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[quote="SS"]Look, there is no hiding the fact that we are a very, very good softball team now. But, the simple fact is we were in a do or die, final game of the tournament, winner take all situation…… and we got SHUT OUT in slow pitch softball!!!! That’s a pretty bad choke job, if you ask me! So, what happened? Well, I just think we faced a very tricky pitcher & we didn’t adjust well to him. He put a weird, helicopter-like spin on the ball that made it seem like the ball would never come down. And because of this, we were impatient & swung early, which caused tons of pop outs!

And I am not trying to point any fingers, because I will be the first one to admit that I personally hit like shit in the 2-game championship series. But I realized what I was doing wrong (I wasn’t waiting for the ball to come completely down), and hopefully won’t allow that to happen again. That’s the point of the post. Everyone should always be re-evaluating their approach at the plate. And be open to suggestion, because sometimes the most minor adjustment can make a world of difference.

So, here are 2 very simple & effective hitting tips for anyone who would like to improve their production at the plate. And JCASS, no need to read on because your swing is flawless, especially when it comes to these 2 suggestions. (I personally used to have both of these flaws in my swing. But, since I am a loser who thinks 10x’s more about softball than sex, I have corrected these pointless bad habits in my approach):

1.)	TWO hands on the bat at the end of the swing = LINE DRIVE!!! While on the other hand (excuse the most pathetic pun ever), ONE hand on the bat at the end of the swing = FLY OUT!!! This is not an exact science, but a well defended hitting fact. It’s really just simple logic! TWO hands on the bat at the end of the swing forces the hitter to bring his back hand (that would be the right hand for righties & vice-versa) over through his swing. It is this bringing of the back (or top) hand over in a softball swing that causes the hitter to have a “Level Swing.” Just watch Cassidy. He does this better than anyone. He keeps his hands entirely back until the last possible second & then completely swings through the ball with both hands on the bat forming an absolutely picture-perfect level swing. You never see Cass fly out! If the outfielder catches it, its only because his line drive just hung up a little. It’s NEVER the deep fly to left that’s in the air FOREVER, which is the trademark out for some of the UPPER-CUTTING, ONE HAND on the bat at the end of the swing hitters on our team!! (Of course, the new, calm SS will not be naming names!)
2.)	Hands ABOVE the shoulders when waiting to swing = WASTED MOTION!!! (Think Julio Franco’s batting stance) In fact, a lot of big leaguers have this flaw in their stance. However, they are able to overcome it with LIGHTNING FAST SWINGS! Also, they probably developed this flaw of having their hands really high in the air at a young age & because of the fact that they were still EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL, didn’t see the need to change. If it ain’t broke, why fix it!! But since we aren’t MAJOR LEAGUE HITTERS, we should at least consider lowering our hands to shoulder level before we swing. Think about it: No matter how high your hands are before you swing, they MUST come back down in order to swing! This is wasted motion. Now, I know we have PLENTY of time for our hands to come back down because we play slow pitch softball, but WHY do it if you don’t have to??? You want as much balance in your stance as possible. And this wasted motion of bringing your hands down before you swing will affect any hitter’s balance. Try standing up with your hands high in the air. Now, bring them down quickly to the side of your body. You will feel the slightest shift of weight between your left and right feet. Even though it’s very subtle, your still not as balanced as you would be if you just stood there still! So, eliminate the bat waggling & the hands above your head (Your not Gary Sheffield, Quinny! Wait…. I just named a name! Oops! Well, I just think TQ that if you had your hands back at shoulder level instead of real high in the air over your head, you would have more time & balance to use that perfectly chiseled, 240 lbs. of horse-power that you call your body to crush the ball!! Just a suggestion. And trust me, he isn’t the only one with this flaw. How about the 2007 Bensalem Home Run Derby Champ!! That big upper cut swing is fine when hitting 8 HR’s in a row to come back and beat your much better looking older brother. But, when the opposing team actually has outfielders to catch those towering flys, 9 times out of 10 its just gonna be a very long out!!![/quote]

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