Hitch Mel Ott Should you have a "hitch" in your swing? That's the question. As a former minor league baseball player, I have had the opportunity to pick the brains of some very good hitting coaches. Unfortunately, I had a hitch in my swing and they all told me to "lose it". What is a hitch? Well, let me describe it this way. As the pitcher begins his delivery, you as a hitter, drop your hands down before bringing them back up to where they need to be to hit the ball. In my case, I developed a hitch by emulating my favorite baseball player, Roberto Clemente, when I was a kid. And it stuck. Every hitting coach I came across told me that you can't hit with a hitch in your swing. Can't catch up to a fast ball. I played minor league baseball a long time ago and over the years I've noticed that many great hitters had a hitch in their baseball swing. With all my batting coaches telling me that I couldn't hit with a hitch, I managed to bat .368 in my first season in the minors. I'm not saying that I would teach a youngster to have a hitch in his swing,nor would I encourage it. But as you will see at the bottom of this page, the list of famous baseball players that had that hitch is a pretty impressive list.
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