Discover the Gary Sheffield swing path hitting drills approach to hit for opposite field power. Learn how this works for baseball, fast pitch, and slow pitch softball!
Gary Sheffield Talks Hitting Mentioning 1 Shocking Swing Mistake He Didn’t Make…
In this Gary Sheffield Talks Hitting video, 500 Home Run Club member Gary Sheffield talks about his hitting style, plate approach and adjustments to different ballparks with Mark DeRosa, Bill Ripken and Robert Flores on MLB Central. Some of what you’ll find in the video:
1 shocking swing mistake Sheffield didn’t make,
Pitch recognition that Gary Sheffield is talking about,
Change your stance depending on the field?
What does focus on staying to the right of your left side mean? And,
Making swing adjustments because of injury to compete…
For your convenience below, I’ve time stamped my notes, so you can jump to wherever the conversation interests you…
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At about the 3-minute, 20-second mark, Sheffield talks about how after hitting 40+ homers between his AA and AAA season, he was brought up to MLB club and the powers at be tried to “flatten his bat” (for him a mistake he didn’t make). Because they wanted a lead-off speed guy who hits the ball to right field. When he got to San Diego, they wanted him to pick up the ball at 3rd base, they didn’t expect him to hit. This was disrespectful to Sheffield. He went from a guy not just trying to get on base, but to do damage.
At about the 4-minute mark, Gary Sheffield talks about his famous bat tilt-waggle, and how it’s all in the fingers. To get a nice relaxed crisp move with the fingers. Like dancing.
At about the 5-minute mark, Sheffield talks about picking pitcher up at release to differentiate what he’s throwing. Pitch recognition. He doesn’t care what the pitcher does before that moment. He said he looked for the heater and nothing changed on that approach throughout his career. He wants the pitcher to fool him. He doesn’t want to miss on the fastball. All he wants to know is what is the pitcher’s out pitch – the one he goes to the most when he needs it. Doesn’t swing at fork balls. He groups the fastball and slider together – as one pitch.
At about the 7-minute mark, Gary Sheffield talks about how he adjusts his stance depending on the park he’s playing in. Examples…in San Diego the dimensions are fair, so he uses all fields. At “fair” parks he didn’t feel like hitting the ball oppo made him lose something. In Florida with the Marlins, he got closer to the plate and became strictly a pull hitter because of short fence in left field. Homers came by way of left and left center, rarely to center. Goal of double digit homers to opposite field, so he was almost guaranteed 30 to 40 homers per year. Billy Ripken made the comment that he’s never heard of anyone else who did this, except maybe when hitting at Fenway. Dodger stadium was “fair” to him. Mentioned at night it got dewey there, ball didn’t fly as far. His strength was center field in LA.
At about 9-minute mark, Sheffield talks about his right elbow position to be ready to “punch”. Athletic position. Legs up under him. When hitting he just thinks about his left side. Tells his kids to cut the left side out. Focus on being to the right of your left side. Walking in the batter’s box sideways, so he knows he’s in the same spot every time. He wants to work sideways, so he can stay behind his left side.
At about 11-minute mark, Sheffield his swing is dominant front arm. Front arm goes straight to the ball. Billy Ripken talks about “squashing a bug“. They all comment on Gary Sheffield’s bat waggle and how parallel the barrel got to the ground at one point in the swing. Sheffield talked about an injury he had to his right foot, plantar fasciitis, that required him to skip/hop his back foot. Had to unlearn later. Interesting confession on making an adjustment to compete.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Gary-Sheffield-Swing-Path-Hitting-Drills-Approach-To-Opposite-Field-Power-Works-For-Baseball-Softball-Slow-Pitch.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-09-06 09:00:352022-09-06 20:02:27Gary Sheffield Swing Path Hitting Drills Approach To Opposite Field Power Works For Baseball, Softball, & Slow Pitch
Start above video at about the 5:00-minute mark. I briefly viewed a hitting instructional video on YouTube the other day that one of my readers sent me (Thanks Joe). I won’t share who did the video, so as not to cause any embarrassment. Like what was being illustrated in the video, I would say a majority of hitting instructors both online and off swear that the swing starts from the ground up.
This IS NOT what the current research shows as validated by human movement science. Yes, Gravitational and Gravitational Reaction Forces do have their place (and we’ll get to that)…my point is, ALL human movement DOES NOT start from the ground, and work it’s way up the Kinetic Chain.
Buahaha! I love that. Slipping front foot, no extension at front knee, and "hammering bug" with back knee. Result? A dinger! A lot of unhappy gravitational force peeps out there ? @backspintee
What I have for you above, is a snippet of video about 5-minutes long, explaining where the swing starts as explained by Dr. Serge Gracovetsky, Physicist, Electrical Engineer, and founder of The Spinal Engine.
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Here are some talking points that Dr. Gracovetsky mentions in the video (please WATCH video at the 2:00 minute mark to about the 7:00 minute mark):
There’s a lack of agreement in literature at what the function of the spine is.
Spine is generally believed to be a supporting column linking shoulders to pelvis…as we walk the trunk is thought to be carried passively by the legs. Problem with this: WHY is shape of spine in form of an “S” instead of being straight? – straight column would support compressive loads better than a curved one right?
Consider 20-year-old male subject who has reduced arms and no legs…moves on his Ischium.
If it was true that legs are necessary for human locomotion, then a person with such an anatomy would not be able to walk.
With the bottom of the screen hidden [while the subject “walks” across the floor], it is impossible to tell that this man has no legs.
Locomotion was first achieved by movement of the spine, and the legs came after as an improvement, not a substitute.
When providing a lateral bend to a curved spine (lordosis), an axial torque is induced. The rotation of the pelvis and shoulders is driven by the spine.
So does the swing, or any human movement for that matter, start from the ground up? In other words, are Gravitational Forces a necessity to move the Spinal Engine or merely an enhancement?
In an email conversation I had with Dr. Serge Gracovetsky a few years back, he said this about the relationship between gravity and spine engine mechanics:
“The coupled motion has nothing to do with gravity. It works in space as well. It is a property of the spine or any flexible rod for that matter. But the interaction with gravity makes interesting results which are exploited by every sport.”
Okay, since we’ve determined human movement DOES NOT start from the ground and go up the Kinetic Chain, I want to share a couple snippets from Dr. Gracovetsky about what role Gravitational Forces do play in dynamic movement…
Here’s a note about the importance of the heel strike in locomotion from Dr. Serge Gracovetsky in his book, The Spinal Engine (p. 168):
“…the compressive pulse generated at heel-strike is essential to the locomotion process. The shape of this pulse must be very specific if maximum energy is to be transferred from the earth’s gravitational field to the rotating pelvis.”
According to Dr. Gracovetsky, while running, our heel hits the ground creating a compressive force that is equaled to NINE-times our body weight. Gravity pulls our body down, and at heel strike, the ground pushes back in a compressive force.
This is why it has been demonstrated by Speed Coach Barry Ross that runners who dead-lift heavy weights with a low time under tension, get faster! They’re able to push into the ground with more force, which in turn, the ground pushes back with equal and opposite force.
It’s also worth noting about the Spinal Engine while walking on sand versus solid ground…
Dr. Serge Gracovetsky offers this example in his book (pgs. 168-169),
“Running or walking on soft sand is not easy and is very tiring, In this particular case, the energy leaks into the sand, the impact force is reduced, and the compressive pulse through the spine is attenuated [disabled] as the total energy recovered is reduced.”
