Swing Analysis - Stan Musial

9/12/2008

Stan "The Man" Musial was one of the greatest hitters of all time. However, people know relatively little about him and his swing because of his modest nature. I thought it would be interesting to look at his swing and see how it compared to the swings of modern hitters.

Stan Musial

There are a number of things to pay attention to in this video clip of Stan Musial's swing.
     First, there is no current player who swings like Stan Musial did. However, the narrow starting stance, significant forward movement, and barred front arm remind me of Ken Griffey Jr. The upright to forward-leaning torso remind me of Albert Pujols.
     Second, Stan Musial is a great example of a hitter who, like Ken Griffey Jr., walks away from his hands. Notice how, as he strides forward toward the pitcher, his hands pretty much stay where they are. This helps pre-stretch the muscles of his torso.
     Third, rather than the extension at the Point Of Contact (POC) that you see with some other hitters from this era, I see pretty standard connection at the point of contact (see Frames 34 and 35) in Stan Musial's swing. This is likely related to the fact that he was a power hitter and not a contact hitter.
     Fourth, Stan Musial starts out with his hands low but they rise to shoulder level just before he triggers his swing. This doesn't qualify as a vertical hitch, and doesn't lengthen his swing, because his hands don't keep rising after his front heel plants.
     Fifth, Stan Musial has the five-frame swing that is necessary to be able to wait on, and read, a major league fastball and then hit it hard.
     Finally, Stan Musial's back foot is up in the air after the POC. This is due to his significant weight shift and the fact that his swing is slightly lunge-y swing (rather than staying back) than average.