Any of you hitting enthusiasts/analysts? I have a video that I would like to show you and would like feedback good and bad. Let me know
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Post the video. See what comments you get in return.
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Lots of different hitting philosophies, so observations are what they are.
You start with a good, balanced, athletic base. I like staying behind the ball but I think there is excess here, starting with too much head tilt back toward catcher when you start your swing after load. Some tilt is natural and will happen. Excess will lead to a chain of other issues. I am also a believer in "against a firm front". Because your balance stays back so much after load, you never get there. One by-product of this is a swing plane that is upward beyond optimal. Also, when loading, you take yourself into early arm bar, which makes the first half of the swing a bit long. Again, some players have success with this.
Another note regarding head tilt... when I have a hitter with excess tilt, i will put him thru a simple demonstration. I will have him stand in front of me facing me (no bat involved) and I will toss him a ball. Then I will do the same with him tilting his head as far sideways as he can. Seeing the ball well and performing the simple task of catching it with his bare hands is usually far more difficult with the tilt. This illustrates what a severe head tilt does to vision/seeing the ball well.
I would be curious to hear what the few primary points of focus are with your hitting instructor.
Does your swing have adjustability? If you land early on cu or break can you still barrel it up? I am no expert but you look a bit out of balance from the negative move and your front shoulder rises up a bit amd that seems to contribute to the tilt. When you swing and miss is it more over the ball?
2022 NYC, missing the ball is not one of my problems for me. I land on time so I don't usually have too much trouble with curveballs. My instructor teaches to swing at a positive angle and getting the ball in the air. Grounders do nothing etc.
Has your HI been tracking your LA with blast/dk, hit trax or rapsodo? I get having a good launch angle but if it is not placed in the proper context you will end up with an upper cut swing and miss on a lot of pitches with late break. What is the velo you are currently facing at 15/16u?
We use rapsodo and hit track. Pitching velo is 80-85 on average. I play a lot of my tournaments down south.
cabbagedad posted:Lots of different hitting philosophies, so observations are what they are.
You start with a good, balanced, athletic base. I like staying behind the ball but I think there is excess here, starting with too much head tilt back toward catcher when you start your swing after load. Some tilt is natural and will happen. Excess will lead to a chain of other issues. I am also a believer in "against a firm front". Because your balance stays back so much after load, you never get there. One by-product of this is a swing plane that is upward beyond optimal. Also, when loading, you take yourself into early arm bar, which makes the first half of the swing a bit long. Again, some players have success with this.
Another note regarding head tilt... when I have a hitter with excess tilt, i will put him thru a simple demonstration. I will have him stand in front of me facing me (no bat involved) and I will toss him a ball. Then I will do the same with him tilting his head as far sideways as he can. Seeing the ball well and performing the simple task of catching it with his bare hands is usually far more difficult with the tilt. This illustrates what a severe head tilt does to vision/seeing the ball well.
I would be curious to hear what the few primary points of focus are with your hitting instructor.
agree 100% with these comments
That lateral hip slide into your load position is not helping. You should be turning with your shoulders and hips to load up on your left side without going past your left knee load position - NOT sliding your weight over the back hip.
Also, I'd like to see you be taller with a more balanced (40/60) stance instead of the exaggerated uppercut style.
Baseballcomesthird posted:2022 NYC, missing the ball is not one of my problems for me. I land on time so I don't usually have too much trouble with curveballs. My instructor teaches to swing at a positive angle and getting the ball in the air. Grounders do nothing etc.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't appear to be a big guy, capable of putting it over the fence. As such, I'm not sure why you have an instructor that focuses on increased launch angle.
One thing to be careful with instructors is guys who only teach one way, regardless of the pupil. I'd make sure he's utilizing your skills, rather than trying to fit you into his way.
And I totally disagree with "grounders do nothing". You're a lefty and if you have speed, you can get many hits with grounders. Plus, for an out on a grounder, you need a catch, throw and catch, where a fly ball only requires a catch.
Dont drink the Kool-Aide!
I would disagree with my size limiting my power. A few examples would be an 88 MPH exit velocity which is top 5 in New England according to PBR, at a recent camp, hit the furthest ball by far, this summer multiple balls off the wall. Not saying I'm David Ortiz but I've never felt like my size has limited my power. I can send you a full video of me hitting if you'd like. Also, what good ground ball hitter is there?