The compressive force is softened by the sand, which doesn’t allow the pelvis to turn using efficient spine engine mechanics. To maneuver, the brain has to recruit big muscles to do the work. This is why you get a workout walking on sand…it’s powerless effort, rather than effortless power.
Does current research, that’s validated by science, say human movement starts from the ground, and travel up the Kinetic Chain?
No.
The trunk isn’t just a passive structure that is carried by the legs. Legs are not a necessity to human movement – evidenced by the legless subject in the video – they’re an enhancement. The Spinal Engine can work in space! I say the legs and arms amplify the movement of the Spinal Engine.
Do Gravitational Forces play a role in human movement?
Yes!
Like Dr. Gracovetsky says, “…the interaction with gravity makes interesting results which are exploited by every sport.”
That my friends is a human movement principle that is validated by science. Not philosophy or theory. This is why my new book The Catapult Loading System is so powerful to hundreds of coaches and tens of thousands of hitters across the US… (just check the reviews 😉
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Is-Increasing-Bat-Speed-And-Creating-Whip-Rotational-OR-To-Use-Legs-More-In-Baseball-Softball-Swing-At-Home-Youth-Hitting-Drills-For-Loading-Power.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-30 09:30:592022-09-07 05:23:55Is Increasing Bat Speed And Creating Whip Rotational OR To Use Legs More In Baseball Softball Swing? | At Home Youth Hitting Drills For Loading & Power
Are hitting hip rotation lower half loading drills, using the legs, good for beginning baseball or softball swing power and quick hands? My good friend Matt Nokes shines light on this hitting conundrum…
Matt Nokes: Why Rotating Back Hip Through Zone IS NOT Necessary For Power
In this Matt Nokes post, I wanted to bust a MYTH that Homer Bush brought up in his interview last week, and that is the MYTH that rotating the back hip through the zone is necessary for power.
This past week, I re-tweeted this from @HyattCraig (who is awesome btw), of one of two Miguel Cabrera homers in a game, and this particular one he hit to CF:
Look at Miggy’s back foot step behind him. Also, he doesn’t get full rotation of his pelvis ? https://t.co/l11qIOLPnp
The next day after that Tweet, I found this private message from a follower on Twitter:
“Joey, Honest question. I love most everything you post and It goes with all of the philosophies I teach as an instructor, but this particular post I don’t quite understand. Are you saying a backwards step of sorts and having limited pelvic rotation are positives? I don’t feel like this is practical for anyone that isn’t 6’3 225 when the pitcher is providing the power at 93. If you have time could you please clarify this for me?”
My response:
“Thanks for asking about that. A couple things, we do have to be careful about taking from big slugger analysis. I don’t mind what the back foot does as long as its un-weighting AND not skipping forward too much. Miggy has a great line following the batted ball, it has to do with optimizing centrifugal (center-fleeing) forces. As an example, the belly button should point where the batted ball has exited. Coach Matt Nokes talks quite a bit about full rotation not being an absolute to hitting.”
Which brings me to the above video, where Coach Matt Nokes walks us through numerous examples of elite hitters not fully rotating their back foot (and pelvis) until after impact. Also, let me define full rotation of the pelvis (or hips as some refer to it as), at least from what I see/hear/watch from other people out there…
Full pelvic rotation is getting the hitter’s belly button to face shortstop (for a righty, or 2B for lefty) on any pitch…inside, middle, and outside. I’ve found this gospel preached from those who don’t ‘buy into’ or understand the loading of springy fascia in the torso, since to them, the shoulders would be seen as ‘inactive’, before the hitter starts turning.
Therefore the pelvis has to do all the heavy lifting. This method is far from optimal, and NOT very safe for the lower backs of youth hitters across the nation, and even more disturbing will continue to keep Orthopedic surgeons in business.
CLICK HERE for a post I did explaining how the swing isn’t rotational OR linear, but that’s it’s actually linear, rotational, then linear again. The purpose of this post, is to open up discussion about whether rotating the back hip through the zone is necessary for power IS or IS NOT a myth…
Lastly,
I wanted to share one of my favorite Coach Matt Nokes drills for practicing what he preaches. It’s his “Around the Zone” soft toss (coaches please be careful with this):
What say you…?
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Are-Hitting-Hip-Rotation-Lower-Half-Loading-Drills-Using-Legs-Good-For-Beginner-Baseball-Softball-Swing-Power-Quick-Hands.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-24 09:00:202022-08-24 19:48:51Are Hitting Hip Rotation Lower Half Loading Drills Using Legs Good For Beginner Baseball Softball Swing Power & Quick Hands?
In my humble opinion, NO. Unless, and in the case of curing bat drag, the hitter is pinching the rear scapula in towards the spine with the ball underneath the back arm. But then again, for that, why would you want the ball there in the first place? A quick and consistently powerful swing comes from taking ALL slack out of the system, and the scap load is part of that formula.
Boost “Top Out” Bat Speed By “Hiding The Hands”, Like JD Martinez…
Question: Does Hiding the Hands Increase Bat Speed versus NOT Hiding Them?
Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze if hiding the hands from the pitcher prior to stride landing boosts bat speed, over not hiding them. Some may call this the “Scap Row”.
And we’ll see what proper baseball hitting mechanics look like with MLB Player of the Week (July 6th) JD Martinez of the Detroit Tigers.
My intern for the summer, red-shirt college freshman Tyler Doerner did the experiment.
Background Research
Most hitting instructors may call this the Scapula Row, or Scap Row for short. “Hiding the hands” is essentially the same thing, but is a much more sticky coaching cue.
“Hiding the Hands” has to do with loading the springy fascial material in the body. Without this springy fascia your bones and muscles would drop to the ground. It’s what gives muscles their shape, and what the bones and muscles ‘float’ in, according to Thomas Myers in his book Anatomy Trains.
“Hiding the Hands” also allows a hitter to be in proper baseball hitting mechanics to achieve high angular velocity early in the turn. This has to do with the Conservation of Angular Momentum. Achieving high angular velocity, early in the turn, is critical to Time To Impact and covering more plane of the pitch with the barrel.
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Based on the above research, I think proper baseball hitting mechanics, a la “Hiding the Hands”, from the pitcher (pre-turn) will have a big impact on bat speed versus not hiding them. I think results will be similar to what the “Showing the Numbers” Experiment revealed, where we saw an average bat speed increase of 6-mph over 200 swings.
Tyler uses a SoloHitter in the Experiment. The SwingAway Bryce Harper is swinging on is similar.
Equipment Used:
Zepp Baseball app,
Solohitter (like the SwingAway which I like better),
Camera Phone, Coaches Eye app, and Tripod, and
33 inch, 30 ounce wood bat.
Setup:
Forward momentum was eliminated in this experiment, and hitting from a 1-2 second pause at landing
First 100 baseballs were hit “NOT Hiding the Hands”
Second 100 baseballs were hit “Hiding the Hands”
There was no break between tests because Tyler was trying to beat the rains coming
Data Collected (Zepp Baseball App):
In this proper baseball hitting mechanics “Hiding the Hands” Zepp Experiment, see how “Hiding the Hands” slightly won out in Bat & Hand Speed, and Time to Impact rather than “Not Hiding the Hands”…
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
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As you can see, “Hiding the Hands” beat almost every category…
On average, 1-mph change in Bat Speed,
On average, 1-mph change in Hand Speed, and
On average, .005 change in Time To Impact.
