SB grip or BB grip

[GA42sDad]

I know that this topic has probably been discussed before. The issue being a SB grip which my DD was taught last spring (outer knuckles lined up "golf grip"), or a BB grip which I was always taught(line all knuckles).
Iam a local jv coach and would love to know if it really makes a difference.
Sorry for any confusion, and thanks for any input.

 

[redzuk]

http://www.discussfastpitch.com/sof...al/4665-drag-hand-activation-6.html#post45991

Grip is one of the few things people agree on around here. Check the above link.

I have seen knuckle knocker grips increase the likelihood of bat drag by putting the elbows too close together and forcing pulling with the back arm.

In case you missed this just posted, in another thread

What was missed back in February was that the grip was off. She had the base knuckles lined up and this caused her to roll her wrists at the point of contact. It made extension and follow-through look bad as a result.

Possibly the wrong grip can keep lead to an arm swing in more ways than one. If they roll the wrist early it kills the swing, I dont think they can transfer the energy in the right sequence if the wrist rolls early.

 

[SBFAMILY]

Grip is very important. BB and SB are the same . The grip was tested in a computer lab by Sue Enquist at UCLA with Don Slaught. They found out that allowing the knuckles to align at contact and not aligning them up at set up gave you 3% more bat speed. Plus many issues with the swing can be traced back to how you hold the bat. I have posted this before, but her is an easy way to make sure you get the grip correct. Take a pony tail holder. Cut it , I use the thicker ones. Tie it on the first finger of the top hand. Now you can acutally put your glove on , but you want her to keep the bat below that pony tail holder toward the finger tip side , not the meaty part between the first finger and thumb. FSS posted some pictures, but getting the kid to feel it and understand it is more important. I never tell my kids anything that I cannot show them and make them feel it.

 

[starsnuffer]

I don't think anyone has taught what you're calling "baseball grip" since the 80s. That isn't a baseball grip, it's a "I was taught this way and I've no idea why but I'm teaching it this way too" grip. It's along the same lines as thinking that the elbows have to be held high, it's just old school "I was taught this way" nonsense.

If you've ever had a player complain about a bruised thumb or hand, it's probably because they're griping the bat like a monkey. There is nothing about this "grip" that is beneficial to actually swinging a bat in order to hit a ball.

What you are calling a "softball grip" is a good starting mechanism towards teaching a player (baseball or softball) how to hold a bat. Door knocking knuckles lined up is not perfect or optimal, however it is far superior to the meatball grip and only requires slight modification to players working towards achieving optimal results. It's a pretty simple matter to rotate the hands slightly outward from this point and relax the index finger (use the grasping fingers, ring and middle primarily) to perfect the grip.

-W