “6 Simple Steps of Line Drive Hitting.”

Key to Hitting: The Power of the Top Hand!! Part of the “6 Simple Steps of Line Drive Hitting.” I firmly believe that the Top Hand is the MOST IMPORTANT PART OF HITTING!! For years coaches and parents have been telling hitters they are dropping their back shoulder when they pop up or strike out. With high-power cameras and slow-motion technology, we now know the vast majority of pop-ups and strikeouts are caused by a weak Top Hand. What has been called “you’re dropping your shoulder” is actually your top hand dropping as you come out of the Load and get to Connection or Arm Slot is what they say in baseball. If the top hands drops below the lead hand (bottom hand) coming out of the Load it causes the barrel to be on plane or negative (below the ball) coming right out of the Load thus dropping the bat barrel and starting an uppercut motion to the ball and not the dropping of the back shoulder!! It’s very hard to put into words what you need to see with your very own eyes but let’s give it a try!! To Master the “6 Simple Steps of Line Drive Hitting “a hitter must have a strong Top Hand and control the heaviest part of the bat “the barrel” when they release their hands from the Load. Now what I am going to explain is a little technical but crucial to be a line-drive hitter. The bat must hit the ball at the bottom third 1/3 which means the barrel of the bat must approach the ball at an angle of negative -2, anything below -2 results in a foul tip, pop up or strike out. I’ve been studying thousands of hours of videos and working with thousands of hitters in my 4 decades of coaching and I know for a fact that the Top Hand is the number one key to making proper Contact with the ball and creating an Explosive Swing with a High Batting Average and an outstanding On Base Percentage!!l. So, let’s begin with the journey of Hitting a Line Drive! Let’s start with wherever the ball represents Zero 0. When the hands are released from the Load the top hand elbow must go into Connection in the baseball world, they sometimes call it the “Arm Slot”. At Connection, the Top Hand should still be above the bottom hand with the bat barrel still not on plane (level with the path of the ball) but still in a positive angle position above Zero 0 or above what is called “on plane”!! As the hands move forward out of Connection with knob of the bat pointing towards the pitcher, the hitter brings the elbow tight to the body (some coaches call this “hands inside the ball”) and the bat barrel moves on plane or bat lag. As the barrel approaches the ball it will begin to drop down below the ball which is at Zero (0) and the barrel will now be approaching Contact with the ball at negative -2 hopefully at the Power L driving the ball towards the fence with a good Extension Power V and then complete their swing with a Hinge Finish. Top Hand drills such as High Tee works and Top Hand extension drills are the Key to being a pure explosive hitter and mastering the 6 Simple Steps of Line Drive Hitting!!!! Folks mastering the 6 Simple Steps of Line Drive Hitting is so important to develop good habits in swinging the bat and eliminating common mistakes, I encourage you to go to Allaboutsports.com and click on Softball and Join the Winning Team of Hitters around the World!!! I’ve had the privilege of developing many explosive hitters for years.  Many have obtained college scholarships by following my 6 Simple Steps of Line Drive Hitting.