How To Fix Bat Drag Using A Bucket

[@maxoblivion]

Some of you guys are way too tough on this coach. The part about starting the swing with the bat on top of the shoulder to cure bat drag is what I found worked for me 45 years ago. In fact, from that position the bat naturally attacks the ball properly. The entire body will uncoil in perfect progression. Most hitting instruction these days is way too complicated. If you simply start from the correct position, most of the rest will take care of itself. When I started playing baseball all of the coaches would scream "take the bat off your shoulder" "get ready to swing". They were dopes. I just looked at some Pete Rose video. When he's hitting lefty, his bat is usually either just off of his shoulder or pressed against the side of his shoulder. Batters don't need to all have the same style but give it a try. The bat starting on the shoulder will cure a lot of ills. I learned this simple technique on my own at the age of 14 by practicing my swing while hitting rocks when a freeway was being built behind my house. I would toss the rock up with my left hand with the bat resting on my shoulder held by my right hand. So my swing would begin with the bat on my shoulder. Try this with a baseball instead of a rock and notice how when tossing the ball up, your weight shifts to your rear foot (loading) and then forward (striding) before you begin your swing. This is a great drill for any young hitter. I became the best hitter I could be this way. Think outside the box people. Try it.

[@positiveunity2393]

love the video and find the technique very helpful for trying to figure out my swing.

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

Glad that I could help. If you ever want to get your swing analyzed, sign up on my Online Hitting Academy for distance learning. Take a look at: bit.ly/BaseballBarn

[@CaliRican787]

I will put that on practice to see if it helps my 6u slugger 😎👍🏾

[@samdomino6880]

Have you seen such bad bat drag that a power hitter can still hit for power to opposite field?

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

Hi Sam. I am not sure I follow your question, but in short, yes, I have, but not consistently. Can the power hitter still hit for power with bad bat drag? Even to the opposite field? There is always the exception to the rule where a power hitter with bat drag still hits for power to the opposite field, but again, it comes back to consistency at higher levels. One of the bigger issues with bat drag is inconsistency; the barrel never really gets on plane early enough and tends to drop below parallel and below the ball as the shoulders turn through with the elbows getting closer together. You also typically have early wrist roll because of the leading elbow and barrel drop at Approach.

[@samdomino6880]

Thanks you pretty much explained what my 8 yr old does , I really like your one arm drill. He gets his elbow down in his rib so fast well before his hands and his coaches and me are trying to retrain him as his consistency is so erratic. Thsnks

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

You're welcome. At 8, I would suggest looking up my Contact Drill, or it may be titled My Favorite Drill. This is the best way to start off 'retraining' a player's swing. If hr has bat drag and his front elbow is too close to the body, then this drill will work well. Just make sure to not do this with live pitch. Use a stationary object like an impact bag/heavy bag and do the drill/swing at about 50% swing speed. He will begin to make corrections faster and also begin to retrain his brain to stop doing his old swing.

[@Yankeestonk]

Question: I know this is a drill but the knob of the bat during this drill isn't pointing at the catcher but rather almost parallel to the ground and would be pointing at someone who was standing in the opposite batters box. My daughter plays travel softball and hits .400 + and has a powerful swing. She sets up with the knob pointed at the catcher but when the pitch comes and she starts the load she let's her wrist bend so the bat is now parallel to the ground. Her hitting coach said he wouldn't mess with it as she uses that to get on plane and it's working for her. I've tried to break her of it many times with zero success. She can't even feel it and I've even set up a rubber stiff hose nailed to a tree at a little above shoulder height so when she dips the bat it will hit it. She gets feedback from that but still can't stop it. Off the tee she doesn't do it. But any pitch coming from the front (even tennis balls thrown underhand) she does it every time. The question is if everything else is good should I leave it alone? she maintains her triangle and can crush a ball. Just don't know if she's losing power because of it. She doesn't cast at all. We tried the back foot drill up against a fence and even from 6" her bat doesn't hit the fence behind her. Any suggestion would be appreciated.

