I think that the “directness of the swing” is one of the most important aspects of hitting the ball effectively. The front elbow should be pointed downward at the very beginning of the swing and not toward the pitcher. Not being direct to the ball is a very common problem for many weak hitters! If the front elbow is pointing
toward the pitcher at the very START of your swing, it will create a slight loop which will cause you to be a fraction of a second late to the ball.
If it takes a fast ball about a half second to get to the plate, you can not afford to lose a valuable fraction of a second. A fraction of a second is an eternity when attempting to hit a baseball effectively.This fraction of a second can very well be the difference between hitting a seed or swinging late and possibly missing the ball entirely. If you learn only this one thing about hitting, you will be a substantially better hitter. Please keep the front elbow pointing downward at the very beginning of your swing!
DIRECTNESS OF THE SWING