What is the Correct Way to Hold a Baseball Bat?

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The correct way of holding a baseball bat is the first aspect to become good at baseball, and when you find the right grip for yourself, you’ll become a better player naturally. The debate of what is the correct way to hold a baseball bat has been going on for decades with no answer. And it’s complicated to answer the question. Hence, we’ve given some tips and information on how to hold a baseball bat correctly in this article.

Gripping

Gripping the bat is the most essential part when holding a bat and having the right grip is just as important. There are various ways of gripping a baseball bat and choosing the right grip is essential for anyone who loves playing baseball. But keep in mind, there’s no wrong way to hold a baseball bat, it depends on the person whether it is right or wrong for him or not. There are two types of grip that are most used – Box Grip and Door Knocker Grip. Let’s check what these two styles are.

Box Grip

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The reason this style is called box grip is that it resembles a box when holding the bat with both of your knuckles forming the sides.

Box grip is a common style of holding the bat amongst players of all levels, and it’s also the grip that feels natural to most of them. From little leagues to major league players and even regular fans playing baseball feels natural holding the bat in this style. Honestly, this is the style of grip you’ll see most often in videos and images of professional baseball players, especially from the power hitters. Because the box grip helps generate the most power from your swing and power is useful if you’re aiming to be a batter.

It generates power by promoting more torque through the swing and by keeping your rear elbow up. Also, it’s harder to roll your wrists before or during the contact. But power isn’t everything, and you may opt for a different type of grip. Power isn’t everything in baseball, you may find a different batting grip suitable for you.

Door Knocker Grip

The reason this bat grip is called what it is, is because your door knocking knuckles line up vertically on the bat handle; hence, “door knocker grip”.

This grip is relatively unknown, and it has been growing in popularity recently. And there have been many debates that this is the correct way to hold a baseball bat. Although, we don’t say which grip is the right way; however, door knocker grip is an excellent way to hold the bat if you are a contact hitter. It’s a comfortable grip that keeps handling close to your fingertips, which gives the batter superior bat control. Therefore, it’s beneficial to contact hitters. Even a little bit of bat control can make the difference between a ground ball to second base or a line drive up the middle.

Whatever you hear from other people about what grip is the correct way to handle a baseball bat, you should pick the one that feels correct for you. You can try both box grip and door knocker grip to see if either of the grips fit you or not.

Some essential tips when holding a baseball bat

Regardless of which batting grip you choose there are some ways of how to hold a bat every professional and expert agree on. And you should know these tips as well if you are aiming to be a pro or you want to be better at this game.

Keeping the bat out of the palm of your hands?

?If you are holding the bat inside your palm, then your hitting and batting average will go down. Because when you are holding the bat so deep inside, you’re making it hard to make split-second adjustments which could be fatal in a real game. For example, you won’t be able to hit the ball when a sudden breaking pitch comes outside after a fastball in your strike zone.

You should let your fingers control the bat which will allow you to have better bat control. Most baseball professionals don’t make the mistake of holding the bat too deep in the palm of their hands and use their fingers to control the bat however they want.

Keep Your Grip Loose for a better batting result

As mentioned above, keeping your grip loose on the bat improves bat control while also improving swing speed. As a result, the power of the swing increases as well. You may not know, or it might come out strangely but loose muscles are fast muscles, and there are a million fast-twitch muscles involved when it comes to a baseball bat swing. You’ll be able to see the result if you practice your batting with your grip loose.

Try holding the bat tightly and with a loose grip. Of course, you can’t let the grip loose too much, or else the bat will fly off from your hands. You’d notice the difference immediately. When holding the bat like this, the ball would jump off the bat oppositely to thumping lifelessly to the bat while over gripping it. Your bat grip will naturally tighten the more you practice. Just keep it loose in the beginning, and your batting will improve with time.

Try out grips until a grip that’s suitable for you. It doesn’t matter how others grip the bat, but, how comfortable are you holding the bat. Everyone has their own style of holding the bat. Keep in mind that the grip is only the first step to hold a bat and you should keep trying until you find the correct way to hold a baseball bat for yourself.