Will shortening my swing make me lose power?

No. A shorter swing is faster to the ball and lets the body's rotation deliver the barrel, which is where real power comes from. A long swing feels powerful because the arms are reaching, but it produces weak contact off the end of the bat.

What causes a long baseball swing?

A long swing almost always comes from swinging with the arms instead of the body. When the lower half and torso don't lead, the hands cast out early to find speed, and the barrel path gets long and slow to the zone.

Hitting · July 17, 2026

The Long Swing: How to Shorten Your Baseball Swing Without Losing Power

Q: How do I shorten my baseball swing?

Shorten the swing by keeping the hands connected to the body's turn instead of casting them out early. Use connection drills that constrain the arms and force the body to rotate: a beach-ball connection squeeze, a PVC hand-path drill, and the 'elbow to the gut' feel cue. One drill per practice, ten focused reps, for two to three weeks.

Q: How do I know if my player has a long swing?

Watch from the side: the hands push away from the back shoulder before the hips turn, the barrel wraps around the ball, and they're late on fastballs their teammates handle.

If your player is late on fastballs and wrapping the barrel around the ball, they have a long swing. The good news: learning how to shorten a baseball swing does not mean giving up power. It usually adds power. Here's what a long swing is, why it happens, and three coach-credited drills that fix it.

Quick answer: Shorten a baseball swing by keeping the hands connected to the body's turn instead of casting them out early. A shorter path is actually faster to the ball, so you gain power, not lose it. Fix it with connection drills that constrain the arms and force the body to rotate: a beach-ball squeeze, a PVC hand-path drill, and the "elbow to the gut" feel cue. One drill per practice, ten reps, two to three weeks.

What is a long swing?

A long swing is a bat path that takes the barrel out and around the ball instead of directly to it. The hands leave the body early, the arms reach for speed, and the barrel travels a longer, loopier route to contact. Coaches call the front end of this "casting," and they call the shape "disconnected" because the hands and the body's turn are no longer working together.

The cost is speed. A long path takes longer to reach the zone, which is why long-swing hitters get beat by velocity and pull weak contact off the end of the bat. It feels powerful because the arms are working hard, but the real power in a swing comes from rotation, not from the arms reaching.

How do I know if my player has a long swing?

The hands push away first. From the side, the hands drift out from the back shoulder before the hips start turning.
The barrel wraps around the ball. Instead of a tight, direct path, the barrel casts out and comes back in.
They're late on fastballs teammates handle. A longer path takes more time, and velocity exposes it fast.
The lead arm bars out early. The front arm straightens too soon, throwing the hands away from the body.

If a coach has said "shorten up," "stay inside the ball," or "stop casting," they're describing a long swing. It is one of the most-taught problems across the hitting videos in our index.

Why does a long swing happen?

Almost always: the hitter is trying to make power with their arms because their lower half and torso aren't leading the swing yet. When the body doesn't turn first, the hands cast out to find speed, and the path gets long. That's why the drills below constrain the arms and teach the body to deliver the barrel instead. This is a mechanics topic, so if a swing isn't clicking, an in-person hitting instructor who can see the player live is worth the money.

3 drills to shorten the swing without losing power

Drill 1 · All levels · Connection

The beach-ball connection squeeze, by @ianjenkins_hitting

The hitter holds a beach ball against the body through the swing. It teaches the hands to stay connected to the turn and creates the right amount of space between the hands and torso, so the arms can't bar out or cast the barrel away early. A direct fix for a disconnected, long swing.

Watch @ianjenkins_hitting's drill →

Drill 2 · All levels · Hand path

The PVC hand-path drill, by @yougoprobaseball

Using a PVC pipe held vertically, the hitter learns exactly where the hands should track through the swing. Keeping the lead arm and hands tight to the body eliminates the disconnection and casting that make a swing long, and it stops the barrel from dragging behind.

Watch @yougoprobaseball's drill →

Drill 3 · All levels · Feel cue

"Back elbow to the gut," by @d.r.hitting

A feel cue for hitters who get long by overusing the shoulders and upper half: turn from the core with the feeling of driving the back elbow toward your gut. It keeps you inside the ball and shortens the path immediately, because the hands physically can't cast while the elbow works tight to the body.

Watch the cue →

Run one drill per practice, ten focused reps at a time, for two to three weeks. Shortening a swing is about accumulated reps with feedback, not one magic session. And credit where it's due: these drills belong to the coaches linked above. Go follow them.

When it's not a long swing

Late on everything but the contact itself is firm and on the barrel? That's timing, not path length. Short, quick swing but still weak grounders to the pull side? That's more likely pitch selection or rolling over at contact. If the fix isn't obvious, describe what you're actually seeing in plain words and let the index sort it out. That's exactly what Fungo does.

Get the 3 best drills for your player.

The drills above are a sample. Our index goes much deeper on the long swing across every age and level. Tell us your player's exact version, their age, their level, and what you actually see at practice or in games, and we'll email the 3 best drills for them, within minutes.

Find your drills → Coaching a team, or want a full weekly plan for your player? See Fungo plans.