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Is Powerchalk The Best Video Analysis Coaching Software For Baseball & Softball?

Learn whether Powerchalk is the best video analysis coaching software for baseball and softball…

Can Video Analysis Software Cause You To Lose Out On Repeatable Power?

It may be how you’re using it…

The other day, I received a YouTube comment on my Adrian Gonzalez video:

“Ken Griffey Jr’s swing doesn’t display any handicap to the optimization of his angular momentum. His lead shoulder is pulled back leaving his hands quite close to his body.”

This viewer is referring to an early arm bar. This is okay in golf, because they’re hitting a stationary object and not worried about timing. Not okay in baseball and softball…

The preceding viewer doesn’t know how to manipulate the Conservation of Angular Momentum (think spinning ice skater) to time an unknown moving pitch and hit it consistently hard. They’re mistaking the forest for the trees.

In this video post, we’ll look at:

Priorities: video analysis software v. human movement rules,
What do a bucket, hanging object, and hitter’s front arm have in common, and
The 90-degrees from the spine rule…

Priorities: Video Analysis Software v. Human Movement Rules

This is the video analysis software I use from Powerchalk.com

I used to be “that guy” who poured over slow motion swing footage using state of the art video analysis software. Slow motion analysis of hitters has become a peeing contest in hitting forums. You know the type…they’ve studied the video…they’ve worked with [fill in the blank name] professional hitter(s)…they coached 30+ years at a high level.

These “paper tiger” credentials don’t mean a thing to me now (and they shouldn’t to you, regardless of your experience in the game)…

I’ve been in corrective fitness for 10 years, and see a never-ending pattern of inefficient and flawed hitting mechanics. FOUR reasons why today’s hitters – YES, even the professional ones – are inefficient with their swings:

Athletes are more sedentary nowadays,
Hitting mechanics are often over-coached and micro-managed,
A majority of instructors or coaches teach what I call “backward hitting strategies”, and
Mechanical cues are general, misunderstood, and ineffective.

So who has the upper hand in today’s hitting forums, when it comes to video analysis software use? The person who understands human movement rules. One has to understand “the rules” first. As a result, this will cut slow motion video analysis time in half! This is seeing the forest before the trees.

Here’s an example of what I mean…

What Do a Bucket, Hanging Object, and Hitter’s Front Arm have in Common?

Giancarlo Stanton: 90-degree bat to spine rule using video analysis software

Giancarlo Stanton from the pitcher’s view…90-degree front elbow to spine at start and impact. Photo courtesy of MLB.com

We’re going to science for optimal placement of the front upper arm to set the plane of the pitch early, before the Final Turn. Here’s an email response I sent to one of my hitting friends, Bob Hall from Canada, about this very topic:

“Imagine a bucket with a large lip. Punch a hole in the lip and tie a string with a rock attached to the string at the bottom. Now, the level of the bucket lip is the shoulder angle. If you tip the bucket towards where the rock and string are attached, the rock will continue pointing “down”, and the space between the bucket and string will widen.”

Before the Final Turn, the efficient hitter will utilize a downhill shoulder angle (tipping the lip of the bucket). The elbow will continue to point down because of Gravity (the rock hanging from the lip), causing the light gap under the front armpit to widen. If the hitter artificially points the elbow up or down from this natural position, then muscles will activate making the hitter’s chances of getting on pitch-plane inefficient.

This is looking to human movement rules first. Now, let’s look under the hood using video analysis software…

The 90-Degrees from the Spine Rule

Giancarlo Stanton: 90-degree angle bat to spine rule from the backside.

Giancarlo Stanton from the backside: 90-degree angle rule. Photo courtesy: MLB.com

One of my readers, Kyle Harrington, posted this comment on the blog recently:

“One principle is that the bat only really accelerates efficiently when it is on a single plane. The only way to get maximum acceleration of the barrel is to have the swing path at 90 degrees to the spine angle. The only way to do this is to have the lead arm high and also 90 degrees to the spine. If the hands are too high or too low when both these other conditions are met, then the swing will be off plane.”

Using Powerchalk’s motion analysis software, we can see this pretty consistently with top hitters like Giancarlo Stanton. We can adjust to pitch height by bending at the waist, but the barrel should follow the 90-degree from the spine rule.

So, using motion analysis is good, but should take a “back seat” to understanding scientifically proven human movement rules.

12 Comments/by Joey Myers

Do Push Barrel Path Hitting Drills Fix Steep Swinging Under Ball Swing For Baseball & Softball Players?

