Swing
Once the pitcher has made his delivery, the batter must concentrate on the ball all the way to the plate. The batter must never turn his head to follow the direction of the bat as it comes around for the swing. His eyes should see the bat hit the ball. In Figure 12 Ted Williams follows the ball right on to the bat. Ho doesn’t start his swing until the last possible moment. This delay in swinging permits the slugger to uncoil his big bat with tremendous force. He swings with a powerful snap of the wrists at the same time striding into the ball and savagely twisting his hips.
As you wait for the pitch, say to yours self, “I’m going to hit this one if it looks good to me.” Step into the ball but let your hands control the swing. One of the most remarkable things about Hank Greenberg’s hitting ability is his hand control. He doesn’t let his hands throw his swing off. They are always steady and sure. Figure 13 shows Greenberg’s hand control as seen from above.
Every swing should start from the shoulder. The arms and elbows must be away from your body to give you the freedom of your swing. If you swing from the shoulder all the time, you will hit the ball on a line or on the ground and get more base hits. The swing should be level and parallel to the ground. Figure 9 shows Joe DiMaggio at the start of his famous swing. The bat follows through. It doesn’t stop when it hits the ball. It keeps on going with a complete follow-through (Fig.10).
For balls around the knees use the vertical or golf swing (Fg.14). This will prevent your swing From uppercut ting and forcing every low ball high into the air for an easy out. Remember you do not always hit good balls for base hits.
Bunting
Bunting is a skill that must be mastered by every player on the team, since there are many times when a successfully placed bunt can win a game.Many boys attempt to bunt bad balls and then try to get away from the plate as they are bunting. Always wait for a good pitch. Then bunt the ball before you start for first. Remember, you must not allow the defensive team to know you are going to bunt. Take your regular batting stance at the plate. A split second after the pitcher releases the ball, take the bunt stance shown in Figure 16. The bat is held loosely in the left bond and is held in the right hand by the thumb and index finger only. The other three fingers are folded back into the palm of the hand {Fig.1 5). As the ball hits, it forces the bat back into the V” formed by the fingers. With this bunting technique, you can bunt down first or third with equal effectiveness.
Former star Red Rolfe lists these essentials of bunting:
1. Don’t let the other team know you are going to lay one down.
2. Pick out a good pitch to bunt.
3. Hold the hot loosely a tight grip means a fast bunt.
4. Let the ball hit the bat don’t push at the ball.
