Rope Bat reviews. Yay or Nay?

[Work=wins]

'All pros' already have good swings. Almost every kid here needs good advice. 99% of kids have bat drag. Hand positions wont/cant fix bat drag.

There are different types of drag. Kids usually suffer from elbow drag. That is a functional issue.

 

[RADcatcher]

I dont see any before/after pics on their website, so they are not showing us any improvements at all.

excellent point!




imo, Rope bat = Yucky
That said learning can also take place from bad experiences.

 

[Work=wins]

@efastball you know trying to keep the bat pointed at the pitcher promotes drag. Encourages elbow leverage. Pronation of the top hand isn’t good for young kids,

The desired articulation is timed extension not pronation.

 

[TDS]

I’ll take ‘fake hitting instruction from 2004’ for 400$ Alex.

Saying you need to get to an athletic position to hit from is universal and pretty obvious. But that position is due to the pitch and the hitters balance/timing. Training positions is bad for a hitter, plain and simple. Back elbows vary, knee flexion varies etc. etc. what folks need to train is functionality and sequencing. So the hitter knows what does what and when they do what they do. But if the hands are trained correctly most things fall into place. Hand and bat path will move the body. Hence why all pros work on their hands.

WW, as you know I disagree with this statement.. Once you get a kid in the most athletic leveraged position and they own it, they will understand the sequence required to be a driver of the ball. This worked for me as a hitter and many of the hitters I have worked with.

 

[Shawn]

The ONLY thing and really the ONLY THING these have in common is chest positioning. food for thought.

The launch position is really the only absolute. Chest turned 22.5 is just one thing about the launch position. I think I could name quite a few. Back arm/forearm position, weight still back, hands in line with the front shoulder and over the back foot, etc.

We can discuss the launch position alone all day. The pause without the pause, transition between bow/corner, coil/uncoil point or start of cornering. A change of direction point.

Like I said it can be discussed all day.

 

[Shawn]

I’ll take ‘fake hitting instruction from 2004’ for 400$ Alex.

Saying you need to get to an athletic position to hit from is universal and pretty obvious. But that position is due to the pitch and the hitters balance/timing. Training positions is bad for a hitter, plain and simple. Back elbows vary, knee flexion varies etc. etc. what folks need to train is functionality and sequencing. So the hitter knows what does what and when they do what they do. But if the hands are trained correctly most things fall into place. Hand and bat path will move the body. Hence why all pros work on their hands.

The position is created, that’s why everyone has the same launch position. They don’t get there the same way.

 

[Work=wins]

WW, as you know I disagree with this statement.. Once you get a kid in the most athletic leveraged position and they own it, they will understand the sequence required to be a driver of the ball. This worked for me as a hitter and many of the hitters I have worked with.

Getting off your A swing all the time comes to mind here. That’s todays philosophy. Doesn’t seem to be very productive.

 

[Work=wins]

The launch position is really the only absolute. Chest turned 22.5 is just one thing about the launch position. I think I could name quite a few. Back arm/forearm position, weight still back, hands in line with the front shoulder and over the back foot, etc.

We can discuss the launch position alone all day. The pause without the pause, transition between bow/corner, coil/uncoil point or start of cornering. A change of direction point.

Like I said it can be discussed all day.

The launch position is an absolute. But how everyone looks isn’t. Not everyone has a vertical forearm or a very bent front knee etc etc.

That’s was my point. Not that there isn’t a launch position.

 

[Work=wins]

Here’s a great example of two different launch positions. One he gets his foot down earlier. Upright posture. The other he drifts and sinks a bit more forward. More forward bend thereafter. These are not the same.

There are many more examples of this w all the great hitters. Hitting is not positional it’s dynamic/transitional. You time the ball not a position. At the lower levels I think you can get away w it.

 

[rslaubaugh]

My 2c for the OP without going into the weeds as those above have..... The rope bat wont develop a MLB swing but i do find it useful to hand to beginner youth level hitters to promote a connected swing and develop bat speed. Lets face it most gimick tools cant replace good instruction at the end of the day. You must evaluate your students flaws and decide if the tool helps correct that particular thing prior to recommending it. You will find it will help some kids and hurt others.