Batting

Selecting a Bat. — Take a bat and swing it. If it feels "good" and is not too heavy or not too light, try it out. Do not use a bat that is too long, stay away from a bat that is too short. To help you select the right type of bat, remember that the average school player uses one that is about thirty-four inches long. Also, the weight of the bat is equal to one ounce for each inch. Thus a 34-34 bat, in length and weight, is just about average.

Stance. — Many batters approach the plate and do not know how close, or how far, to stand from the plate. Some batters wonder whether they should stand in front of the batter's box, others cannot decide whether it is best to place their feet to the rear of the batter's box. None of this is important in the learning stage of batting, but what is important is that the batter make himself comfortable at the plate.

When a batter takes his stance, he is taking one of three stances: the parallel stance, the closed stance, the open stance. Each stance has its advantages, but the batter who feels most comfortable in any of the three should use that particular stance. This batter (right) in a slightly closed stance feels he is most relaxed as he awaits the pitch.

Again, just which stance to assume is strictly a matter of choice and comfort. However, the more advanced player may, on occasion, switch stances according to the type of pitcher he is facing, or the situation in the game.

The stances on these two pages are of a left-handed hitter.

Most major-league batters use the closed stance and the parallel stance. There are very few who resort to the open stance. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Lou Gehrig were members of the parallel stance set. Stan Musial too uses the parallel stance but Ted Williams, acknowledged the finest teacher of batting in the game today, uses the closed stance.

In the closed stance only the front foot (the left if a right-handed batter, the right if a left-handed batter) is closer to the plate.

In the parallel stance both feet are the same distance from the inside batter's box line closest to the plate.

Spread. — The spread of the feet is also a matter of individual taste. Some batters prefer to keep their feet close together thus making for a longer stride when swinging at the pitch. Others will take a medium spread, thus shortening the stride; and there are some batters who will take a wide spread and therefore cut down their stride to a minimum.

The average hitter normally spreads his feet about seventeen to nineteen inches and many coaches recommend this spread distance. The power hitter, however, will use a shorter spread since he gets most of his strength from a longer stride. Musial likes a long stride, therefore he takes his batting position in a close, or short, spread. Joe DiMaggio had just about the widest of all spreads and his stride was one of the shortest. But the average batter should not attempt to imitate these great batters in spread and stride unless he feels comfortable doing it.

It is not good for the beginning player to take too close a spread because it may cause a lunge in the stride. The stride should be smooth and quick, therefore the proper spread is most important.

In the open stance the front foot is farther away from home plate than the rear foot.

Grip. —Just as in choosing a bat, taking a stance and assuming a spread, comfort dictates, for the most part, just how to grip the bat. Some batters keep their hands together, others may leave a bit of space between the hands when gripping the bat. No matter what type of grip, hands together or apart, the bat is not to be gripped too tightly. By keeping the fingers securely, but not tightly, around the bat and the fingers aligned on the bat (above), the batter can get a better snap of the wrists when meeting the ball. Grip a bat too tightly and the arm muscles automatically tighten up thus permitting no wrist action.

The three types of bat grips (opposite page) are the end grip (above), the modified grip (center), and the choke grip (below).

Coaches on the school level will teach the modified grip to just about nine of ten players on their team. This is so because this type of grip offers better control of the bat and still permits enough power in the swing. In this grip the front, or bottom, hand is held perhaps two inches from the end or knob of the bat.

The choke grip is reserved for the player who shows little or no power ability. This does not mean that the "choke hitter" is an easy batter to pitch to. In fact the reverse is usually the case because the hitter who uses the choke grip is very difficult to strike out. He is bound to get a "piece of the ball" only because he is not attempting to overpower the pitch. The choke hitter realizes his shortcomings at the plate, and if he is smart he will learn to compensate for them by developing into a "punch" or "place" hitter.

Such a hitter was Phil Rizzuto, the one-time New York Yankee shortstop. Phil was short and light and realized that the only way he could keep his batting average at a respectable figure was to develop into a batter who could place his hits, that is, attempt to hit into areas not protected by fielders.

The end grip is reserved for the power hitter, the batter who is placed third, fourth or fifth in the batting order for the purpose of producing the long hit. In this grip the front hand is just about touching the knob of the bat with the back hand in contact and above the front hand.

The three types of bat grips can fit the needs of any player. If a player is unsuccessful with the end grip, he should switch to one of the other two grips. Sooner or later he will find that grip which best suits his batting ability.