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

+Ken T Hi Ken. Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. If you can, Send, or post a video of your daughter's swing and I will take look at it. You are obviously correct that this is a drill to fix a specific swing flaw and does not cover every aspect of the swing. but if you look at 2:50, you will see that the knob is pointed slightly towards the catcher. I should have pointed that out better in the video, but I should also have made sure viewers understood where the knob should be directed. Also, keep in mind that when I am referring to slightly pointing the knob towards the catcher, that does not necessarily mean the knob will be pointing downwards with the barrel way up in the air. Oh, and don't worry about this so called 'bat wrap' you may hear around baseball circles. It's a myth of sorts. Which wrist are you referring to when she 'loads' and it bends-top hand? When the bat is parallel to the ground, are her hands behind her shoulder? Does the barrel extend well behind her back shoulder? Also, does the barrel drop below parallel before she begins to swing? Frankly, this is something you want to address and fix. When you say "she maintains her triangle", are you referring to the angle between her forearms? If so, when she begins her swing, do her elbows move closer together? There are multiple things to consider as you look at this...btw, are you viewing this with video or just your eye? Does her hitting coach use video in every lesson? As far as doing something during live pitch versus no live pitch, that is very common until a player has enough repetitions, 1500-2000 reps of the correct swing to break any old habits. I do not use live pitch during the initial phases of my instruction because of the reason. With a stationary object we can teach and 'burn-in' the proper swing plane. Again, a video viewed from the side in slo-mo worth the camera in the landscape position would be very helpful. If you want, send it to me at [e-mail] and I will take a look at it. As far as suggestions, without seeing any video, I would make sure when she initiates her swing that her hands are pulling infant of her back shoulder, right pectoral muscle as her shoulders turn through. The mid-point her bat should be against her shoulder and the barrel parallel to the ground before it releases form the shoulder area-on pitch down he middle. Best of luck and thanks for viewing my channel.

[@Yankeestonk]

+The Baseball Barn Thanks for the reply! I have a video from her last lesson on my phone. Can I send that to your e-mail or somewhere to look at? She had a big night last night. 4-4 with a triple and 9 RBI. All hard line drives. But I'd love for you to see her swing and let me know if I should just leave it alone or not. Hard to describe in words. Thanks.

[@Yankeestonk]

+The Baseball Barn Hi Rich. Sent it to your e-mail with maildrop. (whatever that is!) Hopefully you will receive it. Thanks again!

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

Ken T You're welcome. Nothing yet in my email form mail drop. I believe that is used by Mail on a Mac when files are really large. Hopefully, it arrives soon.

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

+Ken T Good for her...that is fantastic! What is her age group? Nothing in my email yet, so I will keep an eye out for it. It nothing later this morning, I will shoot you a message and maybe we can figure something else out. A side note for you; I have seen many players that are very productive at younger ages, but as they face better and better pitching, the consistency suffers. The power is still there, they just don't hit as often. Sounds like she is a producer though...

[@jeremyshawver1089]

I like it

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

Thanks, Jeremy. Always appreciate positive feedback and constructive thoughts. Enjoy the channel.

[@johnnyfastspitch8899]

When you have 15 different videos with a supposed fix for the same thing you know it's garbage...bat of shoulder does nothing..use the hands and forearms..fix

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

+Johnny Fastpitch Right, considering that when an elite player lands at heel plant and they begin to rotate their shoulders, the bat lowers down to and past/by the shoulder in a slicing motion, that is why we put the bat on the shoulder to begin correcting flaws. It removes a lot of moving parts until the player can "burn" that move in. Could you elaborate more on how to use the hands and forearms to fix bat drag?

[@maxoblivion]

Bat on the shoulder worked for me.

[@rockscruggs8288]

I really can believe some of the stuff I see taught. This drill is NOT GOOD for a player. The bat is completely and Italy in the wrong slot when rotation begins and it WILL CUASE casting and roll over - it's just physics. Please stop trying to fix swings with over simplified drills.

