“MOMENT OF TRUTH #3″ – BEND YOUR WRISTS AND WAVE BYE-BYE TO A GOOD SWINGIf you’ve been following my last few posts, the first thing I must do is apologize for taking so long to get this one out. 2014 camp enrollments have been pounding us and I’m a bit behind. You know that I’m discussing four critical times in the swing sequence. I’ve labeled them the Four Moments of Truth. Overly dramatic? Maybe a tad. But after analyzing thousands of hitters, it’s become clear that a breakdown at any of these Moments of Truth (MOT) will severely limit the hitter’s chance for success.
In order to illustrate MOT #3 let’s go back to MOT #1. Check out the angle of Joey Votto’s cocked wrists at Heel Down.
In order to illustrate MOT #3 let’s go back to MOT #1. Check out the angle of Joey Votto’s cocked wrists at Heel Down.
The angle of the bat and Joey’s top hand is just about 90 degrees.
It’s at this moment that so many hitters lay their wrists back resulting in what the Big Guys call “laying off the bat head.” This results in a longer swing (not good). This wrist angle change will result in the back elbow sliding underneath too fast and too early which drops the bat head below the hitting zone. The bat is then making contact at an aggressive uphill angle and the result is a swing under the ball or a top-spin grounder.
It’s at this moment that so many hitters lay their wrists back resulting in what the Big Guys call “laying off the bat head.” This results in a longer swing (not good). This wrist angle change will result in the back elbow sliding underneath too fast and too early which drops the bat head below the hitting zone. The bat is then making contact at an aggressive uphill angle and the result is a swing under the ball or a top-spin grounder.
This young hitter has laid his wrists back and caused the bat head to drop too far too fast.
So, what do we want the hitter to do with his wrists as he begins the swing?…nothing. That is, the hitter maintains the cocked wrist angle until they unfold just before contact. Fight the urge to make some kind of an adjustment prior to that. The wrists explode into the ball at contact…but not before. That’s why maintaining the cocked wrist angle is MOMENT OF TRUTH #3.
So, what do we want the hitter to do with his wrists as he begins the swing?…nothing. That is, the hitter maintains the cocked wrist angle until they unfold just before contact. Fight the urge to make some kind of an adjustment prior to that. The wrists explode into the ball at contact…but not before. That’s why maintaining the cocked wrist angle is MOMENT OF TRUTH #3.