The First Part of the Baseball Swing Should Be Slow

The first part of the baseball swing should be slow.  You are just starting to rotate open but it isn't quick.  This is how slotting happens.  If you fire open quickly, gravity can't drop your hands and flatten your bat.  It's this slow first part that allows the proper slotting action to happen.  

One of the more puzzling swing changes of the last decade was Jose Bautista's.  He said that all he did was start everything earlier, which basically means he gave himself more time to be slower in this first part of the swing.  And by being slower he was able to slot.  You can see the change in his swing in this video.

However you want to think about it, what matters is that you start the first part of the swing slowly, not quickly as many are teaching these days.  The swing should pick up speed so that you achieve the most speed through contact.  If you jolt the first part of the swing, you will not have optimal speed or consistency through contact.  

To feel this, do the "Three Minutes" drill.  This will automatically let you feel exactly how this first part should feel.  And if you are recovering from the "snap it" training of the swing, this will be quite a different feeling for you.  But give it some time and I'm sure you're going to see a big difference in power and consistency.