CTbballDad posted:Baseballcomesthird posted:2022 NYC, missing the ball is not one of my problems for me. I land on time so I don't usually have too much trouble with curveballs. My instructor teaches to swing at a positive angle and getting the ball in the air. Grounders do nothing etc.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't appear to be a big guy, capable of putting it over the fence. As such, I'm not sure why you have an instructor that focuses on increased launch angle.
One thing to be careful with instructors is guys who only teach one way, regardless of the pupil. I'd make sure he's utilizing your skills, rather than trying to fit you into his way.
And I totally disagree with "grounders do nothing". You're a lefty and if you have speed, you can get many hits with grounders. Plus, for an out on a grounder, you need a catch, throw and catch, where a fly ball only requires a catch.
Dont drink the Kool-Aide!One thing to be careful with instructors is guys who only teach one way, regardless of the pupil. I'd make sure he's utilizing your skills, rather than trying to fit you into his way.
"One thing to be careful with instructors is guys who only teach one way, regardless of the pupil. I'd make sure he's utilizing your skills, rather than trying to fit you into his way."
It appears you have a lot of talent and success so far, I applaud you on this. By you asking for opinions it shows your drive to better your skills and increase your scholarship opportunities. Find a reputable hitting instructor as the quote above suggests. Hopefully the instructor will also teach you how to be a better hitting student, teaching the game. You combine both talent with knowledge of the game and it will make you a better player by far.
Baseballcomesthird posted:I would disagree with my size limiting my power. A few examples would be an 88 MPH exit velocity which is top 5 in New England according to PBR, at a recent camp, hit the furthest ball by far, this summer multiple balls off the wall. Not saying I'm David Ortiz but I've never felt like my size has limited my power. I can send you a full video of me hitting if you'd like. Also, what good ground ball hitter is there?
I'm happy to see you're working hard at improving your swing. Keep it up - hitting will keep you in the game. That being said, there's a reason Aaron Judge & Giancarlo Stanton have the highest exit velo's in 2018. It's their size. Hundreds of MLB players have exit velo's of 100+, but the vast majority speak at length about trying to hit a ball hard and put it into play. From your video, it's clear you are hitting the ball hard, but also that you are swinging for the fence. I suspect that the suggestions above would benefit you greatly - so think about the advise and take what pieces you can and incorporate them into your training. Good luck!
Thank you Cman and Trust in Him. I recognize the size factor and am continuing to work and adjust my game.
Baseballcomesthird, it can be a bit of a slippery slope when you are already seeing a hitting instructor to then ask a general forum to do swing analysis but you can still perhaps pick up a thing or two. Now that we've sort of made the rounds, I'm also curious as to what take-away points, if any, were helpful to you.
BCT, are you a fast runner? What is your height and weight?
Decently fast. 4.1 Home to First.
5’9 165 trying to get up to 170 by end of year
What MLBer has your instructor mentioned as a model to swing the way you do?
RJM posted:Why MLBer has your instructor mentioned as a model to swing the way you do?
Seriously ?1?
Baseballcomesthird posted:Decently fast. 4.1 Home to First.
5’9 165 trying to get up to 170 by end of year
The reason I ask is that is exactly my son's height and weight. He is VERY strong for his size...squats around 475, and fast, about 6.8/6.7 60yd. It took him a while to figure out what type of hitter he was/is. While he can and does hit bombs in BP, he finally determined that he was the type of guy who should try to square up the ball and hit it hard on a line. When he really smashes one he'll one hop a fence and leg out an extra base hit. He has figured out that an uppercut swing will not work for him. The few HR's that he'll hit will not make up for the SO's and FO's that are the downside for such a swing. Unlike some of his college teammates are 6'4" and 220, he has to get all of a ball to knock one over a fence, especially with wood bats that he is using now.
You being a LH bat is a nice advantage on a ground ball, but is meaningless on a fly ball. Also great for bunting( speaking as a LH myself)for a base hit. You are reasonably fast...use it!
