Hitting Analysis

Guy,

You have way too much going on to fix over the internet. If you want to get better, find a good personal instructor.

Well now that doesnt help me to much does it. I mean yes I am trying to fix it but I have to know what I'm doing wrong to get better, right. Ok. So then just give me two things or something. Saying that I cant fix something over the internet doesnt get me anywhere. And coming from a family that doesnt have a whole butt load of money to help their son get better at baseball I cant just get a personal instuctor for $100 a month to help me. Thats why I came here. To get help on what is wrong and hopefullly to learn what I can do to get better. Thank You

I've sent you a private message. In the upper portion of the page, a flag will appear. That is where one accesses their private messages.

I've gone and looked at your swing. It is very hard to make any suggestions due to the nature of the setting. I'll take another look when I get time. Yes, there are always things one can work on. How was your base? Do you have a sense of controlling momentum in your swing? Do you understand the relationship of your hips and shoulder complex? Watch some hitters in MLB. There are clips throughout this site. Read some of the info there and the various thoughts. You will find someone who's ideas coincide with a sense of what you consider your "base." Ask that posters for some suggestions. You've just started. This site can be a great resource.

Take care!

Guy: welcome to the hsbbweb. There's lots of good baseball guys and gals here.

Here's the first drill I want you to do. Go to field if you can, or use the racketball court again and bring along a tee and a bucket of balls.
1. Put the tee in a position where the pitch would be about 4 inches outside; now hit the ball over the firstbaseman's head. (hit about 10)
2. Now move the pitch in a couple of inches and hit 10 over the 2nd baseman's head.

The reason we are hitting the ball over there and moving the ball away from you is that your hands are right on your belt buckle and we've got to free them up a little so you can hit different pitches.

3. Put the tee right down broadway and smack ten over the pitchers head.
4. Now put it middle in and drive 10 right over the shortop's head.

Now repeat these 4 positions until it's time to go home and do your homework. end of lesson 1.

Do this every day for a at least 3 days. Then start hitting some soft toss and pitched balls.

good luck and have fun... baseball is an awesome sport. I had a catcher a few years ago with a swing just like yours as a frosh.... as a senior he was a tough out; got recruited to go to a couple of NAIA's (he was one tuff kid behind the plate) ....

Well bud, you have quite a bit of work to do, and you're probably going to have to get almost of the information yourself. Read through this hitting forum, do as much research on rotational hitting mechanics as you can, watch tape of MLB hitters, compare your swings to theirs. It will take a lot of work, both physical and with research, but you can do it. Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by This Guy:
Well now that doesnt help me to much does it. I mean yes I am trying to fix it but I have to know what I'm doing wrong to get better, right. Ok. So then just give me two things or something. Saying that I cant fix something over the internet doesnt get me anywhere. And coming from a family that doesnt have a whole butt load of money to help their son get better at baseball I cant just get a personal instuctor for $100 a month to help me. Thats why I came here. To get help on what is wrong and hopefullly to learn what I can do to get better. Thank You

If you are willing to keep filming your swing, I will give you suggestions of things to work on a few at a time.

First, how old are you? What grade are you in?

CoachB25 has mentioned base. You have no leverage in your swing at all and that is one of the main reasons your swing is so slow. Swing hard each time you swing!

1. Spread your feet far enough apart that when you put your bat on the ground, it will touch the inside of each instep. Now, take the bat away and move your front foot back towards your back foot about 6 inches, this will allow for a 6 inch stride.

2. Once you take your stance, make believe you are going to sit on a stool and bend your knees until you can feel your thighs start to burn.

3. Stride to ball release on your front toe and push your hands back toward the Catcher at the same time. Your swing should start as your hands get back as far as possible (or at least to a point where your front elbow gets past your bellybutton).

Work with these things for a week or so and film yourself again and we'll take the next step.

Im a Freshman class of 2012.

powertoallfields: You mention no leverage in my swing. In this sence we are talking leverage coming from where? The legs, the arms, both? And in number 3 that you gave me you said "release on your front toe" What does that mean?

You will all have to excuse me as I know what certain terms mean, but I do not know how they pertain to or are built into a proper swing. Keep in mind I have never had any private lessons or such. (No real one on one coaching. Dont get me wrong here, I havent missed a season since I first picked up a baseball.) The only true source that I have is my dad and he is not the most knowledgable person to ask about things like this.
Once again please be patient with me.

trojan-skipper: I will have to do this dril at the raquetball court as where I live, every baseball field within an 80 mile radius is covered in snow.

Thank You

quote:

powertoallfields: You mention no leverage in my swing. In this sence we are talking leverage coming from where? The legs, the arms, both? And in number 3 that you gave me you said "release on your front toe" What does that mean?