Build More Power, Case Studies, Hit More Line Drives, Sticky Coaching

Discover if push barrel path hitting drills fix a steep swinging under the ball swing for baseball and softball players…

The Sooner You Know ‘Swinging Down’ Can Be A Disaster The Better

This is bad| https://t.co/dDmbYt1OZt pic.twitter.com/BRld6yav7i

— Sean T. Plouffe ➪ ⚾️ (@airplouffe86) October 2, 2017

The funny thing is…

That was actually ME in the above video! This was a two tee drill video I did a long time ago for my old site SwingSmarter.com (not around anymore), between 2008 and 2010. Like many at the time, I was taught to swing down and through the baseball my whole career. This is where I agree AND disagree with Sean T. Plouffe’s comment to my video….

I agree, swinging down MUST not be a blanket teach, like many were taught in my era. However, I DISAGREE with him because ‘swinging down’ is VERY helpful to pitches middle in and middle up in the zone. And THIS is what guys like Sean DO NOT understand. They’re just as bad as the blanket ‘swing down’ coaches, but they use the opposite blanket teach, ‘swing up’! Click Here for a post I explain in depth why BOTH of these blanket teaches are WRONG.

One of my HS Frosh hitters swinging down at the beginning of one of our first lessons together. We’re using the RopeBat to fix this. Photo courtesy: ME

We’ll discuss:

‘That’s what he was taught’,
The journey that led me away from conventional wisdom, and
The bottom line… (how to fix)

‘That’s What he was Taught’…

Take this email I recently received from one of my readers, Bryan Nugent:

“Good morning,

My predicament is that over the last year or so I have been working with my son using your style (catapult loading) from your book. My son is like a night and day difference when he doesn’t load like you point out. Some of my cue words I tell him are tuck, hide, see and drive.

Tuck – for his shoulder

Hide – his hands

See – keep his eye on the ball

Drive – hit through the baseball

Ok, now to the issue his baseball coach is trying to get him to have a different approach, stance and pretty much a different swing all together. From what we have been working on. How would I or what is the best way to approach the Coach and tell him to leave his swing alone in your opinion?”

And here was Bryan’s response after I emailed him a couple questions…

“Thank you for responding to my email. My son is 10. This past Saturday morning before our first pool play game we went back to the cage and got back to doing what we have learned from you. His results were outstanding including a solo shot that the opposing coach told him he hasn’t ever seen a 10 yr old hit the ball that far before.

The coach is young(23) just graduated from a local college where he played baseball. Not knocking him in any way but when talking to him he states ‘that’s what he was taught’ quite a bit. So maybe since this is his first time to coach young boys he is trying too hard, if that makes sense.

I did talk to him a little bit and told him I would bring him your book so he can see where we are coming from. Hopefully he will see there are 2 ways to skin a cat to get the same result. Which is to be able to get the kids to reach there full potential. Thanks again”

Thank you Bryan for sharing and for your continued support. And yes, I asked his permission before sharing with you coaches.

The Journey that Lead Me Away from Conventional Wisdom

I can honestly say that I was where this young coach is when I first started teaching hitters. And I know many of you coaches out there, if you’re being honest with yourself, can relate.

I had stopped seeking knowledge about the swing…stopped reading…stopped asking questions. My mindset was VERY fixed.

Needless to say, I came to the realization that my hitters weren’t getting better. At the time, my local lessons weren’t growing. I was teaching what everyone in my area was teaching. There was zero differentiation. And you know what Mark Twain once said,

“When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect”.

It wasn’t till about 2011 that I started asking questions, and bought Jaime Cevallos’s book Positional Hitting (who’s a good friend of mine).

Then met Chas Pippitt of Baseball Rebellion, and helped him develop an online presence in 2012.

This was a good start, but there were still A LOT of unanswered questions that I had.

You see, I found a passionate curiosity for corrective human movement science back in 2005. I got educated by gathering a large wicker basket full of alphabet soup certifications. In a short time, I was training athletes and non-athletes by helping them troubleshoot their mobility and stability issues to improve performance or quality of life.

This led me down a rabbit hole that went pretty deep.

When my son was born at the end of 2012, I had an epiphany after reading a couple highly influential resources. I digested the following books over and over, using them to reverse engineer the swing from a human movement principles validated by science perspective:

Thomas Myers’s book, Anatomy Trains (no relation by the way),
Dr. Erik Dalton’s book, Dynamic Body,
Dr. Serge Gracovetsky’s book, The Spinal Engine, and
Dr. Kelly Starrett’s book, Becoming a Supple Leopard 2nd Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Resolving Pain, Preventing Injury, and Optimizing Athletic Performance

The Bottom Line…

If you’re a young coach – or more seasoned – who still teaches swinging down on the ball, squishing the bug, and that the hips are where the power is at…I know how you can feel married to these because you’ve put a lot of time, effort, and emotion into them while coaching and/or playing.

Believe me, I felt the same way. Looking back now, it was a form of collective wisdom brainwashing that runs rampant in baseball and softball circles.

