The "Diamond Dozen"

(Thursday, February 01, 2001) - BASEBALL IS A SIMPLE GAME. When all is said and done,good players must demonstrate they can hit and throw. Here are my "diamond dozen" tips on two crucial skills
HITTING
1. SPREAD AND LEAN IN. The position of the hitter's feet should be more than shoulder distance apart to allow for proper balence and room to fully rotate the backside at the end of the swing. Young players should lean over from the waist with minimal bending of the knees -rather than sitting or crouching low -to ensure the proper weight distribution on the middle of the feet, and not on the heels or toes.
2. TV FACE. Just as when a player watches TV, his eyes must be level and directly face the pitcher. Most hitting problems can be traced to inadequate vision and tracking of the baseball. Hitters should keep their chin away from their shoulders toensure they see the ball with both eyes. Too many hitters tuck their chin into their shoulder in an effort to keep from opening their front side too early in the swing. As a result, players sacrifice proper eye contact with the ball and stiffen their shoulder at the beginning of the swing.
3. LOCK THE FRONT SIDE AND EXPLODE ON THE BACK SIDE. On contact with the ball,the front foot must be firm and pointing toward the opposite batters's box. The back hip and knee must be fully turned towards the oncoming ball. The front leg will flex and turn open after contact -never before.


4. GO BACK TO GO FORWARD. As in racquet sports, a player's initial movement must betoward the back of the batter's box in order to generate momentum and to allow him to evaluate the oncoming ball. A player's hands should go back toward the shoulders slowly before his hands move forward to hit the ball. Good hitters line their hands up over their back leg, with the knob of the bat pointing toward the opposite batter's box.
5. PALM UP, PALM DOWN. At contact, the palm of the top hand should face up and the palm of the bottom hand should face down. This position ensures that maximum strength can be applied during the swing and allows hitters to swing through the ball rather than simply at the ball.
6. STAY TALL. Good hitters never reduce their height during their swing.A player should keep his eyes on the same plane throughout the swing and avoid dropping down by callapsing the back leg or flexing the front leg.

THROWING
7. DOWN,BACK AND UP. Players- and pitchers,too -must start a throw with rag-loose forearms and wrist. The ball should be brought down out out of the glove and then back up to the launch position. At all times during this preparation for a throw, the fingers must remain on top of the ball. The throwing elbow must remain slightly bent throughout a throw until the arm is out front of the player's body after the ball is released.
8. ELBOW OVER THE SHOULDER. At the release of the ball, the elbow must be above the shoulder
to ensure a downward action and a levered motion. Rather than telling a player to throw "overhand," teach him to throw with his elbow over his shoulder.
9. ELBOW BEFORE THE HAND. To promote the whip-like arm action coaches covet in a throw, a player should be reminded constantly that the elbow goes before the hand at the release of the ball, which will increase arm and fluidity.
10.THROW THE GLOVE,THROW THE BALL. Involves moving both shoulders. To increase arm strength and healthy arms, the glove-side shoulder should pull the throwing shoulder through a throw. Players should drive their glove shoulders to their throwing target before releasing the ball.
11. WAVE GOODBYE. If players wave goodbye - actually an up-and-down action of the wrist- the spin of their thrown ball will have six-o'clock to 12-o'clock rotation, will result in harder throws and healthier arms.
12. REACH AND SHAKE. Most arms injuries occur during the slowing down of an arm motion at the end of a throw. A player should reach out after throwing and shake the arm out over the knee opposite the throwing arm,rather than bringing the arm up against his body after a throw. The arm should be loose and limp after a throw, just like an elephant's trunk.

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