A solid baseball swing begins with the correct grip, and gripping a baseball bat requires an understanding the fundamentals of what makes a perfect swing. If you do not have the bat gripped properly, then the rest of your swing simply isn’t going to be the best it can be. You want to grip only with your fingers, because that’s where all of the strength is in your hands.
Let’s take a look at a great video which will show you two easy techniques for holding a baseball bat that you can start using today!
The “Box” Technique Versus the “Door Knockers” Technique
If you make two fists and put them on top of each other, you will notice something very important to a good baseball grip. You will notice one of three configurations with your knuckles:
- Your foremost knuckles that you use to knock on a door line up from top to bottom
- Your two sets of knuckles line up to create a box
- There is some combination of the two
It’s not important whether you use the door knockers, the box, or the combination. But what is important that your knuckles line up in one of these ways if you want a good baseball grip.
If you are turning your hands so far over the bat grip that you are seeing the top of your hands when you look at your grip, then you are gripping the bat too tightly.
How Your Grip Gives You Control
When it comes to control and power in your hands, it is all located in your fingers. If you want to strengthen your grip to give you better control over the way you hold your bat, then you need to strengthen your fingers. Your wrists and forearms are critical in executing a good swing, but they have nothing to do with creating a strong grip.
If you would like to practice maintaining control over you bat with your grip, then hold your bat with just your fingers and spin it slowly like a baton between your two hands. This will teach you to maintain control with your grip, and it will also get you out of the habit of using the palms of your hands in your grip at all.
Remember that the right baseball grip uses only fingers and does not incorporate the palm of the hand into the grip in any way!
Choosing The Right Type Of Grip
As was mentioned, there is no wrong grip as long as you are using one of the three types of grips we have been discussing. The key is to experiment with each of the three types to find the one that is most comfortable for you. Over time, you may realize that lining up the door knockers is great for power, but the box formation delivers clutch hits out of the infield.
You will need to experiment with the different grips to make sure that you understand how to use each one, and know where each grip fits into your game.
Setting Boundaries
Using this knuckle technique is helpful because it allows you to set boundaries for your grip that will make you a more consistent hitter. Many hitters start their swing with the door knockers lined up, and then finish with the box. This is perfectly acceptable, but you will want to use the box as a boundary.
You never want to have your swing any looser than the door knockers technique, or any tighter than the box technique. Once you tighten up your swing, you start to lose control and power.
When you break the right baseball grip down into its component parts, you come up with a range of motion that you can use on the practice field. By understanding how to properly line up your knuckles when gripping a bat, you can predict how much power and control you will have when you execute your swing.
A baseball player can practice hitting baseballs all they want, but they will never improve unless they know the very basics of good swing mechanics. By understanding what it takes to create a strong and reliable grip, a player can use their practice time to become a more prolific and powerful hitter.
