Are you sopposed to open up your hips when your foot plants?

No, your front foot should land on a stiff front leg when the ball is approx. halfway between the mound and home. At this point, your hips will still be closed and your weight will still be on the balls of your feet.

Smokey,

It will get you ahead of rotation

UK,

Don't really like "stiff" LOL
(That has been hot topic in hitting thread of late.) Prefer to use firm or rigid for sake of soothsayer protection

Shep

You don't land on a stiff front leg.

quote:

You don't land on a stiff front leg.

Info

With you on this one all the way any day.

You don't land on stiff leg period ! Shep

Rigid is a better term for it, you're correct.

I think it's important here to define "open". Does "open" mean that the belly button is facing the pitcher? Does closed mean that the front foot is completely closed, toes facing the opposite batter's box?

What I see is most hitters landing with their hips slightly open (RH batter's facing the SS) and shoulders slightly closed (RH batter's facing 2B) and then rotating both halves together.

What I “think I see” watching video of the best is that the toe touches then, with no pause, hip rotation brings the heel down. The front foot will be closed to 45 deg open w.r.t. the pitcher.

imo, the front leg becomes stiff, rigid, whatever you want to call it, after rotation has kicked in. when the front hip turns open, it automatically straightens out the front leg. You don't want this happening to quickly (ie. when the front foot lands).

I'm with Shep on this one. Rigid front leg, the knee should have a slight bend and the plant should be on the ball of the foot. This is part of the approach to hit the ball through the middle and gap to gap. If the front leg goes stiff and the heel takes over, your hitter will be hitting open, with his momentum going back and will likely hit one 500 feet foul or pop one up.
Many pro's are succesful no matter what approach they take, thats why they're pro's. JMO

Prefer the word "firm".

Also, just in case, parents or kids are reading and plan to work on this... Most great hitters do NOT stride and land on a stiff leg. Just so there is no misunderstanding!

The leg will straighten up to a certain degree in the swing, somewhere around contact. The degree of straight leg can be different between hitters and can change in the same hitter depending on pitch location.

That should cause some lively debate. Actually, for the most part, I think nearly everyone here is saying the same thing.

Watch all the video possible (frame by frame). Also watch the same hitter take several different swings in different locations and check for changes.

A good example might be Palmiero's clips on the Youth Baseball Coaching site.

quote:

Originally posted by smokky1:
Or will it get you ahead of the ball?

smokky1,

Aside from all the discussion about the rigidness of the front leg... your hips should be opening during your foot plant. IOW, you turn into your foot plant, not after it's fully planted.

In this sequence, you can see where Bonds' hips are by the 2 red dots on his belt.

Hope this helps,
Sandman

Sandman, Best illustration I've seen here !

This is what "most of us that understand" mean when we say bend at waist. KEY TO GREATNESS ! RS

I believe , if you are a stride guy, you land on your front toes/balls of feet and then to initiate swing, you must drop front heel. this gets everything going... leg does lock at contact (this is car hitting BRICK wall bat is you not wearing seatbelt, so you go flying through the windshield). If you do not lock leg at contact, that is your car rolling through a WOOD fence, and your bat does not get ejected through windshield.. it just gets bounced around... it is a transfer of energy - just like when a pitcher lands, he gets to a point where his leg locks as well - so his arm can get catapulted through the "windshield."

Diablo,

Never heard explained in quite that fashion but just glad your back sir, even if re-invented.

Will look up heuvo...Shep

Thanks Shep. Sandman tries.