"Lost Secrets of Hitting"

quote:

Originally posted by Low Finish:


Yes, ever see a "Quick Hands" device? Seriously, that's what its called.

The problem is that no one swings that way. I'm not talking about some drill.

quote:

Originally posted by BlueDog:
Gehrig.....

Technically speaking, he should be out. He's out of the box.

Notice the long stride and the resulting low finish.
The "tip and rip" motion probably helps him move the log that he's swinging.

quote:

Originally posted by Low Finish:

quote:

Originally posted by BlueDog:
Gehrig.....

Technically speaking, he should be out. He's out of the box.

Notice the long stride and the resulting low finish.
The "tip and rip" motion probably helps him move the log that he's swinging.

Notice the bat is on a slight upswing thru the zone. Pronounced wrist roll-over shortly after contact. Contributes to flatter finish with both hands still attached to bat.

I think a lot of these old videos misrepresent the finish. They show pitches up and well out of today's strike zone, which affects the swing and the finish.

Look at the pitch location in this video. It is almost 2 feet from being a strike today. There are only a handful of hitters that would even offer at this today. The pitch location contributes to the flat finish. A pitch at the letters, which is no where close to a strike anymore, leads to a flatter finish.

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:

quote:

Originally posted by Low Finish:


Yes, ever see a "Quick Hands" device? Seriously, that's what its called.

The problem is that no one swings that way. I'm not talking about some drill.

Watch any fastpitch softball game, or any youth baseball game from T-Ball to 12U.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:
Watch any fastpitch softball game, or any youth baseball game from T-Ball to 12U.

I am a volunteer assistant at a college for FP. No one swings that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Low Finish:

quote:

Originally posted by BlueDog:
Gehrig.....

Technically speaking, he should be out. He's out of the box.

Notice the long stride and the resulting low finish.
The "tip and rip" motion probably helps him move the log that he's swinging.

Actually his heel is still touching white which is still in the box.

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:
Watch any fastpitch softball game, or any youth baseball game from T-Ball to 12U.

I am a volunteer assistant at a college for FP. No one swings that way.

Former UCLA coach demonstrating the "perfect fastpitch swing".


You are seriously going to tell us that FP players aren't instructed to swing like this?

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:
You are seriously going to tell us that FP players aren't instructed to swing like this?

I'm telling you that I don't see it. I'm sure some are but not in our area.

If that is a linear swing by the former UCLA coach it's the worst example I've ever seen. She is displaying everything bad in a swing. And why is she starting the swing with her head in that position?

Would anyone actually teach this "weak" swing? I think she should be embarrassed, seriously! I would be willing to bet that her best hitters never used this swing.

I actually went to Sue Enquist's site and watched a video. She seems like a tremendous coach. On another site she describes the swing and what she writes makes sense. She even makes a point to mention... Make sure you don't roll over. Unfortunately she shows roll over in the clip.

I still say the swing she is displaying should embarrass her. Could anyone get the ball out of the infield with that swing?

quote:

Originally posted by PGStaff:
Could anyone get the ball out of the infield with that swing?

Not many do in FP. However, they are transitioning slowly to rotational. Most FP instructors use the right words, but still use mostly linear.

quote:

And why is she starting the swing with her head in that position?

Actually, she is is just looking at the video camera and talking, so that's not a problem.

My son started learning epstein with the local high school FP coach.


Hmmm

There are no good swings in softball on any level......

With one exception...And, only one!

quote:

Originally posted by BlueDog:
There are no good swings in softball on any level......

With one exception...And, only one!

60' bases,short fences and hot bats. Swings don't need to be good,just effective.

I am a new comer here and found this topic interesting so I hope you don't mind me putting in my 2 cents...

My father (big Ted williams and Joe D fan)taught me rotational style hitting from my first swing of a bat.He explained it to me as a process of getting the bat around through the strike zone as quickly as possible by using the torque generated by the twist of the hips, the weight shift from back to front, and the arms from shoulders to wrists and hands all acting as one unit.

I like to think of it like that of a boxers right cross. Good right cross gets its power from nearly the same process. A longer stride, or deeper bend in the back leg, or even tip of the head or back shoulder will do more for setting the trajectory or angle of a hit ball. Like throwing a right cross to a crouching opponents chin; a good puncher may close his stride a little and bend the back leg slightly more. This gives a better chance to hit with power on the chin of a opponent taking a lower plane.

