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Online now: 6 members: 3_SoftballFreak, Coach5, LC7, TABLE SETTER 11, los1907, ronniealvarado#7; 99 anonymousDiscussion: A Poll For The Power Hitters
| Posted | Discussion |
| Nov. 5, 2011 4x4 Men's 65 601 posts | A Poll For The Power Hitters For feedback let's keep this for the genuine power hitters - the guys that hit 25-35 + home runs per year. Let's keep it within the Major/Major Plus guys only. Anyone hitting that many home runs in AAA isn't playing in AAA they are hiding there. Gary19. We have heard your mantra before so just pass on this thread. Here are the questions: Which grip do you prefer to use - hand over hand - or power grip. Once you indicate which grip indicate which fields you routinely hit to. Percentages if you want to use them. Why do you prefer the grip you employ and what do you feel are the advantages. It will be interesting to see how this breaks down. |
| Nov. 5, 2011 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | to be real honest,hitting only 25-35 hrs a year is not a power hitter,unless your only playing 4-5 tourneys max.your avg power hitter should be getting 2 per game,in a 5 game tourney thats 10 hrs,3 tourneys and he has the number you are saying a power hitter is,hell i get that per year,and i don't consider myself a power hitter.i can get 3-5 per tourney,depending how many games we play.reno had 5 hrs played 10 games,dalton had 3 played 6 games.phx played 12 games had 3(60's and 55's),that is just the 4 major tourneys i went to and none of the little ones or qualifiers. on the grips,i really don't think it matters(mine is a parital overlap,top hand only put my pinky over the pointing finger of my bottom hand,and drop the my pinky off the knob of my bottom hand,just b/c you asked),but more of pitch selection and making good contact and getting the ball to have some good backspin for carry. |
| Nov. 5, 2011 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | Hi Pete, I use the hand over hand (baseball grip) and I usually hit from center to right. I'm a lefty for those that didn't know. I hope you don't use this info the next time we play you! I use it because I believe it allow me to switch to a more controled swing if needed. I do work on hitting to left in bp, just to keep the oppostion honest. |
| Nov. 5, 2011 garyheifner 649 posts | My team played, I think 10 Tournaments at the 65AAA level and I am sure well less than a dozen were hit all year against us. That included Phoenix and Dalton. I pretty much pitch or catch now. The Hr hitters used a standard grip. The one outstanding feature was the extraordinarily hard swings and some impressive grunts the batters took. Some almost fell down. There was nothing smooth about their swings. |
| Nov. 5, 2011 4x4 Men's 65 601 posts | Bob - I agree the number is not high. I did it that way to get a larger number of replies without trying appeal only to the elite hitters - and catching the negative comments that might change the direction of the threads simply asked questions. |
| Nov. 6, 2011 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | 4x4-this is an interesting topic, which also includes 'what is a power hitter'. mad dog puts out there 2 a game. You put out there 25-35 + per year. You also exclude AAA and AA hitters, but there are exceptions to that too, and not because of sandbagging or 'hiding'. One factor that you both said is that this does not seem to be a huge issue in 60's and 65's and older. That has got to do with age, as there are fewer and fewer guys still able to hit it out at those ages. It is just a physical fact. We're getting old. At 50-60 it is still a different story. Lots of guys are able to hit it out-many of them almost at will. Next year is going to be interesting with the new homerun rules. I am not one of your 'elite' hitters, but I do hit for some power (about 1 a game) and for average. Standard grip (left handed) with right pinkie over the knob. For a look-go to Jack's site under Rocky Mountain Classic-Desperados vs. Scrap Iron Championship. Jack caught the ball on the bat on a home run swing. |
| Nov. 6, 2011 CallaVett Men's 50 61 posts | I'm not what you would consider an elite power hitter and I don't play major/major + but I hit my share of HR. I generally average around 1 HR / game (but I try to limit myself to one per game). IMO, HRs are primarily determined by technique and bat speed. I use a standard grip; dropping the pinkie off the knob. Most of my HR are to center and the left center power alley. Most of my mistake HR are to the opposite field, I rarely try to HR to the opposite field. I currently prefer the standard grip because of the additional bat control I gain. I just don't get enough BP these days to have good bat control with the overlap grip. Steve |
