A quick fix that will help your hitters
Get the bat out of your palms
90 Percent of the ball players that I see from 8u all the way up to 18u still grip the bat deep
in their palms. I'm not sure why they have been taught this way or if they've just never been
taught anything at all.
The hands are the one and only physical link to the bat. You don’t hold it with your arms, your shoulders, your legs, feet or your mind. The only body part which touches the bat is your hands. You may use those other body parts to swing the bat properly, but your hands are the only physical connection to the bat.
It stands to reason then, that if you intend to develop yourself into a good hitter, that you start with a fundamentally sound grip on the bat. One that will allow your other body parts, once they are introduced, to work properly and efficiently with your hands to produce a powerful, effective, controlled and repeatable swing.
A good grip is one where the handle of the bat is held primarily in the fingers of the hand. To do this, lay the handle of the bat across the lower base of the fingers of each hand. Then, simply close your hands around the handle.
Do not squeeze the bat. Hold it lightly in your fingers. Pretend as though you are holding a small bird in your hands. You want to hold the bird firmly enough to prevent it from flying away, yet not so tightly that you harm the bird.
A light grip such as this keeps the muscles of the hands, wrists and forearms loose and prepared for action. Loose muscles are fast muscles. You might think that by squeezing the sawdust out of the bat, gritting your teeth and flexing your arm muscles, you are prepared to hit even a Nolan Ryan fast ball. In actuality, the reverse is true. Tight muscles are slow. The tightness inhibits other muscles, that you don’t even realize you are using, from helping you during the swing. Have you ever watched a Major League hitter lightly grip and re-grip the bat as he waited for the pitch? He is unconsciously reminding himself to keep a loose grip.
Never hold the bat back in the palms of the hands! Holding the bat in this manner inhibits the flexion of the wrists during the swing and robs you of natural quickness and power. Holding the bat in the palms can also be very painful. I have seen many batters, of all levels, strike the ball while holding the bat incorrectly and receive a terrible bruise near the web of the top hand. These bruises seem to linger with hitters for several days or even weeks. Believe me, it only takes one of these bruises to make a believer out of you about the importance of holding the bat in the fingers.
