When I take my batting practice I probably work more on my hip rotation than anything else. Without the proper thrusting of my hips can only lead to other flaws in my swing. Whenever I feel like I am pushing the ball through the swing and meeting it out front usually means I am not turning on the ball properly. The ball stays on the bat longer and you will notice a sideway spin on the ball. So you know it's not going to go too far with kind of spin on it. We are looking for that backward spin so we can get maximum distance.

I would like you to try and imagine yourself uncoiling at the ball. One of the things people will say to me after watching me take batting practice is they can not believe how fast my hands are from the starting point of my swing until the time of impact. So once again we are talking about bat speed and how fast your whole body moves has a great impact on that. I want to have transferred my weight off my back leg and be driving down through the ball when I actually make contact. I want to keep my shoulder in as I swing and start to open my hips at the same time. This is where you start to uncoil toward the ball. It is almost like an unwritten movement because you really can't tell you are rotating your hips. As you open up your swing you should be able to feel your back foot spin. This is known as pivoting on your back foot. What is most important at this point is where you come down with your front foot. It should be pointed toward the direction you are hitting the ball.

Both of the players up above are prime examples of excellant hip rotation. The player on the left is Sidney Cooper who play with Ken Sanders Ford out of Phoenix City, Alabama. He played in the late 70's and early 80's. He played with Ken Sanders when they lost to Nelson's Painting Service in 1977 at Parma, Ohio. Sidney was not that big of a guy but he had tremendous power. The other player is Ronnie Ford from Jacksonville, Florida. In 1977 Ronnie was playing with The Detroit Ceasars Professional softball team. Why? Because Ronnie was the MVP at the 1976 Men's Major ASA in Jacksonville, Florida at Drew Park. Ronnie was your all around player that could just flat out do it all. I seen him make tremendous plays at shortstop and have seen him climb the left field fence at the Smokey Mountain to rob a player from an extra base hit and then fire to third getting the runner trying to tag up out.

If you are trying to hit the ball to the opposite field and you are left handed and want to hit a ball to left field then you need to step that way. When you step towards left field your back pivot foot won't move that much, but when you go to pull you should spin half around on the pivot foot.

Note: When trying to hit to the opposite field I want to have a controled swing once again. For me it's easier to take something off of my swing if I am trying for the base hit. As you noticed I said I, because that's the way I prefer when hitting opposite field. I was such a pull hitter during my career that it wasn't until after many years of playing that I tried hitting to the opposite field. I was what you could call a stubborn hitter. Even if they shifted on me I was determined to beat their shift. Most of the time I did.

The left hande hitter is Rich Petrunyak from Cleveland, Ohio. Richie played with such teams as Steele's, Nationwide Advertising, Cleveland Jaybirds, Cleveland Competitors, Favorite Knits. Richie was your perfect player. He could run like a deer, had popeye forearms and hit for power or average. As I said if he didn't hit it out he would be on second in a heartbeat. When I played with Richie he would lead off and I would bat second. In one game in 1981 at Sprtansburg, S.C. Richie, Doc Booker, and myself hit 17 homeruns in one game. 17 for 17...

So when hitting to the opposite field with power, I would take my normal cut and step towards left field or or more to center if I am hitting the ball towards center field. But I would really be swinging the bat when you are trying to go deep the other way.

There is an old term they call "squashing the bug". I learned it a long time ago in little league. I think that term is pretty easy to understand. When you pivot it is like you are squashing a bug with the balls of your feet. The proper alignment of your swing after contact should be with both of your feet point forward. If both feet are turning through your swing then you are headed in the right direction.
There is one other thing to concentrate on when swinging. You don't want to start your shoulder too soon on your swing. If you start the release on your front shoulder too early when you swing you will be more liable to hit ground balls or hit the ball of the end of the cap on the bat. So timing is a must. So once again practice, practice...

The player on the right is none other than Dave Steffen from Flat Rock, Michigan. This is a photo of him hitting in a home run contest in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1984. Dave got his moneys worth everytime he stepped to the plate. You can see where he has turned the corner with his hips and driving off the back leg. Dave holds the record for most homeruns in a game in the USSSA Men's Major World Series with 9. That was in 1991 against Joe Albert's Ken Michaels team in Omaha, Nebraska.