Rotational Hitting 101
11/13/2007
Updated 3/19/2009
As a kid, I loved the game of
baseball, but was never a great player.
While some of my problems were admittedly due to a lack
of talent -- and not wanting to wear my glasses --
many of my problems were due to poor instruction.
I was never taught to do
what great hitters do.
Now that I have kids of my own, I have resolved to
teach them better than I was taught. That means teaching them the
Major League Swing.
|
Rotational Hitting 101 DVD Now Available
My new Rotational Hitting 101 DVD, which explains
how to teach the major league swing to baseball and fast
pitch softball players,
is now available for
purchase.
|
The Three Approaches to Hitting
I have come to find that there are three distinct approaches
when it comes to teaching hitting...
- Linear Hitting
- Extension Hitting
- Rotational Hitting
In my experience, Linear Hitting and Extension
Hitting are what most people are taught -- Extension Hitting
is what I was taught -- and Rotational Hitting is what
most major league hitters actually do. In other words,
Rotational Hitting best describes the Major League Swing.
Linear Hitting
I explain the differences between Rotational Hitting
and Linear Hitting in depth in an essay entitled
Rotational Hitting vs. Linear Hitting: What's The Key
Difference? However, let me touch upon those differences
briefly here.
While many people disagree about exactly what Linear Hitting
is, when I think of Linear Hitting, I think of an approach to
hitting that is focused on getting power from the arms, hands,
and in particular the wrists. The idea
is to swing with the arms, hands, and wrists in order to maximize the time the head of the
bat spends in the contact zone.
Some telltales of the
Linear Hitting approach are the use of cues like...
- Take/Throw the hands at the ball.
- Bring the knob of the bat to the ball.
- Pop the wrists at the Point Of Contact.
- Push your hands through the strike zone.
- A to B swing.
The clip below is an example
of what proponents of Linear Hitting
want their students to do. Notice how the batter takes
his hands to the ball in a linear fashion (and largely
independently of his shoulders) and then pops his wrists through
the Point Of Contact.
Hands To The Ball
The general idea behind Linear Hitting is to
just make contact with the ball and hope it gets through the
infield.
The problem that I have with Linear Hitting is that
while Linear Hitting sometimes works, it
doesn't scale. In general, Linear Hitting only works until maybe 4th
or 5th
grade or so, at which point infielders can make most routine
plays. Yes, it worked to a degree in the big leagues in the 70s
and 80s when infields were covered with slick Astroturf
surfaces, but it does not work on contemporary grass or dirt
infields, which is why no more than one or two major league
baseball players (e.g. Ichiro) swing in a way that even
resembles the Linear Hitting approach.
I do not believe in teaching kids a swing that they
will have to abandon at some point as they get older, which is why
I am not a fan of Linear Hitting.
Finally, let me address a point of much confusion.
When I think about Linear Hitting, I think
about the hand path and nothing else. The reason is
that if you study the
swings of good, rotational hitters, then you will usually see a
linear, back to front component to their weight shifts. In other words, just
because a hitter strides and/or shifts their weight from back to front, it
doesn't make them a Linear hitter.
Extension Hitting
The defining cue of the philosophy of
Extension Hitting is that you should make
the "Power V" at the point
of contact. That's what I was taught,
and that is the cue that ruined
my swing.
I'm not exactly sure where this idea first started, but
I think it grew out of the pictures (if not the words) in Charley Lau Sr.'s book
The Art of Hitting .300.
George Brett Demonstrating Extension and
the Power V at
the Point Of Contact
Scattered throughout Charley Lau Sr.'s book are a number of pictures, like
the one above, of George Brett demonstrating extension and making
the Power V at the point of contact. While some argue that
Charley Lau Sr. didn't actually intend for people to look like
this at the Point Of Contact, this is how his book has generally
been interpreted. That is one reason why so many television
commentators harp on the concept of extension.
The problem is that this isn't what most major league
hitters, including
George Brett, actually look like at the Point Of Contact in their
best swings.
Rotational Hitting
Rotational Hitting is an approach to hitting that
was developed by Ted Williams and popularized by
Mike Epstein, and that is
generally about learning to power
the swing
with the entire body -- and in particular the muscles of the core
-- rather than just the arms, wrists, and hands.
While a
Rotational swing will sometimes result in Home Runs, the idea
is to just hit the ball solid and hard, since a hard-hit ball
-- even if hit on the ground -- is harder to make a play on
simply because it's moving faster.
Other people who advocate Rotational Hitting -- and what is truly the
Major League Swing -- are
Ted Williams,
Steve Englishbey,
and
Jack Mankin.
What a Rotational Swing Looks Like
Rotational Hitting describes the swings of most major league
baseball hitters, including Albert Pujols.
