The Hitting Mechanic
January 2008

The Hitting Mechanic - February 2008

1/30/2008

Two New Pages of Examples

I just put together two new pages of examples. The first illustrates the principle of tilt and the second illustrates the principle of connection.

1/27/2008

Swing Analysis - Ken Griffey Jr.

I just completed an analysis of the swing of Ken Griffey Jr. I think this swing analysis is particularly interesting because of the quality of the clip. I'm not sure what the frame rate of the clip is, but it looks like it is something like 100 Frames Per Second. As a result, you can see a significant amount of detail.

1/26/2008

Photo Interpretation 101

When you are looking at photos and video clips of hitters, you have to be very careful to pay attention to the context of the photo or video clip. By that I mean what the pitch was and the result of the swing; whether it was a home run or a weak pop out.

Albert Pujols - Fly Out

The photo above of Albert Pujols is a perfect example of this. If you ignored the context of the swing above, you could see it as evidence for three bad ideas.
     First, Albert Pujols is making the Power V at the point of contact. Second, Albert Pujols is squishing the bug. Third, Albert Pujols is lunging forward and his shoulders are out ahead of his hips.
     However, the truth is that Albert Pujols was badly fooled by this pitch and the result was a weak fly out.

Albert Pujols - Home Run

When Albert Pujols is not fooled by the pitch, he looks very different at the point of contact.
     Instead of making the Power V at the point of contact, Albert Pujols is well connected with his back elbow bent 90 degrees. Instead of squishing the bug, Albert Pujols is on the tip of his back toe. Instead of getting his weight too far forward (toward the pitcher), his weight is instead centered between his feet.
     This makes an important point about the interplay between the pitcher and the hitter.
     Rather than letting hitters be comfortable, the best pitchers fool hitters and turn rotational hitters into arm-y, linear hitters with long, slow, and weak swings.

1/14/2008

Mark McGwire's Swing

I'm not very happy with Mark McGwire due to the fact that he hasn't kept his promise to warn kids about the dangers of steroids. However, you have to admit that the guy had a nice swing (which makes you wonder if the steroids were even necessary).

Mark McGwire

Because this is a photo I just happened to stumble across on the Internet, I'm not sure what the result of the swing was. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the result was a home run.
     Notice how Mark McGwire's arms are still connected to his body, rather than extended, at the Point Of Contact (POC); how the POC is at the heel of his front foot and how his back elbow is still bent roughly 90 degrees. Notice how Mark McGwire is powering his swing with his lower body; how he is bracing against a firm front leg, how his belt buckle is facing the pitcher, how his back knee is bent roughly 90 degrees, and how he is on the toe of his back foot rather than squishing the bug. Finally, notice how, rather than swinging level to the ground, Mark McGwire is tilting over the plate such that the head of the bat is below his hands.

The Hitting Mechanic - December 2007