Rope Bat reviews. Yay or Nay?

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TDS

Mar 11, 2010
2,926
113
Getting off your A swing all the time comes to mind here. That’s todays philosophy. Doesn’t seem to be very productive.

WW, good point !! I am after getting the A swing off within your zone until two strikes.. I think todays hitters are sitting on one pitch and aren't able to adjust. IMO the hitters today are nowhere near hitters of the past.. Greg Maddox would have his way with hitters of today with his pinpoint control.
 
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
WW, good point !! I am after getting the A swing off within your zone until two strikes.. I think todays hitters are sitting on one pitch and aren't able to adjust. IMO the hitters today are nowhere near hitters of the past.. Greg Maddox would have his way with hitters of today with his pinpoint control.

Makes perfect sense. 👍
 
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Jan 6, 2009
6,591
113
Chehalis, Wa
I think with a stiff handle and the rope, you can start with the bat rope laying across your back. Then try to get the barrel moving as quickly as possible, through a stiff handle.

Turn the barrel deep, throw the barrel, trying to configure these two swings.


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I see a better way. The think there is some merit done correctly. I have a rope bat, never really used it. I will test it out. The handle is firm, but note stiff enough. I don’t like the ball on the end shown. I think there is a better bat, Tempo bat? ummm. Yep, Tempo training bats, the bat flexes, more direct transfer of the forces on the bat.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Paying attention to ball flight off the tee (or better yet front toss..but to compare apples to apples will use tee) will serve the same purpose if the kid (or whoever is working with them) is aware and tries to self-correct. The longer I do this with my kids the more I dislike hitting into a net unless you have marks on it and even in that case it isn't the same..good for getting loose before a game I guess. Other than that use a cage or (better yet) field if at all possible.
 
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
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.

I thought we gave our opinions.. I touched on 2 separate bat/hand paths basically to the ball a few pages ago. There’s a barrel out and barrel in path. Or steep vs shallow. These training aids don’t teach both. Timing does. Hitting ‘where it’s pitched’ does. Inside the ball was/is a band-aid and is what these aids teach. A shallower path. A slapper would benefit but these aren’t good for aspiring power hitting types.
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Paying attention to ball flight off the tee (or better yet front toss..but to compare apples to apples will use tee) will serve the same purpose if the kid (or whoever is working with them) is aware and tries to self-correct. The longer I do this with my kids the more I dislike hitting into a net unless you have marks on it and even in that case it isn't the same..good for getting loose before a game I guess. Other than that use a cage or (better yet) field if at all possible.
Long tee set a task (line drive to the grass) and gives the hitter feedback. Seeing the trajectory and even the spin of the ball is very beneficial.
 
Apr 8, 2019
214
43
Who has used this and is it worth the money? Would love the feedback. My daughter has zero hip in her swing. She's all upper body and doesn't finish through contact.
My 15 yo tried one yesterday at practice and it made me think of this post. Her swing has been long and disconnected for years. She has had many good hitting coaches work with her, but she always gravitated to her old patterns. She played around with that stupid toy for maybe 5 minutes and it finally clicked. After practice she told me it was the first time she understood how her swing is supposed to feel.

I am pretty annoyed about the entire situation, but it seemed to help her.
 
Sep 13, 2021
42
18
We have a bunch of hitting tools in the garage, including the Rope Bat, Camwood bat, short Camwood bat, heavies, whiffles, a whiffle machine along with an Oculus with the Win Reality app installed. If you're in this for the long haul, I think you need some options to vary the at-home work and to address particular issue when the come up. Hitting (and pitching) is such a game of whack-a-mole, in that as soon as something is fixed, something else goes wacky. The more tools available to do skill work, the better, in my book.
 
Aug 1, 2008
2,314
63
ohio
There is another good thread on this topic if you use the search. I use:

WhipHIt

WHIP-HIT-2.jpg
I use one of these almost every lesson after I have taught them a big part of the swing mechanics. Some love it after awhile, most frown for awhile until they learn to use it.

SL
 

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