PVC Pipe

IEBSBL posted:

Lately I have seen a lot of players swinging long sections of PVC pipe, like 9 ft long.  What is the purpose of this and how does it improve the swing?

From my observation, for "feel" in top hand turn and "feel" for bat path/lag

My son is a pitcher but the Clemson Instagram just uploaded this the other day.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb...n-by=clemsonbaseball

I don't know that it does...or doesn't accomplish much of anything - pretty sure nobody knows for sure. How would you quantify it even if you believed it completely?

Clemson obviously feels it is worth looking at...fair enough have at it. The over weight / underweight is nothing new, that has been around for at least 25 years that I know of. The PVC thing I personally may have some doubts about but who knows maybe it is the new answer to hitting guru's all around the land! I kind of doubt it but I also have no doubt there have been worse ideas.  

At the end of the day some people are very segmented, small cue, task specific in their training procedures...others not so much. My guess is it may come down to the coaches personality and what he believes in from a high level thought process in training. I would be willing to bet some of the players think it is an awesome new drill to make everyone a masher and others think it is the dumbest....and the truth it will probably do neither!

I personally believe that if you learn to get the bat on plane and on time....and you are lifting properly and doing athletic training to maximize a players natural ability, success will follow. I think technology be it from video and or electronic devices so show that what you are feeling is true to what the bat is actually doing is kind of no brainer to use...Do I think swinging a piece of 9' PVC is a huge help or hurt to the above process...not really either way.

One of things I love about baseball is new ideas and concepts...what I also find amazing is how fast the new greatest thing comes and goes only to be replaced by a new best thing! I mean it was only a couple months ago I was reading posts at various places about the potential value of teaching the scissors footwork that Altuve uses....and if that is a part of the crazy power he is able to generate.

I will agree that training aids are a dime-a-dozen.   Every year or so, a guy comes out with a new training tool that is "the best ever."  It may be for pitching or it may be for hitting.    Most of them end up sitting in a corner somewhere.  I have rarely seen coaches actually use training aids that are purchased.  Some may get used.  

Here is my sage advice.  Skip the 'training aids".  You don't really need something to tell you that you are doing something wrong or right.  You need something, better yet, someone, to teach you how to do something right.  I think of the Swing Away.  It was supposed to be A great swing trainer, but in reality, it only told you that you did it wrongly or correctly.  It was no trainer, it was a feed back device. 

Get a good coach to teach you how to do things correctly.  He should show you what it feels like to do it correctly.   Then he can help you with using various feedback devices.

Now, what constitutes a good coach is another thread in and of itself.

Bat speed will increase with a weighted / game bat weight / underweighted program (just like arm velocity and running).  The long pole swing shouldn't hurt as long as mechanics do not change on the long pole swing. For every bad swing at practice you need many good swings to correct.  Train the swing.