“Hiding the Hands” didn’t have a significant jump in bat and hand speed, or Time To Impact than “NOT Hiding the Hands.” But there was a difference in top-out bat speeds:
Top-4 “Hiding the Hands” bat speeds (in mph): 85, 84, 84, and 82.
Top-4 “Not Hiding the Hands” bat speeds (in mph): 82, 81, and the rest were less than 79.
So, top out bat speed increased by 3-mph, and there were consistent higher bat speeds with “Hiding the Hands”.
Notes
The results of the proper baseball hitting mechanics “Hiding the Hands” Zepp Experiment may have been skewed because Tyler didn’t take a break between tests.
The following experiments will be using what one of my readers and motor learning and performance researcher Brad McKay suggests, which is counterbalancing the experiment. Essentially it’s breaking experiment swings into 25 swing blocks, and ordering them a certain way. For example, “Hiding the Hands” would be block “A”, and “Not Hiding the Hands” would be block “B”. The 200 swings would be broken into 8 blocks and ordered accordingly: ABBA BAAB. As Brad McKay says, “The issue with not counterbalancing is that you don’t actually know the effect of time because it is confounded with condition. In other words, you might always do better on the second block of 100 because of a warm-up decrement or a practice effect.” Thank you Brad for the experiment tip! We’ll do better next time 😀
About JD Martinez…this FanGraphs.com link titled, “JD Martinez on His Many Adjustments” is a great example of players today opening their eyes to how the body really moves, and not what some talking head thinks. Basically, JD Martinez subscribed to swinging “down on the ball” until he got injured in 2014, I believe. Then he started analyzing teammates’ and opponents’ swings that were crushing the ball, and found out they weren’t swinging down at all.
A week or two after the 2015 All Star break, according to FanGraphs.com, JD Martinez had 27 homers. His season high before that? 23, in 2014. To me, JD Martinez is a big slugger at 6’3″, 220-pounds. But when big sluggers do small slugger things (like being more effective with mechanics), even bigger things can happen. JD Martinez does a great job of “Showing his Numbers” and “Hiding the Hands”. This compresses the springy fascia material in the body.
The Bottom Line?
In this proper baseball hitting mechanics “Hiding the Hands” Zepp Swing Experiment, “Hiding the Hands” doesn’t seem to give a hitter a significant jump in Bat and Hand Speed, or Time to Impact. But definitely an increase nonetheless. But what using proper baseball hitting mechanics, like “Hiding the Hands”, does appear to do, is boost top-out bat speeds. AND, make those top-out bat speeds repeatable.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Bust-Bat-Drag-Fix-Disconnected-Baseball-Or-Softball-Swing-Get-Rid-Of-Dragging-Back-Elbow.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-23 09:00:572022-08-24 17:38:10Bust Bat Drag: Fix Disconnected Swing And Get Rid Of Dragging Back Elbow With Scap Load For Baseball & Softball Hitting | Does Ball Under Back Arm Drill Build Quick Swing?
By the way, his left handed swing is dampening his numbers quite a bit unless he makes some adjustments to his mechanics. His left handed swings make up about 75% of his at-bats. We’ll go over this in a little bit…
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Keeping feet inline with pitcher during turn and in follow through (scissoring),
Chopping down on the ball, and
Locking out front knee at impact on every swing.
Look, if you want the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to consistent power, then don’t look for it in the legs. The legs are only 20% of the power game. The other 80% is found in the spinal engine. Don’t believe me? Then check out this post titled: “Is Rotating Back Hip Through The Zone Necessary For Power?” I tell my hitters, your spine engine gets you to the wall, and your legs get you over.
What he IS doing with Catapult Loading System Comparing Lefty v. Righty Swings
Please note: there’s quite a discrepancy between his lefty versus right plate appearances at this point in the 2018 season, so please keep that in mind. A full season or seasons will tell us the true story, assuming he doesn’t change anything mechanically during that time.
Lefty swings in relation to using the Catapult Loading System:
Not ‘showing numbers’ to the pitcher very well,
Little to NO ‘downhill shoulder’ angle, and
Not ‘hiding his hands’ from the pitcher.
Righty swings in relation to using the Catapult Loading System:
‘Showing numbers’ to the pitcher beautifully,
Slight ‘downhill shoulders’ between 6 to 10-degrees,
‘Hiding hands’ from the pitcher like a champ!
The Plate Appearances are definitely not equal, so we’ll see what happens by the end of the season. But my fear is, if Ozzie Albies doesn’t change the relationship of the Catapult Loading System to his lefty swing, he’ll see more right-handed pitchers.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Ozzie-Albies-Baseball-Swing-Breakdown-Why-Squishing-Softball-Bug-Is-Bad-Keep-Head-Position-Still.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-22 09:30:142022-08-23 05:16:43Ozzie Albies Hitting Breakdown: Why Squishing Bug Is Bad, Keep Head Position Still, & Eye On Baseball Or Softball | Increase Power Drills To STOP Chopping Ball, & Fix Choppy Swing
“Staying Closed” for Fastpitch Softball & Baseball (NOT What You Think)…
In this article, we’ll compare the swings of Oakland Athletic’s (now Yankees) Josh Donaldson and quasi retired Jose Bautista. In the video, we’ll discuss:
Donaldson v. Bautista metrics,
What “staying closed” means to spine engine mechanics, and
Where Josh Donaldson might be leaking force at impact.
Josh Donaldson v. Jose Bautista Metrics
This section is split up as follows:
Physical
Swing analysis
Key offensive stats
Physical
Tale of the tape (according to Baseball-Reference.com):
Josh Donaldson – 6’0″, 220lbs
Jose Bautista – 6’0″ 205lbs
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So why does Jose Bautista come out on top even though he’s outweighed by 15lbs? Consider this…
Josh Donaldson: CLICK HERE to see a scatter graph of his dinger disbursement in 2013 (according to ESPN Stats & Information Group). In the 158 games he played in 2013 (24 homers) his…
Average true distance was 391.3 feet, and
Average speed off the bat was 103.7 mph.
Jose Bautista: CLICK HERE to see a scatter graph of his home-run disbursement in 2013 (according to ESPN Stats & Information Group). In the 118 games played (hand/wrist injury) in 2013 (28 homers) his…
Average true distance was 400.3 feet, and
Average speed off the bat was 104.8 mph.
The bottom line?
Joey Bats played 40 less games in 2013, but still outhit Josh Donaldson. So let’s answer the question of how Bautista hit each homer, on average, 9 feet further, and drove the ball 1.1 mph faster off the bat.
Let’s begin building a case as to where Josh Donaldson may be bleeding force at impact…
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
What “Staying Closed” Means to Spine Engine Mechanics
Most confuse the meaning of the coaching cue “staying closed”. The hitter DOES NOT “stay closed” with the bottom half. For maximum energy transfer, the pelvis should open when the body weights the front foot after striding. Both hitters seem to prematurely open their pelvis before the heel hits the ground. This isn’t efficient! We’ll talk about:
The truth about staying closed,
The importance of heel strike to locomotion, and
Swinging in sand: effortless power or powerless effort?