I said stride to BALL release. That means start your stride as soon as the Pitcher lets go of the ball, but stride to your toe, not to your heel or whole foot because the heel plant is the trigger to start the swing to the ball. By landing on your toe, it gives you some timing margin of error if you misread a pitch.

Ok thank you for clarification. I will post another vid. in a few weeks or so after I have worked on these things thoroughly.

I am no expert, but I know a little about hitting. LOL..... Kudos to have the courage and willingness to put yourself out there for others to evaluate. As a 2012, you have tons of time and BB ahead of you, don't be discouraged!

Tee work is key. There are many different drills you can use,it will help more than any other thing you can do right now.

As far as live BP, its useless take 200(+)hacks of live BP if your swing mechanics are poor. All you are doing is teaching yourself to swing with poor mechanics. If you would like, send me a PM and I will send you 3-4 video clips of tee drills, stuff you and your dad can work on together. I'll also send you drill specific instuctions to help you evaluate whether you are:
1. doing them correctly.
2. determine your success and evaluate the progress of your improving swing mechanics.

You must develop and REPEAT good swing mechanics before you evaluate yourself with live BP again. As much as you are working, you'll see some great improvements with these tee drills.

Good luck and work smarter, not harder.
GED10DaD
love catchers!

TG - You have another PM buddy.... GED10DaD

TG-been a couple days, hows it going? Let me know when you're ready for more.
GED10DaD

I think your hands start out too low. To correct that lay your bat on your shoulder with the handle pointing straight out and the bat parallel on your shoulder. Then raise the bat still staying parallel to the ground a few inches. That will bring your hands up near the level of your ear. Keep them high when striding and draw them back to get max load before driving to the ball.
Your stride was not too bad. You need to crank up the intensity and stay balanced. I think the main problem is your low hands.

quote:

Originally posted by BobbleheadDoll:
I think your hands start out too low. To correct that lay your bat on your shoulder with the handle pointing straight out and the bat parallel on your shoulder. Then raise the bat still staying parallel to the ground a few inches. That will bring your hands up near the level of your ear. Keep them high when striding and draw them back to get max load before driving to the ball.
Your stride was not too bad. You need to crank up the intensity and stay balanced. I think the main problem is your low hands.

His hands are certainly no lower than these guys are and they did pretty well with that position.




[/QUOTE]

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
His hands are certainly no lower than these guys are and they did pretty well with that position.

Be sure to note that these guys' hands start low but raise up as they get ready to go.

They don't swing with low hands.

quote:

Originally posted by This Guy:
I just took some video of myself hitting raquetballs and wanted some criticism for whats good and what I need to work on.

Your swing is EXTREMELY arm-y.

Maybe the most I've ever seen.

It looks as if you are trying to swing with your arms and keep your shoulders in place.

You also adjust up/down with your arms while keeping your torso upright.

How were you taught to hit? What cues do your dad/coach use?

quote:

Originally posted by This Guy:
I just took some video of myself hitting raquetballs and wanted some criticism for whats good and what I need to work on.

Were you taught to get extended and make the Power V at the point of contact?

I ask because I know that some people teach that and it's exactly what you are doing.

It's also TERRIBLE advice.

Ya I was taught that the arms are supposed to be fully extended at contact. Guess not though. Ive been working here on the swing. Another vid. next week hopefully. See how far weve come if anywhere yet.

quote:

Originally posted by This Guy:
Ya I was taught that the arms are supposed to be fully extended at contact.

Yeah, it looks like it.

That is totally wrong.

This is what you want...



Notice the 90 degree in the bend in the back elbow.

Your swings on pitches inside aren't terrible, but your timing's off.

This Guy,

It doesn't look like your hands are lined up correctly. Maybe I'm seeing it wrong, but make sure your knuckles are linep up. You want the knocking knuckles (ones youd knock on a door with) in a straight line (or close to it). What this does is:
1. Helps you grip bat in fingers which allows for more power
2. You'll be a lot smoother when coming through the zone

Hope it helps...

quote:

Originally posted by John YaYa:

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
His hands are certainly no lower than these guys are and they did pretty well with that position.

Be sure to note that these guys' hands start low but raise up as they get ready to go.

They don't swing with low hands.

Their hands never get higher than their chest.

quote:

Originally posted by John YaYa:

quote:

Originally posted by This Guy:
Ya I was taught that the arms are supposed to be fully extended at contact.

Yeah, it looks like it.

That is totally wrong.

This is what you want...



Notice the 90 degree in the bend in the back elbow.

Your swings on pitches inside aren't terrible, but your timing's off.

If you pause the video at contact, this kid's back arm is in the same position as Pujols', his front arm is not. His two major problems are shaft to shoulder position and his base/balance/leverage. Until he fixes those two problems, he'll never be able to hit above average hitting.