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

Thanks for the comments, Rock. You are correct,,,It is just physics and physics doesn't have to be over complicated. Remember, it is ONLY a DRILL. Actually, this particular drill is excellent at fixing casting and early roll over (the 'throwing' of the hands away form the body or rolling over-early wrist roll through contact). It is a drill I use often with younger players that have really bad bat/elbow drag. It allows a player to work on that specific problem without having to worry about hitting a ball, or using the lower half. Now, if there is a lower half issue, I can address it at another time. I am sure you are aware that trying to fix upper and lower half problems at the same time, or multiple issues at once is near impossible. Not that it can't be done, but it is more difficult and takes longer. Unless of course you implement a drill that involves repetitive movement using proper sequencing and slow things down; be it upper or lower half. As far as the bat being in the proper slot when rotating, where should the bat be? From the video I have reviewed of elite hitters and discussions with other top instructors, the bat is typically between the edge of the deltoid and the crook of the neck when the front heel is planted-what we refer to as the Launch position. The position all elite hitters get into in order to begin the actual swing-not pre-swing movements as some refer to as Load, etc. Keep an open mind...in this drill I am only working on one major issue-bat/elbow drag and it has been very successful without creating any other swing flaws/issues. Good luck in your endeavors and thanks again for the comment. I always enjoy constructive comments that challenge my way of thinking. If you could, please explain to me why you believe this doesn't work. If you would prefer, send me an email and we can continue the discussion. Btw, where are you located and what is your capacity in baseball/softball-player, coach, father, instructor? I am always curious and interested in other opinions the can be debated...

[@maxoblivion]

You must earn a paycheck teaching complicated drills. LOL

[@jonathanwilliams3089]

Terrible advice. Slot the elbow. Do not keep it the “same distance away from the body” move on from this video. Will save you from bad habits in the long run

[@richlovell-thebaseballbarn1008]

Jonathan Williams thanks for the comment, Johnathan, but you obviously missed what I actually said. My recommendation was to keep the elbows the same distance apart, not away from the body. Yes, the elbow “slots”, but it should occur as we tilt on our axis as the shoulder turns. The issue with young hitters and poorly coached hitters is they lead the knob of the bat with the trail elbow, instead of leading with the knob. I have found that players who are told to slot the elbow start the swing by dropping the back elbow, which typically pushes the front shoulder up and causes a poor swing; laying off the barrel, loop in the swing, early wrist roll, etc. You may want to reevaluate that. Good luck.

[@maxoblivion]

The worst thing you can do to any Little Leaguer is fill his head with " drop this, push that, pull here then follow with this". Start with your bat on your shoulder, load, stride and swing. Sometimes it's just that simple. Sometimes. "That'll be 50 bucks sonny". Do you think I can carve out a career in baseball hitting instruction? Probably not.

[@mikemurphy8996]

Don’t listen to this nonsense. There’s no such thing as bat drag unless your a small Kid who is not strong enough to swing a bat. If your old enough to care and watch this video then you don’t have bat drag. Period.

[@richardlovell7316]

Hey Mike, thanks for your comment. Is this the Mike Murphy out of Concord? I have worked with a lot of hitters that went to your facility. So, whatever you would like to call it; bat drag, racing lead elbow, etc...it isn't about strength, it's about Technique. I have had 10 y/o hitters swing a 28ox bat and not have this issue, but had 12-13 y/o hitters that do. Maybe you call it something different, or possibly have no idea what it is. It is essentially the pre-cursor to rolling over the top of the ball...ground ball, outside pitch yanked to the pull side. Again, call it whatever you want, but the trail elbow leading the knob from Launch into Approach, then into Contact is an issue and we have specific training drills and techniques to help your hitters get through that. Yes, some hitters work through it on their own, but many do not and fail to the point of quitting baseball. That's what and why Mike Epstein created his proprietary hitting system to teach young players to correct these hitting flaws. I imagine if it was enough to impress Ted Williams, it should be enough to teach young hitters. Thanks again for your comment and let's discuss hitting techniques, flaws and corrections anytime.