The Truth About Staying Closed
In the video, we apply two of three coupled motion of the spine actions, according to Dr. Serge Gracovetsky’s book The Spinal Engine:
Side bending (evidenced by a down shoulder angle), and
Axial rotation (hitter shows numbers to pitcher, while pelvis stays parallel to the plate)
In the video, we clearly see both hitters do this. Donaldson more than Bautista. I mentioned both hitters prematurely open their pelvis before heel strike. Let’s look at the gravity (pun intended) of doing or not doing this…
The Importance of Heel Strike to Locomotion
In the book, Gracovetsky offers one of several meanings for maintaining a healthy spine using spinal engine mechanics (p. 168):
“…the compressive pulse generated at heel-strike is essential to the locomotion process. The shape of this pulse must be very specific if maximum energy is to be transferred from the earth’s gravitational field to the rotating pelvis.”
Both hitters “stand tall” before falling forward and “getting shorter” into the turn. This lifting of the torso is like running versus walking. When running, our heel hits the ground creating a compressive force that is equaled to NINE-times our body weight, Dr. Gracovetsky says. Gravity pulls our body down (Un-Weighting Principal), and at heel strike, the ground pushes back in a compressive force. The greater the force, the faster the pelvis opens.
The following is where I foreshadow the problem with Donaldson…
Swinging in Sand: Effortless Power or Powerless Effort?
Dr. Serge Gracovetsky offers this example in the book (pgs. 168-169),
“Running or walking on soft sand is not easy and is very tiring, In this particular case, the energy leaks into the sand, the impact force is reduced, and the compressive pulse through the spine is attenuated [disabled] as the total energy recovered is reduced.”
The compressive force is softened by the sand, which doesn’t allow the pelvis to turn using efficient spine engine mechanics. To maneuver, the brain has to recruit big muscles to do the work. This is why you get a workout walking on sand…it’s powerless effort, rather than effortless power.
Donaldson is basically turning his pelvis using muscle mass (like walking in the sand). Whereas Bautista looks more effortless because he’s using efficient spine engine mechanics, gravity, and gravitational reaction forces…
Where Josh Donaldson May Be Leaking Force at Impact
In the video, you’ll see Donaldson start opening his pelvis five frames before he weights his front foot. His front foot looks like it almost “hovers” over the ground for 3-4 frames. Opening the pelvis without a true compressive force (gravity and gravitational reaction forces) would be like hitting a baseball while standing on sand!
Bautista starts opening his pelvis only two frames ahead of weighting his front foot. Joey Bats experiences a higher compressive force at landing than Donaldson does. This is why “staying closed” with the upper half, and committing the body to landing on the front foot is crucial to an average increase of:
9 feet to batted ball distance, and
1.1 mph to ball exit speeds.
Post UPDATE: after Josh Donaldson was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015, this post was picked up by the Canadian National Post(Just above the Jose Bautista image). Also, there was an “upgrade” to his hitting mechanics since this post was first published in 2014. CLICK HERE for a link to an Athletics Nation article talking about a difference in J.D.’s 2013 & 2014 swing mechanics. In 2015, Josh Donaldson reverted back to his minimalist “barrel tilt” 2013 hitting mechanics.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
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Learn how to REALLY use the legs and lower half in directional place hitting drills for baseball or softball beginners at home. Discover hip rotation swing loading breakdown tips in this interview with Matt Nokes!
Dangers Over-Rotating Low Half: What is Directional Force? And WHY is it Important?
This hitting training interview with Matt Nokes was pulled from the seventh issue of our Swing Smarter Monthly Newsletter. What is that? On a monthly basis,
We pick a hitting theme,
Write a Newsletter around the theme,
Give favorite hitting drill addressing the theme,
Prescribe corrective exercises to amplify the drill’s goal, and as if that wasn’t enough,
We also include 2 expert interviews on the subject…
EVERY month!
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This hitting training post is POWER packed!! The above video, Matt put together special for this episode. CLICK HERE to listen to the 30-minute podcast episode.
Here are some of the hard hitting training points we cover in the Nokes interview (pun intended of course):
What’s the Major Benefit to “Staying Sideways”,
What is Making the Hips Turn?
Dangers to Performance of Over-Rotating the Lower Half,
What is Directional Force? And Why is it Important? And,
Around the Zone Drill for Staying Sideways.
What follows is copy and pasted transcript from the 30-minute hitting training audio interview. If you want to download the pdf version, so you can print it out, and highlight the heck out of it, then you can download that here: https://gohpl.com/33XxDcI
Enjoy!
Joey Myers 00:00
All right, hello and welcome to Swing Smarter Monthly Newsletter. This is your host Joey Myers from HittingPerformanceLab.com, and on with me as a special guest a special surprise Mr. Matt Nokes, former Major Leaguer, two time All Star, Silver Slugger award winner.
Joey Myers 00:14
And the day that I met Matt was probably three or four years ago, I was introduced, the Backspin tee bros… Taylor and Jarrett Gardner, and we were talking hitting the whole time down in San Diego. I think it’s when they had the all-star game there in San Diego. And we were even talking hitting training in parking structures at the different levels. We went to a library we went all over the place. So Matt Noakes, welcome to the show.
Matt Nokes 00:41
Good Joey. First, thank you for inviting me.
Joey Myers 00:44
You got it, sir. Hey, I wanted to kick off. I wanted to talk about because we’re going to be looking at the idea of staying sideways with the lower half, directional force, all that. So, I wanted to get your view, since you introduced it to me and introduced it to the backspin tee guys, what’s the major benefit of staying sideways? And maybe a detriment to not staying sideways? Maybe over rotating? Which I see a lot of young hitters do?
What’s the Major Hitting Training Benefit to “Staying Sideways”
Matt Nokes 01:13
Well, I think there are several reasons. I mean, it’s a whole system, right? It’s your lower body. And it’s been misinterpreted for so many years. Because of well, the communication wasn’t necessary. Let’s just say when a major leaguer’s talking to another major leaguer, they’re just spouting out hitting training words that don’t mean a whole heck of a lot. Or it could mean 50 different things. But they’re talking to someone who’s been watching their teammate. They know what they’re going through. It’s what they say just a little bit. They know what they’re saying.
Matt Nokes 01:53
And so a lot of the conversation is nonverbal. And so, this whole thing of using your hips, it’s just something that has been brought up to people. And if you think about it, when you’re hitting, for people who haven’t been hitting, or who don’t know how to hit, they don’t see the patterns that you and I see or that a high school, college, pro player, or major leaguer, they don’t see the patterns that we see.
Matt Nokes 02:27
And so, the varying levels of, there’s a huge amount of information that you need to know just to see certain things. Right? And so, it’s what, it’s why there’s this confusion. And people just haven’t really taken the time to, or they just didn’t feel like, feel the need to explain any more. Because, as one of my good friends Darrell Evans always said is well, I can’t tell you everything.
Matt Nokes 02:56
Like he’ll explain some awesome conflict. I go, why don’t you tell me that, you know, 20 years ago when we were in the big leagues? Because I can’t tell you everything, because you knew. He hit 400 or over 400 home-runs. But there were some hitting training things that he didn’t question. And things that I questioned, and vice versa, I wish I would have had that information from the beginning.
