PTAF and tfox,
I was hoping this thread wouldn't turn into this, but I guess it was inevitable. I appreciate both of your points about Turtle Thomas. What I wanted individulas to look at was when he talked about the load (first 2 min. and 30 sec.). I can't edit videos not posted by myself on youtube. I don't agree with what he talks about with spinning the back foot. I will include that on the website.
What I'm about to talk about is how I have taught hitting to 10 year olds. I have read on hear that little kids can't hit like the big leaguers. This is wrong. Big leagers have learned the most efficeint way their bodies work in hitting a baseball. Kids bodies work the same way, just on a smaller scale. I am going to address the sliding of the back hip, and the front foot load drill that you disagree with me on.
When Thomas talks about releasing the back side into frontside by lifting the back knee off the ground.... That is a way you teach a hitter to use his backside. When a player is first learning how to use his backside, you have to over compensate to make sure he feels the weight transfer from the backside to the frontside. The hitters that need this tranning is the shoulder swingers who only get their batspeed from the rotation of the body, not the linear move, and rotation. You start them with this drill, allowing them to FEEL the weight transfer from the backside to the frontside. Yes, they will get there weight over the front foot in order to really FEEL weight transfer. This is a neccessary evil in the process of teaching the correct swing. Once a player feels the weight transfer...The player feels how much harder they hit the ball, and how much more effiecient (less effort) they can swing the bat. I will get to how I correct hitting against a firm front side, not over it, in a second. One last point on this drill, I have watched big leaguers doing this drill for tee work, when they are struggling with pulling off the baseball too much. "It is just a drill, I do not expect hitters to use it in the game." The last part is exactly what Turtle Thomas says in the video.
Then once a hitter feels weight transfer, the hand path needs be corrected. If a player DID NOT load previously he had to create his batspeed all from rotation. The player will be straightning his front elbow out long before extension through contact, also know as casting. This forces a player to not trasfer his weight to the frontside. When a player eliminates casting, and allows his frontside to pull his backside into it...The player is experiencing weight transfer.
John Cohen calls it "releasing the energy in the direction of the hit"
Gary Ward calls it "releasing the back hip into the baseball"
They are both describing what Stone, the White Sox guy is talking about when the back foot gets pulled forward by the front hip.
The way this is corrected is by having a player get in the box, and be about a foot away from the plate. Then place a tee in front of the inside corner, and force the player to hit the ball up the middle off the barrel. This will force the hitter to feel "staying inside the baseball, keeping his hands inside of it, etc." Then after a hitter can hit the inside pitch up the middle, by having bat lag, move to front toss.
Make sure the hitter knows the correct body position at contact, firm front leg, bent back arm near side, etc. Then front toss from 10 foot away, and force the player to load when you load (pull arm back to throw), and hit the ball up the middle. As a tosser, every few pitchs make the hitter show you "correct contact point," so that gives you (tosser) a location to throw at. If you throw the pitch in that area, and the hitter can hit it up the middle, he has kept his hands "inside the ball." If he loads his weight against the backside when you pull your arm back, and can still hit the ball up the middle when you throw it to the right spot, the player has experiencedweight transfer. He will tell you how GOOD it feels to hit the ball this way. The player is not thinking about weight transfer, all he is thinking about is getting his weight against the backside, and hitting the pitch up the middle. Where hitting coaches get in trouble is when they talk to the hitter about "pushing" of the backside. This is where hitters get over their front foot. If all you talk about is getting the weight back, and hitting the ball up the middle, a players natural body movements will get him into the correct position.
I understand this is difficult to put into words, and I know my website is not perfect. That is why I put it on hsbaseballweb. I have seen this process work with multiple young players. I just need to be able to put it on the web, so more hitters can benefit.
Watch the backfoot come off the ground of Albert Pujols in picture E2.
Pujols weight transfer (E2)