Many players use their own variation of the three grips. Take Ty Cobb (left). This great hitter, who has the highest lifetime batting average of any player in history, used a semi-modified and unorthodox grip with his back hand about two to three inches above the front hand. Cobb claimed this grip enabled him to hit the ball "where it was pitched." By this he meant that he could hit an outside pitch to left field, an inside pitch to right field and a pitch over the plate through the center of the diamond. But there was only one Cobb. Do not imitate him unless, of course, you feel comfortable in such an unorthodox grip.

Johny Evers (right), the light-hitting infielder of the Chicago Cubs of some half-century ago, typified many of the choke hitters of his day. In those days the baseball was less lively and many of the hitters of that era gripped their bat in almost similar fashion to the Evers choke grip.

Swing. Ted Williams typifies power       and the "born" hitter. His grip, the grip, is powerful and certain. His eye- sight is rated perfect and his stride, swing end and follow-through are all in perfect synchronization and Coordination.

Once the batter feels relaxed and confident with the proper bat, comfortable stance and satisfactory grip, he is ready to challenge the pitcher.

Just where the bat is held while awaiting the pitcher's delivery is again a matter of choice. This batter likes to hold his bat high and at a slight angle. He says it "feels good" from this position. He also is using the end grip.

His arms are away from his body in order to give him freedom in his swing; his hips and shoulders are pulled back ever so slightly with the weight of his body distributed evenly on both feet.

Notice that his shoulders are square, eyes intently on just one player in the ball park—the pitcher. That's his "enemy" for the moment and he is giving him 100 per cent attention.

The pitcher is now at the top of his windup and the batter has started to shift his weight. From an even distribution of weight on both feet, he is now putting his weight on the back foot, his body angling backward as he prepares to go into his swing.

Once the pitch is on its way the batter starts to shift some of his weight forward to his upraised front foot. He is going forward easily and gracefully.

The ball is now almost to the plate and the batter's front foot has just about settled back to the ground. The front leg is braced and the hips and shoulders are about to pivot.

The batter is now in half-pivot as he continues his swing with the front arm guiding the swing through the arc. The power comes from the back arm which the batter is keeping away from the body. Notice that the head is steady, the eyes following the pitch until contact is made.

Contact has been made with the ball and the hands have moved in front of the body as the back foot pivots toward the pitcher, the toe digging into the turf. All of the foot power is now in the front foot and the wrist snap is evident as the batter’s wrists have rolled over on impact with the ball.

The right hip has pivoted with the swing to the outside at the end of the follow-through. The bat is starting an upward arc, but don't be fooled by it. This does not mean that the batter has "uppercutted" the ball, but indicates that his follow-through is not a perfect arc.

End of the follow-through, rear toe still dug into the turf, front foot flat and pointed toward the pitcher.

A front view of the follow-through after contact has been made. This hitter is a good batter because he strides easily and, unlike inexperienced batters, does not transfer his weight too soon from back foot to front foot. Hitters who bring their weight forward too quickly are easily fooled on curve balls.

The batter who can hold up his stride until the pitch is almost on him, will soon learn to hit the ball to all fields. Many young players hit the ball too early or too late, all because their timing and stride are not in coordination.

When breaking away from home plate after contact has been made with the ball, the right-handed batter steps out with his rear, or right, foot. The left-handed batter will step off with his left foot. Try it yourself. After you follow-through notice that your front foot is immobile. It's almost defying the law of locomotion to attempt to run to first base by stepping out first with your front foot since all your weight should be on it once you have completed the follow-through. This batter starts to run in a semi-crouched

position.

The Master himself, Mr. Williams. His grip, stance, stride, timing, are all in perfect coordination. Ted's wide, parallel stance (opposite page) is menacing as his bat is in the ready position, weight perfectly balanced as he awaits the pitch.

The wrist action of Williams is said to be one of his two secrets to his outstanding success as a hitter. (His sharp eyesight is his other extraordinary virtue.) This close-up of his wrist action, (page 40), demonstrates just how he rolls his wrists over after the bat meets the ball.

Follow-through of the swing (left) shows Ted's short stride from his wide stance. Joe DiMaggio, too, took a wide stance and used a short stride.

The mighty Williams (below) has swung and missed, but his form and follow-through are letter-perfect. He has rhythm and grace in his swing and looks like a picture hitter. Williams has the highest lifetime batting average among today's players and is indeed one of the great hitters of all time.

Just a shade behind Williams in our present generation has been Stan Musial. The famous St. Louis Cardinal player started his professional career as a minor-league pitcher. A sore arm ended his pitching days and, fortunately for baseball, he decided to try the outfield.

Musial's batting stance (right) is perhaps unlike anything ever seen on a diamond. He plants his feet close together and bends his knees, his right knee bent back in peculiar manner. His body is so twisted that it sometimes seems his back is turned toward the pitcher. When he is ready to hit he seems to suddenly uncoil — his right leg moves forward in a long stride (opposite page, above), his weight is shifted to his right foot (center) as his left instep digs into the ground. But when he meets the ball (below) it usually manages to land safely.