Matt Nokes 03:22
And it’s not so much that we see the patterns, because everyone sees oh, you know, that front leg straightens out at some point, that must be important. Okay, well, it kind of straightens out when you block. Sometimes it doesn’t when your way into your legs. But the point is, it’s blocked, blocking. And because there’s rotation, it’s going to straighten out, close to contact.
Matt Nokes 03:54
Like everybody knows, if you ever thought about straightening out your front leg thinking that that’s going to be key, that’s going to be one of my adjustments. One of my adjustments, that I’m going to get three hits tonight, you know that, that would be like the worst thing to think about, right? You would leak. You would just pole vault, leak your way up and out over the top.
Matt Nokes 04:17
So having said that, it’s not enough to see a pattern, you have to be able to go beyond that and see the model, you have to be able to model what’s going on, you have to know get to see hitting training in three dimensions as opposed to, drawing triangles, you need to see the pyramid. You need to see more of really what’s happening to understand it. So, when you look at somebody hit, you see their hips turning. It’s like no, they do turn, you know, I mean, I am watching them turn, but you have to look past that and say, what is making it turn?
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What is Making the Hips Turn?
Matt Nokes 05:03
And when it comes to, why does it turn? And when it comes to all the other comments about using the ground, which is, you hit from the ground up and lead with ground force, and it starts from the bottom and goes up, back foot turns, the back-knee turns, hips turn, in the core turns the shoulders turn, and then you swing.
Matt Nokes 05:26
That makes sense if it was geared that way, but it’s not. Because your power source is your well, is your trunk, your upper body, or let’s call it the core. But I think it’s even more general than that, I think you just hit with your upper body, but you use a weight shift, and you need something to swing against.
Matt Nokes 05:47
Like, if you’re hanging on a rope, you can’t really turn. I mean you could, but you just wiggling. If you get your feet on the ground, then you can turn your upper body. Anybody that sat on a machine to work their core rotationally, they know that when you sit into the machine, it clamps your lower body down, or your upper body one or the other. So that you can forcefully rotate.
Matt Nokes 06:20
Okay, so that’s the hitting training concept. If you want to rotate, you need something to rotate against. And yet, we still see the core, I mean, the hips turn, okay? Well, that’s because they’re attached. And at contact, you’ve unloaded your backside. And because you’ve unloaded it, of course, it’s free to turn. But it’s that much more important that you get in a really good position.
Matt Nokes 06:55
The idea of a sideways approach is, you have to get in a good position, it needs to be a consistent position. And you have to be on time. What that does is it helps you be on the ball. So that may just sound some random, random to some people. But I’ll give you a hitting training illustration, or I’ll give you an analogy. Let’s say you’re hitting soft toss from the side, I mean, directly from the side. And you know how easy that is. Now, I’m a left-handed hitter, how easy it is to crush the ball over the shortstop head.
Matt Nokes 07:39
The opposite way, if it’s coming from the side, because you just shift right past it, you smoke it! You know you’re not supposed to pull the ball, but what happens to your lower body. Think about what is your lower body do when you get soft toss from the side? It firms up and is basically, it’s certainly not as open as it does, from the front, or I’m sorry, like on an inside pitch.
Matt Nokes 08:09
So basically, it’s that feeling of being on the ball. It’s really important that you are sideways, in order to be on the ball. So that you’re in position into a consistent position, you know how when you’re hitting…let’s say soft toss again, when you hit your first ball, and you think, my shoulder needs to be a little bit more closed. And then you hit it again go, oops, my hips are at position, my foot’s in the wrong position, you make those fine-tuning adjustments.
Matt Nokes 08:38
Well, you can do that. On soft toss because you can almost automatically manage variables, which you have to manage. Because you’re in a controlled setting, it’s unlikely, you back it up to 60 feet, and the same hitting training variables that you could manage automatically, without even thinking, the scenario enables your automatic mind to relate it to something you already know or to just be familiar with the motion for it to be common sense. And you can do it.
Matt Nokes 09:15
But when you add more variables, well then you have to make sure that your routines and how you practice, that you have those things in mind so that you’re prepared to not pull off the ball. But if you do pull off, you know how to make an adjustment to position yourself.
Matt Nokes 09:35
And it’s one last thing, it’s like if you had never seen a Phillips head screwdriver, never seen it or never even seen a screwdriver. And you were showing me that this is how I’m going to hang a painting. And you found the stud finder, and you found the stud, and then you basically shorten it, you screwed it. You twisted in a screw into the wall. And then hung the painting with that wire, right? It’s kind of hung and then even it up.
Matt Nokes 10:04
So how do you use the screwdriver? Well, there’s some utility there. You know what you’re doing? Because you’ve seen it, it didn’t take a lot of examples. You’re holding the screwdriver in your hand, you’re like, I know how to do this. And how long does it take you to become an expert? With that movement? I mean, he says well, it doesn’t take expert movement. Oh, yeah? How does a monkey do that? Or a child?
Matt Nokes 10:34
Where a monkey could do other complex things. But not that, because they can’t look at it and see the utility. But you and I, and everyone on the planet can be basically an expert in five minutes. Context matters.
Joey Myers 10:54
And you know what’s unique about our sport is that we only have 90 degrees of fair territory to work with. And whereas you look at bowling you maybe it’s what three and a half feet a lane and then even in golf, you can argue that you only have one degree of fair territory and 359 degrees of foul territory, because you get rewarded for the shortest number of strokes to the pin.
Joey Myers 11:16
One of the hitting training stories that you told was really cool on this. I don’t know if it was Frank Robinson, or who it was that you were talking to. But I think you had gone away from staying sideways. And you started to like, what most coaches and young kids do is over rotate the lower half. And then you said you broke away from what you were naturally doing. And you slumped, and then you came back. Tell that story?
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Dangers to Performance of Over-Rotating the Lower Half
Matt Nokes 11:39
Yeah. Okay. So, I always think it’s important to add empirical evidence, which is that which can be verified or falsified by your senses, or your experience, your personal experience at the highest level. My first year in the big leagues…well, anyway, I just got up to the big leagues. And it was the all-star break. And I was sitting at the all-star break with 20 home runs, hitting like .320. And like 57 RBI’s, you could say I was doing well. And I was hot. And I was young.
Matt Nokes 12:24
And Dave Bergman and Bill Madlock, teammates of mine, were shagging balls at first base. And I guess they were talking to each other. And they came up to me, and they said, man Nokesy, you must really feel on the ball. And I said, Yeah. Because your back foot stays sideways. And well, I didn’t know what to make of that. And because I had worked that out that I just knew I was on the ball. I thought, okay, I thought they were saying, well, it’s unorthodox Matt, but you make it work.
Matt Nokes 13:01
I get to the All-Star game. And I’m watching up on the diamond vision. That’s what they called it then. And watching the highlights and stuff. And I started to notice that that back-knee pinch. You got to remember; I wasn’t really familiar, familiar with the exact things that were going on. And most major league guys really aren’t as much as you would think. They have a general sense. But there are things that they don’t, I mean, they know what it feels like. And they can replicate because of that, and they understand that through feel.
Matt Nokes 13:40
I thought, man that back knee looks like it’s rotating. So maybe the back foot turns too. I’m sitting at 20 home-runs, maybe I would have had 30 or 40 home runs by now. I thought, man, I’m going to really drop that knee and kind of now they’re saying you got to try the back knee, that kind of thing. It’s just as bad as rotating back foot. Even though it does collapse, because…it does collapse because it’s passive. It’s passive because you unloaded it, and your upper body doing the rotation.