For younger players who did not naturally swing with their bodies, my dad used to have them imagine entering the low outside corner of the strike zone and exiting the high inside corner on every swing. This gave them a longer period with the barrel in the strike zone and often resulted in more contact which gave them confidence. Confidence which gave them the desire to do more with their batting resulting in better performance.

Any swing that gets power only from one set of muscles in the body is going to be less powerful than a swing using multiple muscles groups in proper sequence. be it a linear path or rotational.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:
Watch any fastpitch softball game, or any youth baseball game from T-Ball to 12U.

I am a volunteer assistant at a college for FP. No one swings that way.

Former UCLA coach demonstrating the "perfect fastpitch swing".


You are seriously going to tell us that FP players aren't instructed to swing like this?

I agree the UCLA coach is displaying poor swing mechanics. The most obvious flaw is seen in her hips which do not lead her swing. Ideally (as noted here by others), the hips should turn first with the upper body following and the bat passing through the hitting zone last.

She is also rolling her wrists through the hitting zone. This is a serious flaw that reduces bat speed and alters the swing plane. Wrist rolling creates a TON of opportunities for middle infielders though...they love it.

There is (still) no better book on the subject of hitting mechanics than Ted Williams' brilliant and well-written "The Science of Hitting". He doesn't try to differentiate between rotational and linear since a proper swing is neither one or the other. He goes into great detail on how to generate optimum bat speed and swing path.

http://books.google.com/books?...#v=onepage&q&f=false

These techniques are more important than ever today for young players who no longer swing the cheater sticks of the past 15 years.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:

quote:

Originally posted by redbird5:

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:
Watch any fastpitch softball game, or any youth baseball game from T-Ball to 12U.

I am a volunteer assistant at a college for FP. No one swings that way.

Former UCLA coach demonstrating the "perfect fastpitch swing".


You are seriously going to tell us that FP players aren't instructed to swing like this?

Not knowing the coach or the context of the video, (perhaps it is an attempt to show a linear path to the ball) I have to say I had a 15 yr old player with nearly the same swing. He swung it much faster causing his back leg to lift to keep his balance, but the swing was the same path.

He told me this was how he was taught to swing by his coaches and parent before coming to my team this season. I tried to explain to him the problem with it now that the kids throw much harder and often throw breaking pitches, but he just would not change. His BA was pathetic and when he did hit the ball won the war of attrition at the plate resulting in little dingers to short, second or pitcher. He got on base from a hit twice the entire season.

Sadly their are many coaches and parents out there attempting to teach the power "V" and follow the Charlie Lau/Cal Ripken method but have little to no experience or applicable knowledge of it. And the results are kids who can't hit past the infield if they hit at all once the pitches start coming harder and break.

With softball even FP, the larger ball and thinner, lighter and faster bats allow for a lot more linear a path to the ball. A 27 ounce 34 or even 36 inch bat can be swung with just the arms and result in at least a single.

Sadly a baseball swing like that results in garbage. But as long as softball players and coaches have success in softball swinging like that, they will all too often coach the same to a baseball team. Also when players are younger and the pitches rarely break 65 mph, they can often get decent results and a high average with it if their hands are fast enough and their coordination permits it.

I had no less than 4 other players who told me they were taught that at one point as well when they were younger.

Just so there is no confusion...

Power V is rotational + extension of the back elbow at contact.

Linear is not just extension + wrist flip. Notice how her hands immediately get in front of her back shoulder and hip.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:
Just so there is no confusion...

Power V is rotational + extension of the back elbow at contact.

Linear is not just extension + wrist flip. Notice how her hands immediately get in front of her back shoulder and hip.

Agreed and as I said, the well meaning parents and or coaches often teach the power "v" incorrectly resulting in the type of swing we see in the video. Many times the logic may be "it works in softball so why not here". Which as anyone can see is not going to cut it once the ball is coming in above 70+ regularly.

quote:

Originally posted by SultanofSwat:
You are seriously going to tell us that FP players aren't instructed to swing like this?

Can you show me a FP player who swings this way?

Some of the NCAA girls fast pitch swings that I've seen are more like MLB swings than many of the NCAA baseball swings out there.

I'm just sayin

I'mconfused on how rolling her hands after her arms are extended,which should beafter contact is hurting anything. Isn't this required to finish in a decent manner?

Just call BR - 549......Ask for Junior Samples!

Additional information:

Here's Schmidt's "level to the ground" swing next to David Wright's swing. They're pretty similar.