by Mike Ryan, Impact Hitting

Hitters are often frustrated by their lack of ability to hit the ball harder and further, more often. Hitting a ball on the nose once in a while, simply reminds me of my 18 holes of golf when I make that one good shot in the entire round.  That one good shot is enough to keep hackers like me coming back to the golf course.

So why do hitters experience big time inconsistency when it comes to hitting for more power?  Obviously several reasons can attribute to inconsistency, but this article is for those dads, coaches, and players to understand the importance of angles and gaps.


First off, to completely understand the angles of hitting, I think it is very important to see it before you evaluate it compare it, and go to work with it.

For example, take 10 major league hitters on video and go to work.   Use Sports Center or Baseball games and record.  Here is what I want you to evaluate...


Bat Angles – After Stride

Evaluate the angle of the bat as the hitter plants his foot to the ground.  Planting basically means when the entire front foot is flat to the ground.  This is different than when the foot touches.  Foot plant is when the stride foot is firmly on the ground.

Study this from the front angle (pitchers view) and study this angle from the side view (dugout view) looking at the hitters front.

Initial Bat Angle

During initial rotation or movement with the hip.  

From the side view watch the angle of the bat as hitter rotates the hip’s until the belly button is facing the first base bag.   Look at the angle of the bat and study how much gap is between the middle of the bat and the side of the back shoulder.

Why?  I believe the angles we see the great major league hitters create are very consistent from hitter to hitter, yet of course in youth league, high school, and some college hitters we don’t replicate what elite hitters do.

What you see and how does this help or hurt power?  After stride foot plants you will consistently see a bat angle that is between one and two o’clock.  

From the front view, imagine the angle of the bat representing a clock.  A bat directly pointed up would be at twelve o’clock, and a bat that is flat is three o’clock.  Where do elite hitters line up?  Somewhere between one and two o’clock consistently. 

Gap Checkpoint #1 Front Angle

From the pitchers or centerfield view point, you will not see the top hand in vision. This shows us the hands are back and in towards the back shoulder.   This also generally lines the bat angle up as if it were splitting the neck or ear of the batter.

If you can clearly see the top hand from the direct pitcher/centerfield view then the gap between body and bat/hands is too great.  This only increases chances of swinging “around” the ball and turning the wrist over early.
 
During initial rotation of the hips you will notice the angle of the bat from the side view is not initially flat for a great major leaguer.  In fact, the better the power hitter, the barrel of the bat will remain higher than the bottom of the bat longer than a singles hitter.  The longer the barrel remains higher than the bottom of the bat, the more back spin can be created.


Initial Rotation Gaps

During this initial rotation (I refer to Mid-Turn)  you will also notice very little or no gap between the middle of the bat and the side of the shoulder or arm.   In fact the greater the gap between bat and shoulder also will encourage the hitter to roll the wrist after contact.

Let’s review...

• Problem – Hitter rolls the wrist too early creating too many ground balls or simply very little distance with consistency.
• Checkpoints -  How improper angles and too big gaps can encourage hitters to roll the wrist too early, decreasing distance of the baseball flight.

Side Angle 

From the side angle you will also notice the barrel cocked back slightly towards the hitter’s helmet. This is a sign that the hitter has cocked bottom wrist at foot plant which will help snapping the barrel through the ball later in the swing. Once again the gap between the top hand and back shoulder is very little.  The more gap, the greater the chances of swinging around the ball and rolling the wrist. 

Homework - View video of major league hitters from the front view and side view.  Study bat angles and gap of hands and shoulders. Compare it to your players angles and gaps.

Looking for Wrist Roll

Some of the more experienced coaches out there have read the books and understand that most if not all coaches agree that you don’t want to roll the wrist through contact.  Flat hands or swinging level after contact is essential when it comes to hitting the ball with greater distance.

Rolling the wrist is 90% more likely to happen to a hitter with a bat angle too close to three O’clock or lower.

Why? Especially if this hitter has been trained like many to hit line drives and hard ground balls, the flat bat angle is a guaranteed rollover and ground ball hitter.

Why? Because the bat is already almost level, the hitter will then swing at pitches below the chest area in a downward motion actually creating a non-level bat immediately after contact and sometimes sooner. 

In other words it’s almost impossible to swing level, when the bat is level during the stride.  The bat will eventually flip over, the wrist will roll and more ground balls will occur.  Most importantly the wrist end up rolling at the absolute worst time.  That bat needs to stay at it’s most level on and after contact going to extension.  Any downward movement of the barrel caused by wrist roll will seriously decrease distance of the ball.

Note:  Often times a hitter with a flat bat will catch a pitch around chest high and drive it far.  Why? Because this is the only area in which the hitter can actually maintain a level bat through the hitter area. This also gives the hitter false confidence that he can repeat this more often.  The truth is he or she will be limited in the areas of the strike zone to drive pitches.

Mid-Turn - Bat Angle

Check bat angle after foot plant and during initial rotation.  Compare it to the best.  My bet is 70-80% of the time angles are poor or a little off.

Save the worms!
Stop hitting
ground balls

Gap between the middle of the bat and side of the shoulder during the initial hip turn is too much. When the bat leaves the shoulder area the bat then sweeps around the ball creating ground balls or worm burners to the pull side.

Is it possible for a hitter to have a good bat angle after stride and during the mid-turn and still have tendencies to roll the wrist?  Absolutely. 

If this is the case, angles are good, then you know your focus must be on how to use the hands during the swing.  If angles are poor, start by making corrections on angles first.  This will increase your chances of hitting harder, and farther more often.


To receive additional drills on bat angle corrections along with gaps, you can email Mike Ryan c/o WebBall. As we have added insights we will add to this discussion. Members can comment directly...