Matt Nokes 14:17
And for the next couple of weeks, I focused on that I focused on my back-knee kind of collapsing and my back-foot rotating. And I didn’t get a hit for two weeks. But I felt great in batting practice, I was hitting home runs, I was launching balls, as usual. And my timing was good because, so I couldn’t really see the difference in batting practice in order to make an adjustment because I was crushing balls still, but I knew there was something missing.
Matt Nokes 14:49
In pitchers shagging were used to me hitting a certain way, actually approaching. They said something wrong. I mean, you’re hitting balls well, but it’s just not coming off the bat the way used to. And I agreed. I haven’t had a hit in a couple weeks. And finally, Dave Bergman and Bill Madlock came up to me after a couple of weeks, because I’m sure you know, they had their own life, their own hitting training problems they were dealing with, and they didn’t notice why I was going into a slump.
Matt Nokes 15:21
And they came up and said, what are you doing? Like, what do you mean? You’ve never rotated your back foot like that, ever? And I go, oh, didn’t you? Didn’t you say I was being unorthodox. I just thought I’d make it better. And they go, you idiot. No, that’s your problem. And so, they’d have to say much other than it just shocked me so much that I got back in the batting cage, just start smoking balls, keeping it sideways. And oh, I hit two home runs that game. And then from then on, I was, I knew that that was a hitting training rule. That was a principle I needed to follow it. Even though back then I didn’t really understand it.
Joey Myers 16:09
That is one of the, of all my young hitters from I mean, now I just work with 11 or 12, all the way up to junior high, high school, college and stuff. I don’t work with any hitters lower than that. But usually the ones lower than that age, typically, if they haven’t been over coached, do that naturally. They do stay sideways, right? They get coached out of it, for the most part.
Matt Nokes 16:32
Absolutely.
Joey Myers 16:33
And I would say the ones that have been coached out of it, and I’m just getting them. And it’s probably about 40 to 50% of them over rotate that lower half. You talk about this idea of directional force. Talk a little bit about that.
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What is Directional Force? And Why is it Important?
Matt Nokes 16:47
Well, you know, it takes 8,000 pounds per square foot, or I’m sorry, per square inch into the baseball to hit baseball 400 feet. And I have no question that even High School players generate way, way more energy than that swinging a bat, that large of an arc, the sweet spot of the bat is moving, you can generate a lot of force with a baseball bat.
Matt Nokes 17:16
It’s not that they can’t generate the energies that can’t direct the force. And it’s going all over the place. They’re not getting the bulk of the energy through the ball in one direction. And, yeah, so basically…
Joey Myers 17:34
Being sideways helps with that.
Matt Nokes 17:36
Yes, because it stabilizes your lower half, so that your upper body rotation is pure, there’s no leak in it. Your energy is not going in a lot of directions. You brought up the point about, there’s a lot of fair territory and foul territory. So that’s confusing, because the basic 90 degrees, it’s that you’re hitting the ball in. There’s that sliver, where you get a hit, you know, maybe 10 degrees, 36 degrees, it pretty much everything is either a popup or ground ball, right? And then you got a lot of foul territory, it’s not cricket.
Matt Nokes 18:18
And then you can hit a ball to the left that you thought you should have pulled, or you could hit ball the right, they just thought you should have hit the other way, or whatever it is, that can get confusing, because you don’t necessarily understand right out of the box, where the direction of force should be, or you’re not aware of your personal direction of force, until you experience it until you create a scenario where you can actually rehearse it.
Matt Nokes 18:46
Because if you get a hit, you don’t think you need to go into it very much more. But if you’re hammering a nail, there’s going to be some consequences. The nail is going to go flying, if you don’t hit it with the right force in the right direction. But with hitting, it’s confusing, because you can still get a hit and lose a lot of energy, you can still hit it hard and lose a lot of energy. But ultimately, so that’s confusing in itself, you hit a ball the other way, one time, you pull the ball the other time. And you think you did it right, even though you lost energy in both directions. And yet, you don’t get a hit.
Matt Nokes 19:26
The amount of time that you’re actually driving the ball consistently goes down. But you’re not concerned with direction of course, because you’re hitting the ball in all directions. It just gets confusing. You don’t know what’s wrong, you don’t know what’s going on, what’s wrong, what’s right, what hitting training is working, what’s not.
Joey Myers 19:44
And you have a hitting training drill, the around the world drill. You can explain that one. That’s a pretty good one, I think for demonstrating what you’re talking about the direction of force.
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Around the Zone Drill for Staying Sideways
Matt Nokes 19:54
Yeah, well, in short. Every major leaguer, and advanced hitter has a feel for certain things. And if you get to that level, you figured out a way to rehearse or do a drill. So that it reinforces good habits. Good positions, good timing, good directional force, you may not be aware of it, but you just see the results, the empirical results.
Matt Nokes 20:23
And, yes, so the around the zone is around the world there. If you begin from the side, and you get the ball, coming from the side. There are rules, and why the rules? Well, there are rules because you can’t just do the drill any way you want, there’s a certain way that it’ll be effective, there’s a certain technique that will be effective, if you don’t do it that way, you’re not going to get anything out of it.
Matt Nokes 20:54
It’s the same for every drill, every rehearsal, if you don’t know what you’re doing, how you’re supposed to do it, what it’s for, what you’re doing, how you’re supposed to execute it, why you’re doing it, and what it’s going to feel like, what feel you’re searching for, then you’re just wasting your time.
Matt Nokes 21:15
And as a young player, I remember some of my great coaches as a young player, you know, they just see me work and work and work and hit it. And I’m hitting up 300 balls into the net, and they’re like, stop! You need to be strategic when you’re doing it, like, what are you trying to accomplish right here? I don’t know. I just figured if I just keep hitting, it’ll come to me. No, all that’s going to do is lead to a million different desperate fixes. That’s all that’s going to do.
Matt Nokes 21:45
And then I’m addressing every system, with timing, the mechanics, and your mindset. Not addressing those, in keeping the balance between them. There are certain rules. You get a ball from the side. You want me explain it?
Joey Myers 22:01
Yeah. So when you say side, you mean chest on? So perpendicular to the hitter?
Matt Nokes 22:06
Yeah. Okay. You get, I’m a left-handed hitter. So, imagine you’re in the right-handed batter’s box, and then just behind it, and so you’re throwing it from the side. And so maybe you’re throwing it at my back hip, or that kind of thing. The way you set up the drill, and I call a drill with a ball and a rehearsal without the ball, and there’s reasons for that, which I’ll go into later.
Matt Nokes 22:31
But setting up the drill, so you’re throwing on it. What I say is, okay, the arc that the ball’s coming in on forms the line. And you need to pay attention to that line, and then draw 90 degrees from that line from where you’re standing Joey. The ball’s coming in at me, and then from you out to center field is, would approximately be 90 degrees.
Matt Nokes 23:01
And I say, okay, now where’s your 45 degrees? And then as long as you hit it inside of the 45, you’ll crush it with your weight, you’ll get your weight into the ball, because you’re shifting into the swing, and past the line that you see. And that may be complicated. Because there’s a certain amount of information that you need to know to actually kind of visualize it and understand why it works like that…
Joey Myers 23:29
And I can include a link to your drill video too. [The following is the “Around the Zone Soft Toss Drill” video as promised:
Matt Nokes 23:31
Yeah, okay, yeah, I break it down. And I show you, I mean, you go 46 degrees, it’s going to be a topspin ground-ball. And so, you have to address the drill, you have to follow the rule, that’s the easiest way, if I’m going to give a player action steps and not just try to convince them of some hitting theory. And I was like hey, let’s get into action. Let’s not worry about hitting theory until you already feel what you got to do.