| Nov. 6, 2011 E4/E6 Men's 70 873 posts | Pete, I'm probably an average power guy but feel my power comes from my hip turn (I do have long arms that help with leverage and still manage to get ok bat speed). At best I can hit long to left center or center. My grip remains the same regardless,hand over hand, even if I am not going deep. Good topic.... |
| Nov. 6, 2011 17Black Men's 60 414 posts | I bat right handed, standard grip except my left hand only grips the bottom knob of the bat with my thumb and forefinger (the knob fits in the web of my hand with finger and thumb around it., and my right hand directly above----- My other three fingers don't touch bat at all, and I get a lot of extra "whip" with my left arm on my follow through. Been doing that since late 80's. Also gives me a few more inches of bat that you can't get when both hand are on the handle. It also allows me to drive for power opposite field. |
| Nov. 7, 2011 canIjack Men's 60 322 posts | Hey 4x4, I'm 55 Major and 60 M+ and I hit about 5 hrs a Tourney. I Bat Right, I prefer the hand over hand with the knob of the bat tapered. When I hit Hrs, their normally towards center to Right center (those are my 350'plus Blast). I like to get my short arms extended(5'11" 235lb), so I throw my hands. I can't throw my hands and hold onto the bat unless I have the hand over hand grip. I don't role my hands on contact either, I was taught to let them fly for Hrs. |
| Nov. 9, 2011 RecMan13 15 posts | I bat right handedand use the hand over hand grip and hang two fingers off the knob. I usually hit to left and left center but have gone to center and right on a few occassions! I would say 85% to left! I would estmate that I average around 6-12 per tournament, but I am not strictly a power hitter...usually bat for a high average as well! |
| Nov. 13, 2011 4x4 Men's 65 601 posts | Bruce - guys, thanks for the feedback. The reason I asked is I switched a few years back to the power grip. For me it made it easier to go oppo depending on pitch location adding more areas to gap and spreading the outfielders in the process which I see as an advantage. Lately seems everyone I've hit with uses the conventional grip but are pretty much "pull" hitters using about 1/3 to 1/2 the field. Distance seems the same among equal hitters with either grip. What I found one day while hitting is a guy watching on deck mentioned that the ball was coming off the bat sideways (dragging the bat head). I added and worked on more push from the rear hand (right handed hitter) and there was a noticable increase in speed and more pop (re)gained to all fields. That's what got me started thinking about possibly going back to the standard grip to insure consistant wrist roll. I might tinker with it during the off season off the tee and see how it feels. To me when I've gone back and forth the power grip feels like a lot smoother swing with possibly less movements/adjustments. Some might gain the same advantage by dropping the fingers and full upper hand. Maybe we'll get more feedback. Heading out for our annual wintering in Thailand tomorrow (snow birding from CA) so will tinker in the league games and BP there. Will check in on the board once there. |
| Nov. 13, 2011 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | PETE,GET SOME 16" BALLS AND HIT THEM OFF THE TEE AND USE THEM FOR BP ALSO.THEY ARE BIG AND SOFT AND THEY MAKE YOU POWER THRU THEM TO HIT THEM GOOD,THIS WILL LEAD TO YOU HAVING BETTER FOLLOW THRU WITH THE REGULAR BALLS.WE ARE USING(I INTRODUCED THEM A FEW WEEKS BACK) IN OUR SUNDAY BP'S HERE.IT IS A BLAST TO SEE THE GUYS TRYING TO GET SOME DISTANCE ON THEM,BUT IT IS HELPING THEIR FOLLOW THRU....... |
| Nov. 13, 2011 4x4 Men's 65 601 posts | Bob - thanks for the 16" info................ Finding softball stuff there is next to impossible. I just packed an old elite bag crammed with some new Macenko bats and a dozen new Baden Fires to donate to the group as they are spirit rich but equipment poor. I am not sure where the college teams we play against get their stuff. The 16" sounds good. Didn't think of that - I was planning to pick up a basketball or soccer - or volleyball over there to whack to get the same result. Those sports are well represented there. So's ping pong but hitting one with a bat won't help much - but the family competition in ping pong is good as they were all raised on it (very quick) so we'll get a lot of hand eye help there. |
| Nov. 14, 2011 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | pete those will do the same,just deflate them some so your not chasing them all over the place...LOL.....big steve butler likes deflated basketballs.hey the ping pong ball can be used for hand eye cord,use a broomstick to hit it as someone tosses soft toss to ya. |