Musial, when asked to explain his phenomenal hitting success, replies: "Know the strike zone." By this he means that the young player should swing at pitches which are in the strike zone. Watch some of your teammates at the bat and you'll notice how many may swing at a pitch that may be a foot high or a foot wide.

Musial believes that a batter should approach the plate with a general idea of just what he intends to do. He says that if the pitcher has been throwing outside to him, he'll wait for the pitch he thinks he can hit to left field. If he feels he can pull the ball on a certain pitcher, then he'll attempt to drive the pitch to right field. Ty Cobb would agree.

Slugging Willie Mays at the plate (below) is not a welcome sight for any pitcher. Willie is one of those fellows who takes a short stride from his rather wide stance, therefore he can wait until the last moment before making contact with the pitch.

Mays transfers his weight from back to front foot by lifting his left leg slightly before he strides forward. He does not hold his bat as high as Musial or Williams, but neither does he hold it low.

Willie has a tendency to overswing on occasions —as do all batters, good and average — and goes through discouraging periods when everything he hits goes up in the air or harmlessly to the ground. Overswinging is simply swinging too early. This results in the loss of a smooth, rhythmic swing.

When Willie is meeting the ball properly, with bat level and at the proper time, he's a rough man to retire. Like most good swingers, Willie is a line-drive hitter and his fine power and superlative speed on the bases make him an extra-base threat every time he steps to the plate in any park.

The level Mays swing (above) means he has connected solidly. Now the element of luck enters. Most line drives, to land safely, must fly through infield holes. The consistent line-drive hitter will usually find that his drives will land safely — when hit on the line — more times than not.

Mays (right) at the finish of his swing, shows how his front foot has moved toward left field. He has just lashed out at an inside pitch but only succeeded in raising a foul fly because he uppercutted the ball which was belt high.

Baseball people say that graceful Al Kaline (left) is one of the finest of all line-drive hitters. Al, who won a batting title before he was twenty-one years old, has the same wide stance and short stride of all good hitters. He, too, holds his bat lower than Williams or Musial and crouches only at his waist. His back knee is stiff as he bends his front knee slightly.

Kaline's swing from his parallel stance (right) is in the perfect 360° arc as advocated by the game's technicians. His forward arm guides the swing through the arc as his back arm supplies the power for the swing. Notice how his head is held—firm and steady. His wrists are starting to roll as the bat is about to meet the ball.

Al's wrists have rolled over, the right one rolling upward as the left one rolls downward. His right heel is raised as his instep digs into the ground and the weight of his body has already been transferred to his front foot.

Bunting. — Too many players ignore this important phase of batting. The bunt is an excellent weapon, when used properly, and there is no reason why every player can not learn to execute the bunt in the proper manner.

There are two types of bunts, the sacrifice and the drag, or push. The sacrifice bunt is well named. It means that the batter "sacrifices" himself for the good of the team. After all, it is his sacrifice bunt which is used to advance the runner, or runners, an extra base.

Many coaches advance the theory that the batter should never "tip" his hand as to when he's going to bunt (above). However, in some situations the sacrifice bunt is a necessity, and there is no need for the batter to "hide" his intentions.

The batter who must bunt because the situation demands this type of play should get into the batter's box and assume the bunt position immediately. Yet there are some coaches who do not advise this, and they insist that the batter stand at the plate in his normal stance, not indicating to the pitcher that he has been ordered to bunt.

The batter who is instructed not to alert the defense to the bunt will assume his normal stance (below) but keep his hands a bit looser on the handle of the bat. This is because he will soon have to slide his back, or right, hand along the bat to get his hands in position to bunt the pitch.

To pivot into the bunt position the batter can push off with the front foot while he pivots on the toe of the rear foot (below). Another method of pivoting to get into the bunt position is to swing around on the heel of the front foot while pushing off the back foot (right). Also, depending upon the batter's natural stance, it may become necessary to move both feet, stepping forward with the back foot and moving the foot parallel. Just

which position to assume is again a matter of comfort and stance.

The back hand slides up on the bat, toward the "fat" part of the bat, as the pivot is being made with the bottom hand controlling the bat. Body is crouched slightly with the weight evenly distributed on both feet. Keep the bat parallel to the ground, arms relaxed and away from the body.

