How To Grip A Baseball Bat [2 MINUTE BASEBALL]

Hi everyone, my name is Matt Aquilina with Nexus Baseball and this is Two Minute Baseball, where I cover your questions about pre-high school youth baseball and coaching in two minutes.

Today on 2 Minute Baseball I want to cover how to grip a baseball bat. As this series is for youth players, I want to keep it simple and the most universally applicable.

There are two major grip types taught by most coaches. The first is aligning the knocking knuckles and it looks like this with the second knuckles all aligned and is basically the baseball equivalent of the golf grip. It has been taught for decades especially to kids, but even by professional coaches. To put it simply, I hate this grip and have never taught it. It encourages hitting with the side of the bat in a pendulum motion like a golf club, which simply won’t be able to hit most pitches. The advantage is that is encourages a loose grip and not muscling up on the swing.

Instead, almost every single Major Leaguer grips the bat like this, with the first knuckles aligned to the second knocking knuckles of the opposite hand. This is more of an axe grip and allows for the bat to be used more rotationally with the upper body. It allows getting to more pitches and uses the upper body muscles significantly more. When you bring the bat to the ball it looks much more like a punch like this. This is also why Axe Bats have been gaining popularity as they encourage that motion more into the follow-through rather than digging into the palm on the sides.

In terms of grip level, you should have a firm grip on the bat with the palms but not the fingers. Imagine like you are not squeezing or choking the bat with the fingers but holding it more towards the palm.

In the next 2 Minute Baseball video, I will be look at how to teach pitching to kids.

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