Posted By:
warshawlawIf it was good enough for Cobb and Heilmann, it is ok by me.
I taught an open stance, split grip to my daughter and the first thing the coaches try each season is to push her hands together at the bat bottom and bring her front foot forward. Their conventionally-trained kids can't hit the side of a barn for months at a time; Emma had great bat control and opposite field power at 6.
The grip generates great bat control because you are using the back hand as a fulcrum and pivoting the lever with the lead hand. The bat barrel moves a lot with very small shifts of the bottom hand. It lets you throw the bat head into the ball at the last minute if it breaks and gives you more time to decide what to do with a non-breaking ball. It also lets you more readily spray the ball to whatever field you choose. For kids, especially, if they start out hitting that way, they learn to make contact much easier. They can gradually narrow their grips as they improve to kick up the power a bit.