Seadog,
I guess there's always the chance that I end up "sandbagged" (again!) and these these 3 players led some HS league last year, each batting over .600, etc.. NTL, I'll take my chances and offer some analysis.
I do realize that there's much more to hitting than swinging, but seeing we're not being asked to review these other areas, I'll focus only on what's in front of us.
You asked for honesty, so here goes...
All 3 of these hitters appear to me to be overturning away from the pitcher during their loads. In the comparison below, imagine a line drawn between each hitter's elbows. See how much further the hands/bat must travel to contact? IMO, this much turn and bat wrap leads to a longer/slower swing (bat quickness, not necessarily true bat speed).
Yes, I took the liberty of flipping Gonzo around to make him a righty.
Brandon and Taylor are stepping in the bucket. I assume you know that this can cause all sorts of issues - from having difficulty hitting the outside pitch, to pulling off the ball too soon, flying open the front shoulder, etc.. Also, the outward movement of Brandon's rear foot during his stride suggests to me that his weight is on his heels too much, as well as maybe slows him down a bit on turning on inside pitches (due to his toe line being re-established more towards the second-baseman). Tilting forward over the plate from the waist a bit more will probably help create a more powerful, stable base.
Taylor continues to lunge forward well after striding. Perhaps he should not hold so much of his weight back during his stride? This way, once his stride is complete, he can immediately begin turning behind the axis he's established. Also, IMO, his hands are far too high above his shoulder, especially given the amount he turns his back from the pitcher. This makes for a long way for the hands to move to bring the bat to the ball. If he keeps his hands nearer to shoulder height, I would think he could be quicker to the ball. A side benefit of this might also be that the bat will likely not be as flat as he swings, giving him a better chance of staying on top of higher pitches.
I think Taylor and Brandon are beginning their swings w/ their hands too far away from their rear shoulders, causing them to launch on an "outside-in" bat path (kind of like my
over-the-top, cast pull/hook or block/slice swing in golf
). This may be a contributor to them having to stand up a bit and even lift/shrug their rear shoulders as they come into contact to avoid making contact nearer the handle. (I don't mean where their hands are during their stance; I really do mean when "starting their swings" - after stride/load.) I believe that if you viewed these swings from overhead,
at their begining, you would see a wide push out towards the plate, followed by the arcing back in towards the body. Instead of their hands moving in a smooth, even arc
around their bodies, their arcs are starting wide and then cutting
across their bodies. I'm not looking to start a war w/ anyone over the virtues of any
fence drills, but that might be an option. Or perhaps starting their hands nearer their shoulder/armpit area - and trying to keep them there longer - would help? Or, as Epstein might suggest, starting w/ the bat resting against the outside of the rear deltoid might even help.
Lastly, one thing that really intrigues me is how many MLB hitters seem to continue to turn their shoulders
through contact, whereas the shoulders of many kids/amateurs (myself included) seem to stop turning at contact, and the arms just coast the bat across the torso the rest of the way. Though I've heard that
"what happens after the ball leaves the bat is irrelevant" (and even that seems to be debateable), I can't help but think that there's some "slowing down" of the swing (and resultant loss of power) as it approaches this transition. This is one of the constant challenges in my learning of the swing - separating causes from effects. Do the shoulders stop rotating because the hitter disconnected the arms from the turning torso - sending the arms and bat on a plane which is not perpendicular to the axis of rotation - and this forces the wrists to roll over to reach the ball? Or is there something else that causes the shoulders to stop turning? (Note that I'm not talking about less shoulder turn because of an outside pitch hit oppo.)
Maybe tom guerry and others can help me understand this phenomenon? Then again, maybe it
is irrelevant?
Thanks for letting me continue to learn from your efforts to improve.
Hope this helps a little,
Sandman
P.S.
Just in case you haven't seen this, here's a site that hosts
MLB Clips.
