Hitters vary in how they present themselves at the plate. Let them, it is their personal style and often times, as coaches, we tend to monkey around with their initial stance. Personal style is a comfort that hitters need to have. You can look at every hitter and they will all have subtle differences in their stance and their approach. You should be looking to make sure their knocker knuckles are lined up and that they are in a comfortable position. As the pitcher begins to wind up, there should be a little upper body load, or inward turn. The front side turns into the plate 2-3 inches. This upper body load or trigger is crucial for timing the pitch. A small stride forward, 2-3 inches, will get the body prepared to launch. This is the soft stride to toe-touch. Weight remains centered in the back at about a 60/40, just less than half. Note that strides will vary just as with the set up, but as long as they are not lunging forward and stopping the forward movement at heel drop, they should be fine.

When the hitter decides to swing, the stride foot heel sinks into the ground and the front hip will pull back. Heel drop and hips! This is a huge element to the swing in regard to power. Notice that the core muscles are the primary factors in the initial part of the swing. As the hips begin to rotate around the stiff front leg, they will pull the smaller muscles (arms and hands). The biggest mistake many players have is that they let their hands lead the way, which causes seperation of the upper from the lower body.

As the body rotates around a fixed axis, this generates an incredible amount of energy and force. As this is happening, the arms come into play. The front elbow tilts upward and around the body and the back elbow is tucked into the body. This will allow the bat head to drop level to the incoming pitch and flatten out. You are looking for a nice flat swing slightly up threw the ball.

The elbows, arms and hands are absolutely vital to the second half of this swing. They are responsible for the guiding of the bat, almost like a steering wheel of a car. Depending on the flight of the ball the hands will adjust accordingly to the path of the pitch. This is what Epstein refers to as "weather veining." The adjustment made within the swing. The weight has to stop moving forward at heel drop and rotate around the body.

Ideal contact is made at a 90 degree angle to the ball, give or take 10 -12 degrees. The bat is moving in a slight upward motion through the heart of the ball. Not down, but up. The back shoulder has to drop and the front elbow has to rotate up and around the body in order to make contact. Extension occurs after contact is made and the energy that was generated in the body is distributed through the ball. Sha-zam!

If you lead with your hands, your arms will extend to early and your wrists will roll-over causing less than optimal results.

I teach my players, short to the ball, long through the ball.