Matt Nokes 24:01
Because once you feel it, then all of a sudden, your intuition about why you’re doing it, and what it’s fixing will be enhanced, and you’ll be able to see things that you couldn’t ordinarily see. You go from the side. And so now the ball, let’s say I’m hitting in that as a left-handed hitter. Initially, I’m hitting the ball, right down the left field line. And then as you work your way around, but you know, maybe at eight, eight or 10 ball down in the left field line, opposite field, because it’s being thrown from the side, as long as I shift my weight perpendicular to the line and get beyond the line. I’m getting my weight to the ball.
Matt Nokes 24:45
Because good timing is transferring your weight into the ball on time and what you’ll find is you’ll gain incredible power increases because you’re transferring to the ball on time, you’re able to regulate that system really well and make fine tuning adjustments, and you’re actually hitting the ball in the correct direction.
Matt Nokes 25:11
For those of you who don’t quite understand it, I can give you an example of, one extreme example, if I was getting that same ball, that I would normally hit down the left field line, which is opposite field, if I’m throwing a ball from the side, I’ve seen guys in the batting cage, and I would walk in the cage, and they’re hitting balls up the middle of that, and I walk by a coach and they say, Hey, do you see anything Nokesy? And, you know, okay, and, and then I’ll take the tee and put it out front.
Matt Nokes 25:45
Well, they have the tee in the center of their legs, like inside, and like, behind the front foot, or between the legs, and they’re hitting the ball up the middle. Well, if you got a ball that far back, you got to hit that ball the other way. But it’s not very exciting to hit a ball on into the net three feet away, it’s just not that exciting. But that’s the direction you need to be hitting, you need to get your weight beyond that ball, to transfer your weight in the ball, because we’re talking about directional force.
Matt Nokes 26:19
But what a player will do is they’ll run away from the ball, shift, try to stay on their back foot to clear, to give them some kind of room to hit that ball, to hit that ball up the middle. Because they’re thinking about what they’re doing incorrectly, they’re trying to hit a ball up the middle that they’re not supposed to hit up the middle.
Matt Nokes 26:41
And so you just work that drill correctly. And then you start moving your soft tosser, you start moving them around, until eventually they’re in the front, and you’re hitting it down the right field line. And actually, when you do it correctly, you can’t hook it foul. Now you think what do you mean? You could literally have someone right in front of you. Throwing it at your front hip, he can’t hook it foul. Why? Because you’ve got your weight into the ball and your weight is in the ball at contact, you’re in line.
Matt Nokes 27:11
It may not even be a lot of lag, just enough lag to get that whip. It’s just pre final whip. It’s just pre where you rollover, it’s always going to be if your weight is into the ball. Think about it, if you don’t shift your weight into the ball on time. That’s a slap. That’s a hook. That’s called quitting. So yeah. What you’re getting yourself out of is from quitting.
Matt Nokes 27:37
And that’s what happens when someone is trying to hit a ball that’s deep between their legs and trying to hit it up the middle. The only way to hit that ball up the middle is to quit.
Joey Myers 27:49
Got it. That’s a great drill. And again, I’ll add the drill video that you have on YouTube in the post. Well, hey, man, I would love to do a part two at some point, but to be respectful of your time. Where can people find you? Are there any special projects you’re working on right now? Just a little bit about where people can go to get more information on you.
Matt Nokes 28:10
Yeah, thanks, Joey. You can go to MattNokes.com. I have courses available. And I have a free advanced hitting workshop. And after if you’d like to consult with me, there’s a link at the end of the workshop. But you can also go to CallNokes.com and schedule a call with me. We figure out what’s working what’s not, and create a blueprint. And if I can help you I certainly will. You can also go to YouTube and find my videos you punch my name in, punch in Matt Nokes and you can find a lot of my videos on YouTube like case studies and things like that. It’s been a pleasure. Thanks, Joey. Thanks for inviting me on the program.
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/hitting-training-matt-nokes-interview-e1600899762835.png281500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-21 09:00:562023-08-18 21:38:48Use Legs & Lower Half Directional Place Hitting Drills For Baseball Softball Beginners At Home | Hip Rotation Swing Loading Breakdown Tips
Discover in this Juan Soto swing breakdown: online directional place hitting power tips on how to hit a baseball or softball farther and harder almost every time…
As Matt Nokes has said, it takes 8,000-pounds per square inch of force, in one direction, to hit a ball 400-feet. The swing is both linear and rotational. Not either or. When I say lower half sets the directional force, it’s just that. Lower half should rotate the list of all major segments. Why?
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Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Every human movement revolves around three parts to the spine. The lower half coordinates with the lower back. The vertebrae in the Lumbar, which by the way isn’t made the rotate. The Lumbar is only made to flex and extend. The rotation we see is because of the muscles and ligaments surrounding the vertebrae in the Lumbar. Between 7-12 degrees of rotation are allowed.
The ability to rotate is much different when talking about the middle portion of the spine, the Thoracic. The 12 vertebra in the Thoracic IS made the rotate, flex, and extend. It is allowed 40-degrees of rotation in each direction. What’s my point?
Let the section of the spine fulfill their natural roles. Lumbar and lower half of the body rotates the least, and sets directional force. Middle part of the spine rotates the most, and will optimize whip. And when talking Catapult Loading System principles … we’re talking about what the middle is doing…
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/juan-soto-swing-breakdown.jpg423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-17 09:00:192022-08-17 21:04:08Juan Soto Swing Breakdown: Online Directional Place Hitting Power Tips How To Hit A Baseball Or Softball Farther And Harder Every Time
In the second installment to the Hitting Backwards: 4 Common Mistakes Hitters Make video series, starring Adrian Gonzalez, we discuss why “walking away from the hands” doesn’t make sense. A-Gon is a bigger hitter (*6’2″, 225lbs) who uses human movement science correctly to generate explosive rotational power.
*(According to Baseball-Reference.com)
We’ll use Adrian Gonzalez’s swing to talk about:
The simple science of loading,
How big hitters get away with ineffective mechanics, and
The power secret you are missing.
Contrary to popular belief, “walking away from the hands” is NOT how we load properly. It decreases turning speed by arm barring. In the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, if controversial gold medal winning ice skater Adelina Sotnikova could turn faster by barring an arm out, then don’t you think you’d see her do that?
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
According to the book Anatomy Trains by Thomas Myers, the human body is loaded by connective tissue called Fascia, which is:
A cotton candy-like material,
To the body, like steel is to the building industry,
Connective tissue your bones and muscles float in,
Gives muscles their shape, and
At a constant battle to balance compression and tension forces within the body…Thomas Myers calls this Tensegrity (Tension-Integrity)
Big Hitters Get Away with Ineffective Mechanics
We’re studying the wrong hitters. Pujols. Hamilton. Griffey Jr. Paul Goldschmidt.
