Power Hitting

[EarlJam]

Playing softball for the first time in years. Older and have a couple of questions:

1. What's more important for hitting the ball further: Strength, or Bat Speed?

2. How related are the two? Can you improve bat speed through strength? If not, what is the best way to improve bat speed? Or can you?

-EarlJam

[allenmurray]

Playing softball for the first time in years. Older and have a couple of questions:

1. What's more important for hitting the ball further: Strength, or Bat Speed?

2. How related are the two? Can you improve bat speed through strength? If not, what is the best way to improve bat speed? Or can you?

-EarlJam

I have no idea if these two are comprable. However, I have managed Little League for a few years. I don't know a single player who I have coached who did not improve at the plate when I finally convinced him to use a lighter bat (kids equate bat weight with "manliness". Getting a 10 year old to give up his 20 oz. bat for a 17 oz. bat is a hard sell.) When I finally convince them they start hitting the ball more consistently and righties pull it down the 3rd base line instead of hitting it back to the pitcher or right at the first baseman. Bat Speed, EarlJam, Bat speed.

[CMS2478]

Playing softball for the first time in years. Older and have a couple of questions:

1. What's more important for hitting the ball further: Strength, or Bat Speed?

2. How related are the two? Can you improve bat speed through strength? If not, what is the best way to improve bat speed? Or can you?

-EarlJam


I can't help you there........but when you figure it out let me know because I play in a league too and I suck. (chicks dig the long ball)

[BlueDevilBaby]

Bat speed is the key. The older (and weaker) I get, the lighter a bat I use. If I had any gumption to actually work out and improve my strength, I could use a heavier bat. Until then. . .

[Channing]

To increase power you need to increase torque. Strength has a little bit to do with hit, but bat speed has much more.

The easiest way to create torque is to almost wind up your stance. The way I do it is set my stance. I like to keep my hands high (at least at shoulder level) to help encourage swinging down rather than upper cutting. As the pitch is coming in I move the bat back, twisting my shoulders. The result is that my upper back is almost facing the pitcher while the pitch is on its way. After that, just uncoil. It the same principle that makes a powerful golf swing. At the top of a backswing you will generally see a pros back facing their target (at least the upper part). Just make sure you dont drop your hands when you actually swing.

Most people use a bat 34 inches, 27 or 28 ounces. Thats what I use and everyone on my team uses.

[Mal]

Of the two, bat speed is only one that matters. Strength is meaningless except to the extent it's used to generate bat speed. Put Magnus ver Magnussen up there, with me following: if we both swing the same bat at the same speed (and hit the ball on the same swing plain and with the same timing), our hits will land in the same spot. If he uses his vastly superior strength to get the bat through the hitting zone quicker than I do, then and only then will he outhit me. Simply being stronger than me does no good.

The old school of thought was that being stronger allowed you to use a heavier bat, which provided more force against the incoming ball, propelling it farther. But in recent decades, people figured out that that increased weight is more than offset by the slower bat head speed. Everyone except Alfonso Soriano, of course.

To wit: Barry Bonds choked up on a 33 inch bat for most of his career.

I think steven's swing analysis is right on. I was never much of a power hitter in softball, as I never mastered that torquing exercise. It's a weird transition from baseball, where the speed of the pitch does most of the work, to softball, where you have to coil your body up and release all that power into the bat swing. I always felt the temptation to just wait, wait, and wait some more, making my swing as short and compact as possible and as close to my former baseball swing as possible. This meant I was a singles and doubles hitter, not the kind of guy really coveted by Wednesday night beer league teams.

[Channing]

Hey EJ - I am coming back to Atlanta mid may - I'll give you a lesson at the batting cages if you want. I wonder if there is a "college" softball league in Atlanta like there is in New York? We could enter a team - "the Might French Flyers."

[Olympic Fan]

Ted Williams, who probably thought longer and harder about hitting than anyone in history, insisted that the key to power was bat speed ....

He used to use lighter bats as the season wore on and his strength wore down just so that he could maintain bat speed.

steven's reference to torque was a good one -- it's not enough to swing hard. It's important to get the swing in cync with the body's weight surge to generate real power. There's not real secret to solve that -- the motion has to be tailored to each body, each swing, each stance. A few general rules:

-- Keep your weight back as long as possible. The hands need to start first, before there is any body shift.

-- Keep the head still as long as possible. Amazing the difference it can make in seeing the ball. You might use a video to film your swing and see if your motion is pulling your head down or causing it to bob. If your head is moving, you have the illusion of seeing the ball, but you're not seeing where it really is.

[Channing]

one more note - there is a difference b/w baseball and softball. as stated, the best swing in baseball is typically short and compact. In softball you need to generate the power yourself. As such, using a heavier bat, but still manageable, is better than getting a lighter bat.

(1) its easier to control (like if you try taking a golf swing with a real golf club or a broom stick - there is no resistance to keep you steady when it is too light).

(2) you are just turning yourself into a spring - however tight you coil it will bear out on the other end.

[EarlJam]

Hey EJ - I am coming back to Atlanta mid may - I'll give you a lesson at the batting cages if you want. I wonder if there is a "college" softball league in Atlanta like there is in New York? We could enter a team - "the Might French Flyers."

Seriously, I'd like that.

I got the fever again yesterday. Standing in the outfield grass, glove in hand - and at the plate, infield dirt in hand. I'm going to try to get a team together later this year. It's been about five years.

