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This is a phrase I heard recently, but wasn't sure what it meant. Previoulsy, I'd heard that a short, quick stroke was good, lwhich made sense to me. Could any one here explain what this means and, if anybody has a video clip which demonstrates it, I'd love to see it posted.

I THINK I know what is meant by "short to zone," but I'm particularly baffled by the "long though zone" phrase.

Many thanks for your help!
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It means keeping your barrel through the strike zone. When we teach short stroke, sometimes players tend to be quick in the zone and then quick out of the zone. You want to be short to the ball and then long through the ball with your barrel. It creates back spin and line drives. The best hitters in the game stay through the ball with thier hands and barrel.
quote:
Originally posted by bubandbran:
It means keeping your barrel through the strike zone. When we teach short stroke, sometimes players tend to be quick in the zone and then quick out of the zone. You want to be short to the ball and then long through the ball with your barrel. It creates back spin and line drives. The best hitters in the game stay through the ball with thier hands and barrel.


Hogwash.

How can you be quick to the zone and long through it?

Two ways: Slow down once you get there.....or lengthen the path to stay in it longer (disconnect).

Neither is good.

The cue is meaningless.
Last edited by Linear
Listen, I played in the major leagues and played professonally for 11 years. I have played along side Miguel Tejada, Todd Helton, Miguel Cabrera, David Ortiz, just to name a few. Edgar Martinez told me personally in Spring Training to use my hands to stay through the ball with my barrell. When you are quick in the zone and then quick out, you top a lot of balls, which produce weak ground balls. Staying through the ball produces back sping line drives. It is a technique, that professional players work hard to perfect. But a young player can do it and work on it as well. Good luck.
When I think about "short thru the zone" i am thinking about what we call "hook barrel". Basically not extending the follow-thru towards the pitcher... (good view of proper extension in the Chipper Jones clip) but instead extending towards the dugout. This is a major flaw that I see in young kids learning to rotate. ok Linear I got brave and spoke...am I out of my mind?
Welcome bubandbran,

Please continue... Chest thumping is allowed! I read lots of it here! You deserve our respect.

Reading your bio, I bet you have hit against my son at some point in your career.

The term "short to and long thru" can be called "staying on the ball" or some define this as the word "extension". None of these words are used by some of the folks here.

You will find yourself agreeing with 95% of what is said, but being torn apart unless you eat it all up "100%". crazy

Feel free to email or PM me if you want to - pgjerry@qwest.net
Mr. Linear, don't get bitter. I am not puffing my chest, there are just many of you that don't have a clue of what you are talking about, and young players read these forums and they need to know what is hogwash, and what isn't. And, who the source of the hogwash is. That is all. In a perfect swing, if the end of the bat were glowing in the dark, you should see a half moon type pattern. TO do this you would need to stay through the ball. If you didn't the end the glowing bat would look like more of angle pattern. I hope that picture makes sense. I am happy to help and be a resource. Not puffing. 11 years of pro ball, I lost my ego a long time ago.
Last edited by bubandbran
Linear....I understand what you are saying about staying connected... but when I think of extension i'm not talking about hands/arms extending b4 contact but elbows extending at follow through towards the pitcher. Is this an outdated "hit three balls" approach? Watching clips I see MLB players getting extension in the follow thru towards the pitcher...??
Linear, all due respect, you have no idea what you are talking about, sorry. Good posture doens't mean you a good hitter. I have seen plenty of players with bad posture and great hands hit in the big leagues. Don Mattingly, terrible posture, incredible hands. Hands are the key to a good hitter. Tony Gwynn, horrible posture, great hands. I been around the game my whole life and I have never heard of anyone say that good posture makes a good hitter. Sorry.
its,

I gotta be honest with you. I don't agree with everything Linear says. I don't like the fact that he gets a bit personal with cutting remarks in his replies.

I tend to like everyone, but sooner or later we have to recognize what's going on. Linear IS NOT the only one making the cutting remarks! I know because I read a lot of what's written!
Posture does affect the swing plane. The upper body load and hip turn get the shoulders turning into the plane set by the posture. The bat stays in the momentum plane of the shoulders.

