Baseball bat with sliding contact zone

Abstract

The invention as describe herein details a swing training device for teaching a baseball or softball player the proper swing mechanics. The device consists of a handle, a sliding contact zone and a rod which is connected to the handle and forms the means for the sliding contact zone to move. The idea of this trainer is to swing the device such that the sliding contact zone moves from just above the hands at the start of the swing to the end of the bat (top stop) at approximately the same time that contact is made with the ball. This device is designed and meant to be used in real hitting situations such as batting practice, batting tee practice and all types of hitting drills where the ball is tossed or pitched.

1 ) A swing training device for teaching proper swing mechanics comprising a handle portion, a rod portion and a sliding contact zone. 
   
   
       2 ) The device of claim on wherein the device has a weight and a length of a traditional bat. 
   
   
       3 ) The device of  claim 1  wherein the rod further contains a top and bottom stop to restrict the sliding contact zone distance of travel. 
   
   
       4 ) The device of  claim 3  wherein the bottom stop contains a means for holding the sliding contact zone until the device has reached a minimum swing speed. 
   
   
       5 ) The device of  claim 4  wherein the means for holding the sliding contact zone are a plurality of magnets mounted in the bottom stop and the sliding contact zone. 
   
   
       6 ) The sliding contact zone of  claim 1  wherein the sliding contact zone has the same size and shape as a regulation bat. 
   
   
       7 ) The sliding contact zone of  claim 6  wherein the contact zone is made from wood or aluminum. 
   
   
       8 ) A method of teaching proper swing mechanics using the device of  claim 1  comprising the steps of placing a batter's hands on the handle portion of the device, positioning the hands and device in the proper position above the batter's shoulder, starting a swing by bringing the hands down towards the batter's belt causing a sliding contact zone to start to slide down the rod toward a top stop, and continuing the swing such that the sliding contact zone reaches the top stop at approximately the same time that contact is made with a ball. 
   
   
       9 ) The use of the swing training device of  claim 1  where the training device is used for live batter practice. 
   
   
       10 ) The device of  claim 1  wherein the handle portion is attached to the rod portion by a male and a female threaded union. 
   
   
       11 ) The device  claim 10  wherein the rod portion is replaced with a traditional bat end. 
   
   
       12 ) The device of  claim 11  wherein the bat end is chosen from the group consisting of a baseball bat end, a softball bat end or a cricket bat end.