Palm Up, Palm Down (Contact Position)
Also known as: palm up palm down, palm-up palm-down, top hand palm up, palm up at contact, palm up position hitting
Palm up, palm down describes your hands at contact. The top hand's palm faces up toward the sky, and the bottom hand's palm faces down toward the ground. It means your wrists have not rolled yet, so the barrel stays behind the ball and drives through it.
At contact, a strong position has the top hand under the bat, palm up, and the bottom hand on top, palm down. The bat is supported from both sides. The barrel can push through the ball instead of turning over it.
Rolling the wrists too early flips the top hand over before the ball is hit. That turns the barrel down and causes weak ground balls to the pull side. Coaches call this rolling over.
The wrists do roll in a full swing, but after contact. Good hitters hold palm up, palm down through the ball and then let the hands turn over in the finish.
Tips by skill level
Set the bat at your contact point on a tee. Check that your top palm faces up and your bottom palm faces down, then swing through that spot.
Freeze your video at contact. If the top hand is already over the bat, work on hold-through drills and on a later, deeper contact point.
Example
A hitter keeps grounding out to shortstop. Freeze-frame video shows his top hand already rolled at contact. Palm-up holds off a tee help him keep the barrel behind the ball longer.
Why it matters
Hand position at contact affects how square the barrel is. Holding it longer turns weak grounders into line drives.
Common mistakes
- Rolling the wrists before contact
- Thinking the wrists should never roll, even in the finish
- Gripping the bat deep in the palms, which locks the wrists
Frequently asked questions
What is palm up palm down?
It is the hand position at contact. The top hand faces up and the bottom hand faces down, so the wrists have not rolled and the barrel drives through the ball.
Should my wrists roll at contact?
No. The wrists should roll after contact, in the finish. Rolling them before contact turns the barrel over and causes weak ground balls.
Which hand is palm up when hitting?
The top hand. For a right-handed hitter, that is the right hand. The bottom hand is palm down.
Related terms
- Rolling OverRolling over is a swing fault where the top hand rotates over the bottom hand too early. It closes the barrel through contact, causing weak pull-side grounders.
- Contact Point (Batting)Contact point is where the bat meets the ball, relative to the body and plate. It shifts with pitch location, and a fixed one is a common cause of weak contact.
- Extension at ContactExtension is the arms straightening through and just past contact, not folding in. At impact the rear arm usually keeps some bend, especially on inside pitches.
- Batting Grip (How to Hold a Bat)Hold the bat in your fingers, not deep in your palms, with your hands touching and the bottom hand just above the knob. Many coaches line up the door-knocking knuckles of both hands, or set them a little toward the big knuckles. Keep the grip firm but relaxed so the wrists and forearms stay quick.
- Hitting Line DrivesTo hit more line drives, meet the ball squarely through its middle on a slightly upward bat path. Statcast counts a batted ball launched at 10 to 25 degrees as a line drive. Good timing, a barrel that matches the pitch plane and an approach aimed up the middle produce most of them.
Related guides & benchmarks
Work on the cause
Video shows how you move, not the ball itself. Film one swing to find the movement behind this result — free to start.
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