 Albert Pujols'
Swing
In the clip above, Notice how Albert Pujols' hips rotate ahead
of and lead his hands (and shoulders), how his hands rotate with
his back shoulder and form the Power L position at the Point Of
Contact, and how his arms only extend into the Power V position after the Point Of Contact.
A few major league hitters do not
always swing in accordance with the principles of rotational
hitting. For example, Ichiro Suzuki tends to try to slap the ball
into the ground and tries to beat out the throw. Vladimir Guerrero
will swing at anything, regardless of its location, but his
home run swings tend to be fairly rotational.
However, the vast majority of
major league hitters (e.g. 95+ percent) swing in a way that is
consistent with the principles of Rotational Hitting.
A Rotational Fast Pitch Softball Swing
Most high-level fast pitch softball players, and in
particular the ones who hit for power, also exhibit
swings that are consistent with the principles of rotational
hitting.
Caitlin Benyi's Swing
Notice how Caitlin Benyi's hips rotate ahead of and lead her
hands (and shoulders), how her hands rotate with her back
shoulder and form the Power L position at the Point Of Contact,
and how her arms only extend into the Power V position after the Point Of Contact.
It's The Same Swing!
While there are significant physical differences between
Albert Pujols and Caitlin Benyi, there are few, if any,
significant differences between their swings. That is because a
high-level baseball swing and a high-level fast pitch softball
swing are the same swing.
While
men and women typically have significantly different levels of upper body strength, all able-bodied
people, regardless of gender, have roughly proportional levels of core strength.
Because Rotational Hitting lets you tap into the large muscles
of the core, it is very efficient and as a result tends to be
the predominant swing pattern at the highest levels of both
baseball and fast pitch softball.
Key Concepts Of Rotational Hitting
In order to understand Rotational Hitting, you have to
understand the principles that serve as its foundation.
Some of these principles include...
- Posture
- Connection
- Rotation
- Tilt
- Circular Hand Path
- Separation
Posture
The idea behind the principle of Posture is that a hitter
must assume an athletic stance before swinging because this enables
them to swing with their entire body and not just their arms. In
general, an athletic stance means...
- Feet apart
- Knees bent
- Tilting forward at the waist
(e.g. butt out slightly)
The photo below of Albert Pujols is a good example of proper
Posture.
Albert Pujols at Setup
It is almost impossible to swing
with your entire body, and not just your arms, if you are standing
overly erect with your feet close together and your knees pretty much locked.
Connection
The principle of connection states that a hitter's hands,
rather than extending through and making the Power V at the
point of contact, rotate with their back shoulder through the Point Of Contact. Their hands and
arms do extend on a good swing, but only after the Point Of
Contact. At the Point Of Contact, a good hitter's back elbow and back
knee will be bent 90 or so degrees and in the Power L position.
Albert Pujols In The Power L Position
Rotation
The idea behind the principle of Rotation is that a good swing
is powered by the rotation of the body -- and in particular the
large muscles of the core -- and not by a linear, pushing movement of the arms, wrists, or hands.
While the arms, wrists, and hands are important to the swing, their job
is to help funnel, direct, and manage the force that is generated
by the body rather than to create much force.
Albert Pujols Demonstrating Rotation
The photo above of Albert Pujols is a great example of what
good Rotation looks like. Notice how his hips have stopped moving
forward and have rotated 90 degrees,
due in part to the stiffening of his front leg and the extension
of his front knee. Notice how the rapid rotation of Albert Pujols'
torso has pulled him up onto the point of his back foot. Notice
how Albert Pujols' back knee is bent 90 degrees at the Point Of
Contact, which is an indication of the the rapid Rotation of his
hips. Finally, notice how the rapid rotation of Albert Pujols'
hips has pulled him up onto the outside of his front foot.
Tilt
The principle of Tilt states that in order to
hit pitches in different locations, but still stay
connected, a good hitter will vary the tilt of their upper
body in order to cover the entire plate.
Fernando Seguignol Demonstrating Tilt
The photo above of Fernando
Seguignol, which is of a home run
swing, shows how he stays relatively upright due to the
up-and-in location of the pitch. As
a result, he is tilted over the plate only slightly and his back elbow
is still at his side at the Point Of Contact.
Carlos Delgado Demonstrating Tilt
In contrast, in the photo above of Carlos Delgado
hitting a home run, the pitch is low and away.
As a result, he has to tilt out over the plate in order to reach
the pitch. Delgado has
also let his back elbow come away from his side (so that his back
upper arm is vertical). However, the fact that his back elbow is
still bent 90 degrees is evidence that he is still connected.
