As professional hitting instructors we are always looking for different things to use to help make our hitters better, more efficient, and have a deeper understanding of their swing. One of the products we use on a daily basis here at Baseball Rebellion is the FollowThru Training Bat, which is a weighted training bat this is designed to something very different from what we use it for (to see more about the FollowThru bat and how its designed click here).

The purpose of the product is to have the hitter feel and hear the ‘click’ of the metal rod that is placed inside the bat at the point of contact, forcing the hitter to have a direct, down or level path to the ball. Here is a video showing the way the product is intended to be used:

If you have been following our company you know that is not the bat path we want our hitters to have at Baseball Rebellion. With that said, all hitting instructors have one common goal and that is to get their hitters to develop and generate bat speed. The training bat is a great tool to help the hitter feel the barrel working backward towards the catcher first to help achieve the fast, upward swing plane that we desire. To get the hitter to feel what efficient barrel path is they must feel the ‘click’ of the metal rod back behind them instead of out in front of them. It helps the hitter feel the initial move of the barrel as well as helps teach them the proper hand pivot to turn the barrel around the knob with extreme speed. The weight of the bat is also a great feature because it forces the hitter to keep the weight of the bat up by turning with their hands high.

You can take full swings and hit with the FollowThru bat but we rarely do that. We use it most when only practicing the movement patterns through half turns. Even though we use it differently than its intended use, it is an excellent product to help hitters generate early bat speed and turn the bat with extreme efficiency.

Here is an in-lesson look at myself explaining and demonstrating the way Baseball Rebellion uses the FollowThru bat: