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I'll chime in a little...but be very cautious with internet help. Best advise to anyone reading this is to go to a quality hitting instructor with proven results, and with that said I truly believe that the mental side of hitting outweighs the mechanical side.

Based on the short video, swing looks good with a line drive up-the-middle approach. A couple times you pull off the ball, but I can tell that you can feel when this happens and are able to self-correct it

Something to work on is getting into your lower-half a little more. Your lower-half looks strong, but you ain't really taking full advantage of it by truly loading into that back hip. Re-watch yourself swing and you'll notice how everything kind of goes at once. There really isn't any separation between your hips/shoulders. Without a proper load and separation a lot of flyballs are destined to die on the warning track.

But like I said before to anyone reading this, use caution.... I recommend taking little bits at a time to work on with a good hitting instructor. Stay out of your own head, keep it loose, keep it fun, and I can almost guarantee you'll see positive results.   

Agree with the above. I suggest a hitting instructor that doesn’t teach launch angle. I would like to see the barrel stay above your hands longer when you attack the ball. When you drop the barrel on plane too soon it promotes an uphill swing plane that doesn’t allow the barrel to stay in the hitting zone very long. While your bat path doesn’t look to uphill for my liking, your bat isn’t in the hitting zone as long as I would like to see and you aren’t getting enough extension. In your case the bat is being pulled up and out of the zone when your front shoulder opens up. There are a lot of tee drills that can help with this and a good instructor will know all of them.

@Cls posted:

Thanks. Any drills you can suggest for engaging my lower half

I wish I had a magic pill, but I do not, and please understand there are limitations to what can be explained through writing. This type of help is best when done in person, and is the reason I recommended the use of a good hitting coach.

A very overlooked drill that you can do on your own is simply swinging in front of a full size mirror. A lot of guys do not understand their own body movements. You have to be able to slow it down and truly own your swing. Become very attuned to the way your own swing works. Decide for yourself to make a conscious effort to sit strong into your back-hip and get low into your legs. Fight to have your back shoulder load toward the 3rd base dugout as your hips start to unload. Then feel the stretch as you release into your swing. Do all this while imagining a slow motion middle/middle fastball, and the whole time telling yourself, "be an athlete".

Hitting is most definitely an art form, especially at higher levels. 

I wish I had a magic pill, but I do not, and please understand there are limitations to what can be explained through writing. This type of help is best when done in person, and is the reason I recommended the use of a good hitting coach.

A very overlooked drill that you can do on your own is simply swinging in front of a full size mirror. A lot of guys do not understand their own body movements. You have to be able to slow it down and truly own your swing. Become very attuned to the way your own swing works. Decide for yourself to make a conscious effort to sit strong into your back-hip and get low into your legs. Fight to have your back shoulder load toward the 3rd base dugout as your hips start to unload. Then feel the stretch as you release into your swing. Do all this while imagining a slow motion middle/middle fastball, and the whole time telling yourself, "be an athlete".

Hitting is most definitely an art form, especially at higher levels.

This is excellent advice!

Before I read Reluctant O's post I was thinking the exact same thing. There is a ton of power waiting to be tapped into. My son used to have a very similar swing. At times it almost looked like a golf finish. The tips his hitting coaches are always giving; stay in your back hip, stay back, and stay down. They do a "knee down" drill where you swing and finish with your right knee on the ground. It is much better to do with soft toss than a tee. It was very awkward at first but now it's one of my son's favorite drills.

Gotta calm that head down.

Like Posey:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Omf28OSv50

Even Donaldson, with his huge kick, keeps his eyes level during his swing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeMf4d0Ud-Y

Tatis would be a good one for you to emulate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYXKBO75MBQ



(note - just a dad, so take with a grain of salt, like everything you read on the internet)

Last edited by JCG

Some suggestions from the baseball player in the house:

  • ideally the bat would move forward immediately (looks like the barrel goes back first). [kid says "he needs to get slotted"] A good drill for throwing the barrel off your body instead of dragging it is to use bottom hand only, and instead of swinging with your hand use your back shoulder. Turn and let the barrel go.  The pictures below show the first move of some of the best hitters.
  • the other suggestion is to work on a square. See linked video (1:30) for some starting points.

Kid says adbono is writing about the same thing (first movement) using slightly different language, and that the swing at 0:47 was better than the earlier swings, as far as slotting/moving the barrel forward immediately. SmartSelect_20210326-160930_InstagramSmartSelect_20210326-161036_InstagramSmartSelect_20210326-161013_InstagramScreenshot_20210326-160852_Instagram

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Last edited by Fan2024

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