Ken Griffey Jr. was the perfect example of “walking away from the hands”. People don’t realize, he succeeded despite ineffective mechanics, not because of them. Here are some other notable athletes getting away with ineffective mechanics:
Kevin Durant, NBA’s leading scorer, succeeds despite flawed shooting mechanics. His knees crash in, which is called Knee Valgus.
Tiger Woods succeeded despite being ineffective mechanically, later in his career (4 knee surgeries, in addition to numerous Achilles and back issues). CLICK HERE to read this “Muscle Power Golf, Not!” post about this.
Numerous pitchers throw 95+mph despite career shortening flawed mechanics (Kerry Wood and Mark Prior just to name two)
Spend more time analyzing hitters like: Braun, Cano, David Wright, Jose Bautista, McCutchen, Hank Aaron, and Sadaharu Oh (Japan’s career home run leader). These small-sluggers have to move friction-free (or nearly) to compete. Big-sluggers with friction-free swings include: Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, and Chris “Crush” Davis.
Power Secret You Are Missing
Of the nine fascial lines mentioned in Thomas Myers’ book Anatomy Trains, the Spiral Fascial Line (SPL) is very important to hitting…according to Thomas Myers:
Photo credit: Thomas Myers
“The overall movement function of the SPL is to create and mediate spirals and rotations in the body, and, in eccentric and isometric contraction, to steady the trunk and leg to keep it from folding into rotational collapse.”
I call this the ‘Springy X Pattern’. Imagine an ‘X’ on the front and back of the torso. When one leg of the ‘X’ shortens, then the other stretches. Golf training expert Jason Glass of Jason Glass Performance calls these Rotational Power Slings.
Adrian Gonzalez “spring loads” his swing using what I call the Catapult Loading System (CLS). It takes the Stability ‘X’ Pattern or Rotational Power Sling concepts and applies them to hitting.
Here are a few other world-class spring loaded athletes who’s movements are very similar to a hitter’s:
Golfers,
Olympic Shot Putters
Olympic Throwers – Javelin, Discus, and Hammer
Lacrosse
CLICK HERE in case you missed Part-1 to the Hitting Backwards: 4 Common Mistakes Hitter’s Make video series. And CLICK HERE for Common Mistake #3, where we look into why a friction-free hitter SHOULD NOT land with the front toe closed…
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Adrian-Gonzalez-Swing-Breakdown-Power-Hitting-Drills-Helping-Hit-Bombs-Farther.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-16 09:00:112022-08-16 16:54:56Best Baseball, Softball, & Slow Pitch Power Batting Drills To Increase Hitting Bombs Farther And Improve Keeping Front Shoulder In
Michael Brantley: NEVER Worry About Batting Average Again?
2014 Michael Brantley photo courtesy: MLB.com
Last week, I received a question from Brian Petrick that birthed this post:
“What do mlb players need to do to hit for a higher avg consistently and cut down on k’s. Not many .300 plus hitters today.”
I have to thank my Sabermetrics friends at RockiesZingers.com – namely Richard Bergstrom – for introducing me to a key metric that better measures how consistently a batter hits the ball rather than Batting Average. Enter BABIP. FanGraphs.com says this about BABIP:
“Batting Average on Balls In Play (BABIP) measures how often a ball in play goes for a hit. A ball is “in play” when the plate appearance ends in something other than a strikeout, walk, hit batter, catcher’s interference, sacrifice bunt, or home run. Several variables that can affect BABIP rates for individual players, such as defense, luck, and talent level.”
In this video post, we’re going to analyze:
Why analyze Michael Brantley (lefty hitting outfielder of the Houston Astros)?
What’s the difference in his 2013/2014 swings? AND
How can he improve his repeatable power?
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
According to FanGraphs.com he’s 6 foot, 2 inches, 200 pounds. Not a big guy by today’s standards. 2014 was the first time he was selected to the American League All-Star team.
Michael Brantley’s 2013-2014 stats were a perfect example to answer Brian Petrick’s question from earlier (photo of stats to the right)…
138 point jump in OPS (On-Base + Slug%),
BABIP has gone well above average,
GB% went down, LD% went up, and FB% went down, while
Home-run to fly-ball% more than DOUBLED!
Walk% went up, and
Strikeout% almost cut in half!
Yes, according to my stat table, the 2014 season isn’t done yet. But the amount of “hits” he accumulated in 2013 (158) is virtually the same as 2014 (151). Hits are a major part of the BABIP equation. So, what is he doing differently with his mechanics?
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
Click button below to access FREE video that has been downloaded over 20K times!
After Brian Petrick sent me that question, I obsessed over how-to build consistency into a hitter’s swing (increase BA & BABIP) that could also cut down on strikeouts. My hypothesis was to get the barrel on pitch plane EARLIER (closer to the catcher), which would translate to more margin for error afforded by the batter.
Take a batter being late on a fast-ball, for example:
If the barrel entering the impact zone is closer to the catcher, driving the pitch to the opposite field is an option.
However, if the same barrel enters the impact zone closer to the pitcher, the hitter is more likely to swing and miss or hit the ball weakly.
Both Michael Brantley’s 2013 & 2014 swing videos show he’s entering the pitch plane closer to the catcher, and staying long through impact. But upon closer inspection, we can see he’s “staying shorter” longer through the Final Turn, in 2014. It looks like he’s
“standing up” in his 2013 swing.
You see, the torso sets the upward swing plane, NOT the hands. By bending his back leg more at impact (around 10-degrees closer to a right angle than in 2013), makes a HUGE difference in consistently staying on plane of the pitch longer. Take a quote from page 36 of Homer Kelly’s book, The Golfing Machine:
“A rotating motion will pass through a given point if the axis is tilted properly, instead of having to apply a compensating vector force to drive the rotating element off its normal plane towards the desired plane line.”
Homer Kelly, an aeronautical engineer for Boeing back in the 1930’s, applied scientifically proven human movement principles to the golf swing.
How Can he Improve his Repeatable Power?
2013 Michael Brantley photo courtesy: MLB.com
According to FanGraphs.com, Zip (U) and Steamer (U) statistics predict Brantley will hit 20-21 homers in 2014. This would double what he did in 2013. The same predictive stats show he’ll finish between .846 to .849 in OPS (On-Base + Slug%). Conservatively, this would be a dramatic 118 point rise!
With the following FOUR mechanical tweaks, we could see Michael Brantley – with his body type – hitting over 30 homers per year:
You saw the difference bending the back leg more at impact does to key offensive numbers like BABIP, BA, and Strikeout%. Also just as important is how close to the catcher a batter’s barrel enters the pitch plane, and how well his “stay through” is after contact. Brantley already does these well.
However, at the very least, if Michael Brantley engages the natural springy fascia material within his body (mechanical tweak #’s 2-4 from above), then he can be one of the top-10 hitters in the league!
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
Click button below to access FREE video that has been downloaded over 20K times!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Michael-Brantley-Swing-Breakdown-How-Turn-Vs-Push-Barrel-Control-Hitting-Drills-Can-Affect-BABIP.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-10 09:00:342024-06-21 16:40:48Michael Brantley Swing Breakdown: How Turn Vs Push Barrel Control Hitting Drills Can Affect BABIP Luck Formula | Hands Above, Dumping, & Short To Ball Good For Baseball Softball Hitters?
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(p. 168):
, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze if hiding the hands from the pitcher prior to stride landing boosts bat speed, over not hiding them. Some may call this the “Scap Row”.
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