The Myth of the Brace Position
in Hitting

One thing that many hitters are taught is that...

• The hitter has to have a firm grip on the bat.
• The barrel should be lagging behind the hands at contact.

...so that they can keep the bat from deflecting rearwards at the Point Of Contact. The desired position at the Point Of Contact that they are taught usually looks something like this.

The Brace Position

The reality is that, while rearwards deflection of the barrel can and does happen, it usually only occurs in fairly young hitters and is most often a symptom of a problem with their batspeed and not their grip.

In truth, and as I discuss in Truth in Hitting, the importance of strong hands and wrists at the Point Of Contact is vastly over-stated and can hurt a swing rather than helping it.