Picking up the Baseball ball and just swinging it wildly is not the correct way of playing Baseball. You have to take care of certain aspects while holding a Baseball bat to get the best results. YES, you can hold the Baseball bat with comfort but focusing on how to hold a baseball bat with perfection and how to grip a Baseball bat will give you the desired results.
Grip precision is quite important in Baseball whether you are catching or batting. Proper grip is pretty much important in this regard and it helps to increase the speed of the bat and relaxes your complete body. The good grip makes sure that you have strong contact when the ball touches the Baseball bat. A weak grip will cause poor contact as the bat slows down during contact with the ball.
What is the correct way to hold a Baseball Bat?
While grasping the Baseball bat, try to loosen your grip. Grab the handle of the bat with your fingers in the same way as you would do it with your bottom hand.
The bottom three fingers and your index finger should be separated but keep in mind that all of your four fingers should clutch the handle with the thumb while having a relaxing posture. Avoid burying the Baseball bat in your palms, you will struggle with this.
Your grip on the bat must be in a way that allows your wrists to move freely. By doing this you can create bat lag effectively and easily deliver the head of the Baseball bat to the ball. You must be wondering what the bat lag is, it is the distance between your hands and the head of the bat. While swinging the Baseball bat, your hands will come forward but the head of the bat will be left behind.
Role of dominant hand while holding Baseball bat
When you are holding the Baseball bat, the dominant hand should go to the top. Place the head of the bat in front of the lead foot while you are standing on the ground. Then either the bottom hand or non-dominant hand should be used to grab the handle. In case you are a right-handed batter, then your lead foot & bottom hand will be the left ones.
By adopting this, there will be an increase in the whipping motion of your wrist. Then with the use of the index finger of your bottom hand, you can wrap the bat. Remove your three bottom fingers from the handle of the bat that is likewise wrapped around the handle. Then just up the barrel of the bat, and swing the bat.
How to hold a Baseball bat right handed?
Grip the handle of the bat with your thumb and first two fingers if you hold a Baseball bat right-handed. If you prefer then the index finger can also be used but gripping the handle of the bat with just three fingers will give you more control over the Baseball bat.
How to grip a Baseball bat
How you grip the Baseball bat has a huge impact on how good your swing will be and how good your bat’s contact with the ball. This is one of the main factors in finding the answer to how to hold a Baseball bat correctly. You should have a strong grip on the bat but this does not mean that you should hold it very tightly. You will be able to do fine contact with the Baseball by keeping your body relaxed and calm. While generating the swing, your grip will tighten naturally.
Why is it important to have a good grip while batting?
The game of Baseball especially batting is not completely concerned with strength and power, you should have a better technique too. You will have greater power in your hands if you grip the bat properly. This ensures firm contact between the baseball and the bat.
Advantages of appropriate Baseball hitting grip
Some merits of a good Baseball batting grip are listed below:
- The whole body of yours will be relaxed.
- Because of the increased whip, you will be able to swing the Baseball bat with a faster speed.
- During the contact, your bat will be in a perfectly optimized position.
6 core steps to correctly hold a Baseball bat
Step 1: The holding of Handle
Place the handle of the bat in your right hand. If you are a right-handed batter, then your left hand will be your bottom hand. The tip of the handle should be in front of your lead foot on the ground, on the same side of your bottom hand. This will create such an angle that will help increase the whip with your wrists.
Step 2: Fingers of the Bottom hand
Your index finger should be wrapped around the bat with your bottom hand. However make sure this must be separated from the bottom three fingers of your bottom hand, these should be fully wrapped around the bat. Knuckles on the fingers of the bottom hand should point up the barrel of the bat.
Step 3: Palm should be kept away
The Baseball bat should be not held in your palm, it should be held in your fingers. Your palm will make contact with the bat obviously, there is no doubt about it but your try is to take it out of your palm to the maximum possible extent.
Step 4: Role of Top hand
The placement of your top hand should be above your bottom hand. For the correct holding of the bat, your second knuckles on the fingers of the top hand should line up with your first knuckles on the bottom hand.
Step 5: Loose grip before the swing of the bat
After holding the baseball bat, the goal is to keep your grip on the bat as loose as possible before the happening of the swing. The grip will naturally be tightened when the swing will be going through. When the bat will be in contact with the ball then the grip on the bat will be the tightest. Just make sure you have a loose grip before you swing the bat, you will end up with pretty good contact.
The other added advantage is that it keeps your upper body calm and relaxed. The higher the ease of the upper body, the more will be effectiveness of the swing.
Step 6: Launch Angle
Now you have mastered the skill of holding the bat, it’s time to learn the optimized bat angle. This is also referred to as the Launch angle. It depends on the type of hitter.
During the contact of the ball with the bat, changing the angle of the bat will have an impact on the reaction of the ball. For example, if one holds the Baseball bat perpendicular to the ground then there will be a loop into the swing naturally. This will give you more power as now the swing’s back section will take a little bit longer to get to the Ball, ultimately giving you more abundant time to produce bat speed.
If you are holding the Baseball bat parallel to the ground then the swing’s back part will be shortened between the start & ball, giving the more and more direct path at the ball. The higher the up and down angle of the bat, the more power will be generated. The higher the left and right angles of the bat, the less power will be generated.
Final Thoughts
Learning How to hold a Baseball bat correctly consists of simple six steps. The grip is pretty much important in this regard because the efficiency of the swing can be increased with the optimized technique of gripping. By keeping the bat perpendicular to the ground, more power can be generated.
I am Harry La, CEO for BaseballHub.Net – a baseball website and I am also a Baseball Writer. I am responsible for the publication of such articles as game recaps and previews, player interviews, coaching updates, and in-depth previews of upcoming games or series.