I won't give you any technical advice on your actual swing. The last thing you need is some thought flitting through your mind from some guy on message board when you are up to bat. I will say this. If your swing is working for you, then keep it. If not, consider changing your approach, especially if you find yourself not growing much more.
Ichiro and Molitor are two examples of smaller guys who did well for themselves with line drive swings. I know that there are examples of smaller guys that are hitting them out, but they are the exception rather than the rule. I do know that a lumbering 6'3" RH bat will be likely be slower than you getting down the line...why not play to your advantages?
Baseballcomesthird posted:I would disagree with my size limiting my power. A few examples would be an 88 MPH exit velocity which is top 5 in New England according to PBR, at a recent camp, hit the furthest ball by far, this summer multiple balls off the wall. Not saying I'm David Ortiz but I've never felt like my size has limited my power. I can send you a full video of me hitting if you'd like. Also, what good ground ball hitter is there?
Some uppercut is good and you don't want to hit grounders but I feel you lean back too much. The head should be about over The back hip but not behind The back hip. I also see some hip slide and getting stuck back. I prefer only a slight uppercut of like 10 degrees and shooting for high liners in the 15-20 degree range rather than going for high fly balls.
The hand path looks decent, maybe a tad of bat drag. I would work on a stronger front leg.
But if you have success stick with your instructor, it is not a bad swing. And definitely don't just work on power and bulking up. There are 5'9 mlb players who hit 25 homers a year and it is possible but at 5'9 hit for average, speed and defense is key. You can have power at 5'9 but if you are a 5'9 190 pounds tank with no athletic ability they will not recruit you a lot because at 5'9 power is not Going to be seen as your primary tool. At 5'9 power helps but you need to be able to run and defend, period.
That doesn't mean you shouldn't work on power but being a little maxed out power tank is not the greatest thing. Work some on strength but more on agility and speed.
I’ve learned a lot from this. The top two things I’ve taken away are to still transfer my weight forward after loading on my back hip. I’ve also learned that I need to figure out a way to stay productive with my swing plane, type. This weekend (first tournament using my swing) went 3-7 with a walk and 1 K. I have to keep working as I’ve only been using this style for a month now. Also, I need to sharpen my skills as I am a little rusty due to football.
You should be coiling inward as you are moving forward. You coil in as you go back, which is wasted.
So, as you go forward, you are coiling out (opening up), which makes you begin the swing before toe touch. This is creating bat drag.
Get in front of a mirror and work only on coiling hips and shoulders inward as you stride forward to landing. Hold it as long as possible. This is what MLB hitters do.
Depending how confident you are in putting the ball in play, there is a big difference when you swing with 0,1 strike vs 2 strikes in the count. It also changes when runners on base, number of outs, score and inning you are in. It drove me nuts at my son's D1 games to watch how some batters would swing at a marginal at best strike at the wrong time. Even if they got a base hit it doesn't change the many times it ended up being a soft out or pop up. This is where being a student of the game definitely helps.
I took a couple videos today. Here is my swing. Let me know how it looks. Tried to stay more consistent.
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At toe touch.
Hands are behind the back elbow. That's bat drag.
You see the hips already opening (not good).
You have no real stride move forward, that's why you are leaning back here. The back leg should have mostly extended, it's still bent.
IMHO that swing is going to have a whole lot of trouble handling a fastball on the hands and anything (think CU) soft away. Never seen you face live pitching so could be wrong, just my thought from 1 video cage clip.
As others have said the load is too extreme and the arm bar throughout the entire swing is going to cause issues getting to an inside pitch. You have a quick and powerful looking swing but I feel like the intention is wrong.
Do you hit on hit trax? I have a similar natural swing path of an uppercut, so I really work to try to get on plane to the baseball, if you pause the video at contact, your front shoulder is angled straight upwards. I have a 100+ exit velo on hit trax and have maybe hit 2 or 3 homeruns with a launch angle in the 40s with an upper 90s exit velo, most homeruns for me are in the 20s. There’s just no need to try to lift the baseball, let it come naturally.
Again...
That lateral hip slide into your load position is not helping. You should be turning with your shoulders and hips to load up on your left side without going past your left knee load position - NOT sliding your weight over the back hip.
Incorrect movements with added arm-barring...