I prefer the hands together. It's easier to deaden the ball, and I feel you're stronger to the ball when it comes in. With the hands apart, the head of the bat tends to get pushed back when the ball contacts the bat. With the hands together it doesn't happen as often. My hitters have never had trouble controlling the bat with the hands together, either. I find it's easier for them to keep the head of the bat up when they go down for a bunt. With hands apart, hitters are more inclined to drop the bat head in my experience, which leads to more popups and foul balls.
We don't pinch the bat with the top hand. I teach my hitters to wrap their hands around it where the taper begins. If you teach your hitters to bunt off the end of the bat, where they should be doing it since that's where the bat is dead, getting hit in the hands won't be a problem.
Generally speaking, I find trouble with bunting to be more a problem of training than a particular technique. With parents paying $300 for a bat, a lot of folks don't spend much time on bunting anymore, especially when they're practicing on their own. It used to be a requirement and a point of pride. Now it's getting to be more like baseball -- something they do if forced to.
By the way, while I will expose hitters who haven't tried it before to the hands together method, it's not a hard-and-fast rule with me either. Some like hands together when they try it, others don't. If they can get the bunt down properly I don't care where their hands are. Neither does the ball.
We don't pinch the bat with the top hand. I teach my hitters to wrap their hands around it where the taper begins. If you teach your hitters to bunt off the end of the bat, where they should be doing it since that's where the bat is dead, getting hit in the hands won't be a problem.
Generally speaking, I find trouble with bunting to be more a problem of training than a particular technique. With parents paying $300 for a bat, a lot of folks don't spend much time on bunting anymore, especially when they're practicing on their own. It used to be a requirement and a point of pride. Now it's getting to be more like baseball -- something they do if forced to.
By the way, while I will expose hitters who haven't tried it before to the hands together method, it's not a hard-and-fast rule with me either. Some like hands together when they try it, others don't. If they can get the bunt down properly I don't care where their hands are. Neither does the ball.