The preswing and maintanence of the posture through the rotation turns the shoulders if the load is correct you will have a short radius swing that gives the described appearance of short to the ball with great acceleration that produces a great unforced follow through.

The follow through is caused by the unimpeded flow of a connected swing on the right plane and from an inside out path.

THere..now your both right!! Welcome Bubnbran.....Please PM Linear for a glossary of terms. I can speak in three baseball lunguages now. To get credit you must speak his. I haven't passed a test yet....this will be no exception....or maybe a C What about it Linear...please
Last edited by swingbuster
I believe a combanation of the two. If you are looking for certain pitches your body will follow suit in your approach to the ball. So Hank was probably looking in, recognized it out of his hand and his body did what it had been trained to do on an inside pitch, and the same thing on the pitch away. Make sense? I can't speak for Hank, but that is my opinion.
Come on TR. Give us your definition of posture as it pertains to hitting.

Tell us what is wrong or right with Musial's posture.

Explain to us the veritcal load, carrying the load into footplant, creating forward movement by turning.

How does it affect the swing plane?

Swing plane, you say?

Yes, swing plane.

Something that has meaning.....something other than see ball, hit ball....which is your the total of hitting instruction on this site for your entire tenure.
Last edited by Linear
Mr. Linear, with all due respect, pipe down! I never said posture wasn't important, it just isn't the most important thing. Ask any professional scout what he is looking for in the swing of a prospect. Posture would be about 5th on the list. You defiatley need to have it. But, I never got a hit on posture. I got over 1,000 using my hands. I don't wish to argue with you. So if you need me, for your egos sake to tell you, you are right, then, Mr. Linear, you are right.
quote:
Originally posted by swingbuster:
Posture does affect the swing plane. The upper body load and hip turn get the shoulders turning into the plane set by the posture. The bat stays in the momentum plane of the shoulders.

The preswing and maintanence of the posture through the rotation turns the shoulders if the load is correct you will have a short radius swing that gives the described appearance of short to the ball with great acceleration that produces a great unforced follow through.

The follow through is caused by the unimpeded flow of a connected swing on the right plane and from an inside out path.

THere..now your both right!! Welcome Bubnbran.....Please PM Linear for a glossary of terms. I can speak in three baseball lunguages now. To get credit you must speak his. I haven't passed a test yet....this will be no exception....or maybe a C What about it Linear...please


It appears to me, that as much as we disagree, we know more about hitting instruction than the mlb player.

Does it surprise you? Not me.
quote:
Originally posted by bubandbran:
Mr. Linear, with all due respect, pipe down! I never said posture wasn't important, it just isn't the most important thing. Ask any professional scout what he is looking for in the swing of a prospect. Posture would be about 5th on the list. You defiatley need to have it. But, I never got a hit on posture. I got over 1,000 using my hands. I don't wish to argue with you. So if you need me, for your egos sake to tell you, you are right, then, Mr. Linear, you are right.


It's amazing how those who can have no idea how.
quote:
Originally posted by PGStaff:
its,

I gotta be honest with you. I don't agree with everything Linear says. I don't like the fact that he gets a bit personal with cutting remarks in his replies.

I tend to like everyone, but sooner or later we have to recognize what's going on. Linear IS NOT the only one making the cutting remarks! I know because I read a lot of what's written!


Thank you.

********************************
Last edited by itsinthegame
I'm happy he's here also.


And, it has nothing to do with his 1000 hits. Congratulations.

It has everything to do with him getting those 1000 hits and not knowing how he got them.

A perfect example of a guy who learned to do, yet can't tell anyone how he does it.

He says posture isn't a main ingredient. Well, that's typically said by people who already have good posture and take it for granted. By taking it for granted I mean, his instruction will assume all have it because he had it. Not so.

Posture ranks in the top 3 if not #1 in why young kids can not hit.
Last edited by itsinthegame

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