Important. Do not thrust the bat forward to meet the pitch. Just keep the bat in position and merely allow the ball to hit the bat, directing the bat in the direction that the bunt is to be pushed. When bunting for a base hit, whether using the "drag" bunt or "push" bunt, the main weapon is surprise. For this type of bunt, the batter must stand in his natural stance when in the batter's box and, by no means, allow the defense to know what is in his mind. Do not confuse the drag bunt and push bunt as two different types of bunts. The drag bunt for a base hit is executed by a left-handed batter, the push bunt is attempted by a right-handed batter. In dragging a bunt, the left-handed batter merely steps off with his front foot while breaking toward first base as the bat meets the ball. Thus, he is "dragging" the ball while starting his running motion toward first base. The drag bunt should go to the pitcher's left, hit hard enough to get by the pitcher, slow enough so that the second or first baseman cannot come over in time to make a play at first base on the batter. The push bunt by the right-handed batter is exactly that. The batter "pushes" the ball as his bat comes in contact with it. The push of the bunt is directed toward the same spot as the drag bunt-to the left of the pitcher, pushed hard enough to get by him, slow enough so that the same infielders can not make a play at first base.

Musial doesn't bunt much but, as he says, "If I have to put the ball down, I can do it and put it where I want it."

Musial agrees that bunting is a simple act, especially when bunting to advance a base-runner. He's surprised that so many batters find it difficult to lay down a bunt.

Stan's bunting technique is sound. "When sacrificing," he says, "square around and get a real good look at the ball. Use the rear hand to grip the bat loosely and use the forward hand to direct the bunt."

The left-handed batter is about to surprise with a drag bunt. He faces the pitcher in hitting position, not tipping off what he's going to do.

Up moves his back hand as the pitch nears him. His front foot pivots in the direction of the pitcher as he keeps his eyes on the ball.

He starts to level his bat as the ball is almost up to him. He begins to go into a slight crouch, ready to move toward first base after meeting the ball.

Contact, and his body is already swung toward first base. His left hand is bringing the bat around in order to drag the ball in the direction he wants.

The ball is on its way back to the infield as the batter starts to bring his back foot over in front of his front foot. Even when bunting, the rear foot is the first foot that moves toward first base.

Off to first as the bunt appears to be going toward the left side of the diamond. It seems as if his body is off-balance as it leans toward first base, but he is only getting a flying start toward first.

Now in full stride, the batter is in full flight. His rear foot has already hit the ground and he has moved away nicely from the plate.

The problem: Will he beat out the bunt? Only if it's placed in that area where the third baseman and pitcher are unable to get it in time to make a throw. The catcher seems out of the play because he hasn't made an effort to field it.

The right-hander who is going to push a bunt stands at the plate without letting anybody know just what's in his mind. Feet are spread, bat held high and in the ready-to-hit position.

Here comes the pitch and the batter starts to slide both hands up the bat as his body begins to go into a crouch. Notice that he's starting to move his rear foot by raising up on his toes. Grip is now firm on bat as his right foot moves backwards.

He has made up his mind to "push" the ball and the pitch is to his liking as he brings his shoulder and head closer to the plate.

He crouches even more as he's about to make contact with the pitch. His body weight is now on his front foot and he's ready to move toward first base as soon as his bat hits the ball.

Contact is made squarely on the fat part of the bat as the right foot is about to be raised. At no time has the batter attempted to move the front foot, keeping it in contact with the ground.

The ball is on its way toward the first-base side of the diamond as the batter now picks his rear foot from the ground, ready to step away from the plate and toward the first base.

The dash from the plate is on as the batter brings his rear foot forward. He raises on the toes of his left foot in order to break quickly down the line.

Now it's a battle between fielders and batter-runner. The batter is now in full flight, getting away from the plate promptly as he hopes the bunt will land too far away from the pitcher and in too far to be reached by the second or first baseman.

The sacrifice bunt presents no problems for No. 51 (right) who is doing everything correctly in his attempt to advance the base-runner. He's making good use of his feet and fingers as he's about to bunt the ball.

He has squared around to face the pitcher in order to look closely at the ball. The small end of the bat is held loosely in the fingers of his left hand. This loose grip will help deaden the ball when it drops to the ground.

The batter holds the upper part of the bat between his thumb and first finger. This is the orthodox grip even though it looks awkward. The right hand and fingers will do the job of directing the bunt. The right hand should grip the bat firmly.

The bunt drops (left) just where the batter intended. However, the batter is not helping himself get away from the plate as fast as he should. Notice how his head has turned in the direction of the bunt as he follows its course. This is totally unnecessary since he can injure himself by looking one way as he runs another way. No batter need follow the direction of his bunt. Just lay it down and get away from the plate.

The bunt is too far away from the catcher and the pitcher (right) is forced to make the play. Also notice how the pitcher, contrary to coaching techniques, is about to make the pick-up with his bare hand.

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