TG - hey buddy, the vid from 02/09 looks better than the first one!! Keep working, also, if you can hit a tennis ball rather than a raquetball, especially off the tee. More similar in size and weight to a baseball, also it has seams for your target zones.

You have a PM!

GED10DaD

quote:

Originally posted by Catch43:
You want the knocking knuckles (ones youd knock on a door with) in a straight line (or close to it).

Most of the greats don't do this.

They grip the bat like this.

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
Their hands never get higher than their chest.

They get up to the level of their back shoulder right before launch.

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
If you pause the video at contact, this kid's back arm is in the same position as Pujols', his front arm is not. His two major problems are shaft to shoulder position and his base/balance/leverage. Until he fixes those two problems, he'll never be able to hit above average hitting.

Not in the first swing.

In the first swing he makes the Power V at the point of contact.

His arms are more bent on the swings after that because those are balls inside.

quote:

Originally posted by John YaYa:

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
Their hands never get higher than their chest.

They get up to the level of their back shoulder right before launch.

This is launch position for every great hitter, how you get there is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that you get there on time.

quote:

His arms are more bent on the swings after that because those are balls inside.

There is no way you can tell location in this video. You can guess, but that's about it. This kid has no timing and that is why his arms are in different positions from one swing to the next. He has no separation and that magnifies the problem.

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
There is no way you can tell location in this video. You can guess, but that's about it. This kid has no timing and that is why his arms are in different positions from one swing to the next. He has no separation and that magnifies the problem.

If you go through the clip frame by frame, you can tell location based on what his arms do and where the ball hits the bat.

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
This is launch position for every great hitter, how you get there is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that you get there on time.

While I will grant you that how you get to the launch position will vary from hitter to hitter, I don't think how you get there is irrelevant.

If you hitch on your way there, you're going to be slow and late.

quote:

Originally posted by John YaYa:

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
This is launch position for every great hitter, how you get there is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that you get there on time.

While I will grant you that how you get to the launch position will vary from hitter to hitter, I don't think how you get there is irrelevant.

If you hitch on your way there, you're going to be slow and late.

Ted Williams and Barry Bonds both had hitches in their swings and they did okay. It is a matter of when the hitch happens as long as they are in launch on time, it means nothing.

Hey everyone Thanks, all the help has been Great!!!! Heres the latest vid. hopefully we've improved at least one thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKL3sKaDThI

TG - You have a PM! GED10DaD

quote:

Originally posted by This Guy:
Hey everyone Thanks, all the help has been Great!!!! Heres the latest vid. hopefully we've improved at least one thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKL3sKaDThI

Your posture is better, but you're still extending at the POC.

Part of this is due to all the pitches that I looked at being down.

I'd like to see your swing against a ball down the middle.

quote:

Originally posted by John YaYa:

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
This is launch position for every great hitter, how you get there is irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that you get there on time.

While I will grant you that how you get to the launch position will vary from hitter to hitter, I don't think how you get there is irrelevant.

If you hitch on your way there, you're going to be slow and late.

Nothing wrong with a hitch. You wont be slow and late because of it. Its about timing, and a hitch can play a valuable role in timing and loading.

Hey deemax- Bonds had a hitch in his swing. Worked okay for him. Some would call it a load. Had a conversation with your dad and Scott Ramsey a few years ago about getting your hands started. Worst thing you can do is have dead hands to start.

quote:

Originally posted by This Guy:
Hey everyone Thanks, all the help has been Great!!!! Heres the latest vid. hopefully we've improved at least one thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKL3sKaDThI

Okay! It looks like you've got the base down and the stride to toe looks very good. The next two things to work on are shaft to shoulder position and your weight transfer. If you look at the 5th photo submitted by gunemdown above, you will see the correct position of the bat shaft at go. The bat needs to stay as close to your deltoid muscle until your belly button and the knob of the bat are pointing to estimated contact point. As far as weight transfer goes, try to keep your weight on your back leg until you get to the above referenced body position. Sit on your back leg as you stride to your toe to a point where it feels like you are holding 95% of your weight using your right glute.

This point is where it is important to understand "contact position" and that is why I suggested getting private instruction in the first place. If you can have a Coach show you proper contact positions on different pitch locations using a tee, your progression will go much faster. The 4th photo sent by gunemdown is the position for a pitch down the middle if the ball was touching his bat at this point in his swing. That's about the best I can do over the internet. Sorry!

quote:

Originally posted by GunEmDown10:
TG - You have a PM! GED10DaD

One more time, buddy, sorry so long this time!!Holler back if you need to. GED10DaD

Ok. I understand what to do now. If I could ask you one more thing though please. What will this do??? When Im asking that Im not trying to be smart or anything I just need to know to help me better understand. My guess is it will help give a longer look at the ball???? Thanks