Circular Hand Path
Jack Mankin of Batspeed.com
was the first person to observe that if the hands are connected to, and rotating with, the back shoulder
then when viewed
from above a hitter will exhibit a Circular Hand Path (CHP) and not a
linear hand path.
Pete Rose's Circular Hand Path
As you can see in
the photo above of Pete Rose, his hands maintain the same position
relative to his back shoulder as his shoulders turn. This
helps him stay compact, maximizes the rate at which his shoulders
rotate, and keeps his swing from getting too long and becoming
afflicted with bat drag.
Separation
The thing that powers the rotation of a major league swing is
the separation of the hips and shoulders;
a high-level hitter's hips rotate
(slightly) ahead of his shoulders.
As with pitchers,
this stretches the muscles of the core and
enables them to pull the shoulders around. Greater
degrees of Separation
is one of things that distinguishes contact hitters from power
hitters.
Matt Holliday Demonstrating Separation
The photo above of Matt Holliday
hitting a home run is a good example of separation in action.
Notice how his hips are rotating ahead of his shoulders. This will
help pull his shoulders around and increase his bat speed.
Problematic Cues And Advice
Now let's look at some common, but problematic,
hitting cues in the context of the swing I discussed above.
Squish The Bug
Many instructors teach
squishing the bug
during the swing (and in particular at the Point Of Contact).
They want hitters to put their weight on their back foot and
rotate around on their back toe. The problem is that good
hitters do not squish the bug.
Albert Pujols - Frame 23
As the photo above shows, at the Point Of
Contact Albert Pujols' back toe is actually up in the air.
Alex Rodriguez - Home Run
You will often see the same thing in the swings of
other major leaguers. For example, above is a photo of Alex
Rodriguez hitting a home run. Notice how his back toe is entirely
off the ground at the Point Of Contact, rather than squishing the
bug.
Albert Pujols - Frame 30
Well after the point of contact,
Albert Pujols does assume a position that resembles what some
describe as "squishing the bug", with most of his
weight on his back foot. However, this is due to his momentum
transfer and his Center Of Mass "bouncing" off of his stiff front
leg. Albert Pujols is clearly not in the squishing the bug position as he
rotates through the Point Of Contact.
Make The Power V At The Point Of Contact
As with squishing the bug, making the Power V is something
that Albert Pujols does do, but not until well after the point
of contact.
Albert Pujols - Frame 23
Although it's a little hard to
see in the frame above, rather than having his arms fully
extended in the Power V position at the Point Of Contact, Albert Pujols' back elbow is
usually bent around 90 degrees.
Albert Pujols - Home Run
That is easier to see in the
photo above of a home run swing by Albert Pujols.
Albert Pujols - Frame 26
When working with hitters, I do not teach them to make the Power V
because I think the Power V is the effect of a powerful
swing, not the cause of a powerful swing. The mass of the
bat pulls the hitter's hands out away from his body and into the
Power V, but after the point of contact.
Push Off The Back Foot
Recently, I was working with another coach teaching our 7
year-olds how to hit. At one point, he told a boy who was lunging
forward, "Keep your back foot on the ground so you can push off of
it." The problem with this fairly common piece of advice is that
it's wrong; it's not what great hitters like Albert Pujols do.
Albert Pujols - Frame 21
If Albert Pujols pushed off of his back foot,
then you would see that in photos of his swing; you would see his
shoe crease near the toe as he pushed off with his back foot.
However, what you actually see in photos of Albert Pujols is that the sole
of his shoe stays straight through the Point Of Contact, which
means that he is pulled up onto his back toe by the straightening
of his front knee and the rotation of his hips rather than
pushing off of it.
Be Sure To Condition Your Core!
If you are going to dive into Rotational Hitting, then it's
important that you make sure that your body is ready for the
transition first. Rotational Hitting focuses on getting the
power from the muscles of the core (e.g. the Obliques) rather
than the arms. If you are going to keep from straining these
muscles, you must first make sure that they are properly
conditioned with a good core workout.
|
Rotational Hitting 101 DVD Now Available
My new Rotational Hitting 101 DVD, which explains
how to teach the major league swing to baseball and fast
pitch softball players,
is now available for
purchase.
|
Where To Go From Here
My hitting clients have access to my
flipbook swing analyses
in which I go through clips of the swings of hitters like Albert Pujols frame by
frame and explain what they are doing, and why, in each
frame. I have also written an essay in
which I break down
Albert Pujols' swing in greater detail. Finally, I have also put together a page full of photos of
Albert Pujols' swing and a separate page that contains my
favorite examples
of swings.
Acknowledgements
While I have developed some of this material on my own, I have
learned most of it as a result of being a participant in the
excellent
Baseball 101 Forum on Baseball-Fever.com.
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