As to advice, when I used to play a lot years ago, I always found that a heavier bat gave me more distance. Maybe it was a mental thing. Don't know. But with a light bat, I'd have warning track power at best. With the heavier bats, I was good for a handful of over-the-fence homers per season and found that I drove the ball better.

Yesterday, the bats were mostly light, and it just felt like the ball wasn't "popping" off the bat the same way. When you really hit one solid, you barely feel it on the bat, in the hands. Had a couple of swings like that yesterday, but they were rare.

Also, I'm older, so....

Still, with a little pratice and shaking of the rust, I feel like I can still hit it pretty well. Hope so. Fielding is the big thing. I'm definitely a step or three slower. Blame the Achilles for that.

Anyway, let me know when you're about to come into town. Would love to hook up.

-EJ

[elvis14]

I'll chime in as another person who believes that power in softball is all about bat speed. I currently use a 26oz Easton Flex. It's not only is light, it even swings light for a 26oz. I started using this bat when I was playing modified (fast) pitch in Cary and I've kept using it now that I've moved back to playing slow pitch again (got tired of running my team after 14 years).

What stephen52682 is describing are the mechanics of a rotational swing. In softball you have to create power yourself (you can't count on the speed of the pitch to help you out). Basically, there are two schools of thought on how to crush a ball, linear and rotational. I think the rotational mechanics are more modern and work better for softball players. The best player I ever played with had switched from a linear swing to a rotational and claimed it increased his power and his average.

There is no substitute for taking BP. Since you haven't played in a while you could really take some BP and experiment to see what works best for you. Having not played in a while you might not have a great amount of muscle memory to overcome as your create a new swing for the new/older you. I've seen great hitters use a closed stance and back step and others use a wide open stance. It's all about figuring out what works for you. For example, I tend to bend my knees more than most guys. I think I look like a dork! But I a know that when I crouch that I use my legs more in my swing and hit the ball harder. You might even try hitting off a tee to work on your mechanics and take the variability of the pitch out of the equation.

As for strength, of course getting stronger will help you hit the ball further. Mostly because being stronger will allow you to more easily and more consistently create bat speed. Lifting will help, both upper and lower body but the exercises I've found more helpful with my hitting are 'core' exercises (goofy stuff done with medicine balls and the like).

Glad to hear you are playing, it's a fun game. I still enjoy being in the outfield chasing down a well struck ball and I still love that feeling right after you hit it hard and you know it's a hit!

[BlueDevilJay]

Interesting stuff yall. I have my first game in my church league tonight at 7pm and can't wait to play. My season ended early last year due to a freak injury (I broke my right foot rounding 2nd base, just planting on the bag and pushing off trying to stretch a double into a triple, weird injury) so I am aching to get back out there, especially after taking BP a few times the last couple weeks. I am normally not a long ball hitter, so I focus on spraying the ball all over the outfield, mostly on line drive shots to ensure a hit. I ended last season with a .810 batting average as I could always be counted on to get on base, just not go deep. BUT this year I have worked on my stance alot, similar to what yall are discussing about kinda coiling your body and then unleashing on the ball, and I have recently hit several out in BP on a 300 foot fence.

I feel like Willie Mays Hayes getting ready to start in Major League 2. Like one other said, "Chicks dig the long ball" :) Ill probably pop out a few times and then decide to hit for average and base hits again though.

For the record also, I bought a 26 oz DeMarini for this season, moving down from a 28 oz that I used all last season, and I think that has dramatically increased my bat speed.

[elvis14]

I feel like Willie Mays Hayes getting ready to start in Major League 2. Like one other said, "Chicks dig the long ball" :) Ill probably pop out a few times and then decide to hit for average and base hits again though.

I seem to have warning track power....on pretty much any field I play on! If the fence is 300, I'm good for 295. If it's 275, I'm good for 270 :D I took BP at the old Durham Bulls Park one time...hit it to the warning track there too! I almost always hit leadoff so it's not an issue. I hit lots of balls to the right side, especially if there's a runner on first that I can hit behind.

[bjornolf]

flexibility is more important than strength. Wrist strength is more important than overall arm and body strength. Lower body and core strength is under-rated. You want the force of your unwinding to peak in the hitting zone. Most people unwind too quickly and waste force prematurely. If you watch most good pro hitters, you will see that their wrists don't break until they are in front or almost in front of their bodies and well into the hitting zone. The same with golfers. My uncle, the guy I wrote about upon his death who coached USC and USA baseball for almost fifty years, taught me that. I'm a big guy with a lot of muscle mass. Back when I played softball at work, I hit 2 or 3 homeruns my first season cause I was trying to muscle it. After a summer working with him, I went yard 26 times in 12 games the second season.

[BlueDevilJay]

I seem to have warning track power....on pretty much any field I play on! If the fence is 300, I'm good for 295. If it's 275, I'm good for 270 :D I took BP at the old Durham Bulls Park one time...hit it to the warning track there too! I almost always hit leadoff so it's not an issue. I hit lots of balls to the right side, especially if there's a runner on first that I can hit behind.

Same for me last night as I dropped the idea of putting one out and hit for average again. We got throttled last night 25-4, ended in 5 innings, but I had a good "comeback" game as I broke my foot last season to end my season. Last night I went 2 for 2, with a single and double, drove in 1, and had a 1.000 fielding % in Right Center, with 6 fly balls caught. Even those are an adventure for me now that Im out of practice and under the lights.