The Hitting Mechanic
November 2007
The Hitting Mechanic - December 2007
11/26/2007
More Bat Drag Photos
This weekend, as I watched my Missouri Tigers vanquish the feeble chickenhawks and claim the number 1 spot in the BCS
football rankings,
I spent some time scouring the web looking for photos that
illustrate the concept of bat drag.
I have added all of them to my essay on
bat drag, and have reproduced the
best ones below.
In each case, notice how the back elbow has gotten
ahead of the hands. This produces swing that is sometimes very
powerful but that is always very long and slow.
Bat Drag
Bat Drag
Bat Drag
Bat Drag
Bat Drag
Bat Drag
Bat Drag
11/23/2007
Bat Drag Video
So I was cleaning up my web site a few days ago, and I
stumbled across the video below of my son playing Home Run Derby
in our side yard back in May 2006. This was back before I knew
much about hitting and hadn't really put much thought or time
into my son's swing. The thing that is really prominent in this
video is significant
bat drag.
Bat Drag Video
The existence of bat drag in my son's swing makes sense,
given his difficulties back then (which is what drove me to
learn about the subject of hitting).
For one thing, over the years his batting average
declined as the pitching got better. He also tended to hit
the ball hard to Right Field or just foul down the Right Field
line, both of which are signs of a swing that is being slowed
down by bat drag.
Let me take a look at a few frames from the clip above
in order to make sure that you know exactly what I'm talking
about.
Bat Drag - Clip 11 Frame 5
Bat Drag - Clip 11 Frame 6
Bat Drag - Clip 11 Frame 7
Bat Drag - Clip 11 Frame 8
Bat Drag - Clip 11 Frame 9
The thing to watch in the frame above is my son's back (or
lower) elbow. Notice how as he starts his swing he leads with
his back elbow. His hands stay back by his back shoulder before
being pulled through the hitting zone. What this does is lengthen his swing, making it powerful
but also very slow.
Bat Drag - Clip 10 Frame 11
Bat Drag - Clip 10 Frame 12
Bat Drag - Clip 10 Frame 13
Bat Drag - Clip 10 Frame 14
Bat Drag - Clip 10 Frame 15
You can see the same thing in the frames above. Notice how he
leads his swing with his back elbow, dragging the head of the
bat through the strike zone.
11/19/2007
The Problem With The Cue "Hands To The Ball"
Even though it's mid-November, I'm starting to plan for my
boys' baseball season in the Spring. One thing I'm trying to
organize is our approach to how we teach hitting.
As you know, I am a big fan of
Rotational Hitting. I think it best describes the major
league swing. The problem is that I'm not sure that the hitting
instructor that we have used over the past few years
understands, or believes in, Rotational Hitting. I say this
because his primary cue when working with their boys on their
hitting is
that they should take their hands to the ball or even throw their hands at the ball.
This
advice troubles me because it strikes me as being from the Linear Hitting
school of thought.
Circular Hand Path - Pete Rose
If you look at overhead views of great hitters like Pete
Rose, I don't think they could be described as throwing their
hands at the ball or even taking their hands to the ball.
Instead, their hands move in a fairly circular manner and turn
with, and are connected to, their back shoulder.
Hands To The Ball
Now, if you look at an instructional clip like the one above, you will
see something that looks more like taking or throwing the hands
at the ball.
However, this linear hand path doesn't resemble
what Pete Rose actually does.
As a result, I am going to do everything that I can to
get my fellow coaches to stop using the "hands to the ball" cue
and instead have my hitters focus on having their hands turn
with, and stay connected to, their back shoulders.
I'll let you know how it works out.
11/13/2007
The Universal Laws Of Hitting
Because the laws of physics are constant around the world,
the laws of hitting are constant around the world. As proof of
this, I give you the swing below by Atsushi Fujii.
Atsushi Fujii
Notice how this swing is consistent with the principles of
Rotational Hitting.
First, notice how he is connected at the Point Of
Contact. His hands are rotating with his back shoulder. His back
elbow is still relatively close to his side and is bent 90
degrees.
Second, notice how his swing is being powered by
rotation of his body rather than by the linear movement of his
hands. Notice how his hips have rotated to face the pitcher.
Notice how his front leg is firmly braced. Notice how his back
knee is bent and he is on the toe of his back foot. Notice how
his Center Of Mass is centered between his feet, even though
most of his weight is being borne by his front foot at this
moment.
Finally, notice how hands hands are above the head of
the bat. That means that he is tilting out of the plate to align
the plane of his swing with the plane of the pitch.
11/10/2007
More Examples Of Bat Drag
If you are interested in the topic of
bat drag,
then you will be interested to know that I have updated my essay
with additional photos, like the one below, that do a good job
of illustrating the problem.
Bat Drag
Notice how this young hitter's back elbow has gotten well
ahead of his hands and back shoulder.
The Hitting Mechanic - October 2007
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