HITTING - Don't Let the Hips Trail the Hands

Feel like you're rolling balls over to the pull-side? Does your swing feel long? Are you getting beaten by inside fastballs? Does your swing feel void of power? Perhaps your hands are leading your hips in the swing.

Most hitters understand the importance of hip-rotation in the swing. It engages the lower half of the body so that the lower back and legs contribute to the strength of the swing. Rotating the hips also clears a path for the hands (and barrel) to take a direct route to the ball. But there are times when hitters get their hands out in front of their hips. Even though their hips do rotate and they look good in the finish, bat speed and power are diminished and the path of the swing is elongated.

The reason this occurs in easy to understand. The hitter is holding the bat in his hands and when he sees a pitch he likes, he fires his hands to the ball. The correct action, however, is to have the hands and hips starting simultaneously to the ball. Because the hands are positioned behind the lower body (when loaded), the hips rotate in front of the hands and help pull them to the ball. As mentioned, this not only engages the muscles in the lower half of the body, but it also pulls the hands on a direct route to the ball.

The leading cause to this mistake is a heavy stride foot. If the hitter glides out or gets his weight forward with the stride, he's unable to forcefully rotate his hips. His only option is to swing the bat with his arms and upper body and will pull off the ball. Landing too closed with the stride foot can also cause the hands to lead the hips. Diving in towards home plate can block the hips from rotating through. Hitters will notice they have difficulty getting to inside strikes, and when they do, they commonly top the ball or hit balls in the air that hook rather than carry. Because the hips can't clear, the barrel gets around the baseball making it difficult to square the ball and stay through it.

A longer swing also causes problems at advanced levels of play. The hitter will have to start his swing earlier to get to a fastball, making him much more vulnerable to off-speed pitches. The advantage of a short, compact swing is that it affords the hitter more time to read pitch location and pitch type. If he has to start his swing early to get to a fastball, he has less time to identify a breaking pitch (or pitch out of the strike zone for that matter).

If you're feeling these symptons, check the timing of your hip-rotation. Perhaps they're a little late to the party. In a fundamentally sound swing, the hips lead the hands. If they trail, the barrel of the bat will rarely see the light of day.