Here’s what I found teaching young hitters to apply human movement principles that are validated by science to hitting a ball:

My hitters see and feel productive outcomes within a reasonably short amount of time (huge for getting them to ‘buy into’ the system),
The online and local lesson part of my business has increased 5-fold (the word is getting out!),
The coaches that learn this from me are getting the same productive results with their hitters – if not better (and their hitters are raising the eyebrows of other coaches), and
The best news is, the knuckleheads on social media have a VERY difficult time arguing the true science of the swing!

My recommendation is this:

Educate yourself like I did with previously mentioned books,
Question very things you teach by asking, “What don’t I know?”
Do swing experiments like I do to see if a hitting mechanic is inferior or superior to its counterpart (CLICK HERE for a post on how to do this), And…
Above-all, be big enough to swallow your pride, regardless of how many years coaching or playing, or if you had the privilege to coach or play at the highest level, and admit you may be wrong. Because let me tell you, many are, so you’re not alone.

Rest assured, if I can change, then so can you.

Believe me, your hitters will THANK YOU. Learning can start when ignorance admits its ignorant. You don’t know what you don’t know, right? Well, now you do 😉

2 Comments/by Joey Myers

Swing PreLoad And Coil Hitting Drills For Power To Increase Bat Speed At Home For Beginners

Swing PreLoad And Coil Hitting Drills For Power To Increase Bat Speed At Home For Baseball & Softball Beginners

Build More Power, Get On-Time

Discover swing preload and coil hitting drills for power learning how to increase bat speed at home for baseball and softball beginners.

What Everybody Ought to Know About Softball Batting Drills for Power…

This softball batting drills for power “Hit-Bit”, or hitting tid-bit, is an answer to questions from my readers when I asked them, “If you could have a private conversation with me, what two questions would you ask?” The answers are meant to be short, actionable, and tips you can use today.

Today’s Hit-Bit answers the reader questions:

“How much can your shoulders turn on the load? Do you transfer all your weight to the front leg at sometime during the forward swing?”

We’ll talk about:

The shoulder load & the “back eye” test,
Weight transfer & the ‘Float’, and
Weight transfer & the ‘Free-Fall’…

The Shoulder Load & “Back Eye” Test

I often relate the Goldilocks Golden Rule with my hitters. Some movements we can do too much. Some not at all. We want to practice softball batting drills for power, such as loading the torso, “just right”. And to make sure our hitters do this, in the video, I demonstrate the “back eye” test.

Weight Transfer & The ‘Float’

The “Float”, or as some call it a “negative move”, is a movement back towards the catcher before shifting the hitter’s body weight forward during the stride. It’s a timing mechanism. Hitter’s use different kinds of Floats: High, Medium, and Low Leg Kicks & Toe Taps. See link below for different examples of this…

Weight Transfer & the ‘Free-Fall’

For the definitive guide to the Free-Fall, or Forward Momentum, Click the following HPL post link: “Baseball Batting Techniques: Simple Way To Use Forward Momentum That Works For Elite Hitters“.

Please comment below with any questions or comments about this video post…

0 Comments/by Joey Myers

Turning Vs Pushing The Barrel: Modern MLB Bat Path Swing Drills To Fix Misguided Advice

Turning Vs Pushing The Barrel: Modern MLB Bat Path Swing Drills To Fix Misguided Baseball Or Softball Hitting

Build More Power, Case Studies

Discover turning vs pushing the barrel by looking at the modern MLB bat path from Andrew McCutchen. Learn drills to fix misguided baseball or softball hitting advice. Turning the barrel is fantastic for middle away and middle down pitches, while pushing the barrel is great for middle in versus middle up pitches, Click Here for a post I did on that.

Modern MLB Bat Path Swing Like Andrew McCutchen

In this video post, we’re going to talk about:

Discuss when barring the front arm is okay,
Explore the science of spinning fast vs slow,
See how effective The Cutch is at turning, and
Look at how to work on this at home.

CLICK HERE to watch the – 2 min, 5 second – PBS Circus Physics video about the Conservation of Angular Momentum, or turning faster.

Straightening the Front Arm Out…Good or Bad?

I’ve shifted my thoughts on this since doing this video back in 2014. I’d rather have my hitters bar their front arm out (or slight bend in front elbow) to and through contact. Click Here to watch an interview I did with Perry Husband of EffectiveVelocity.com about arm barring. This will answer all your questions on the topic.

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.

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The Science of Spinning Fast vs “Slow”

There are two Physics principles working with the Conservation of Angular Momentum:

When an ice skater moves her arms in towards her center-line while spinning, then her turning speed goes UP, but inertial mass goes DOWN.
And when an ice skater moves her arms away from her center-line while spinning, then her turning speed goes DOWN, but inertial mass goes UP.

What does this mean for hitters? Two additional things:

Firstly, swing tempo means something. If you accelerate a small part without the big part, then the spinning top becomes wobbly.
Secondly, you can’t “spin” faster and maximize force at contact, when inertial mass goes down.
And thirdly, the longer front arm accomplishes the best of three worlds: it promotes healthy swing tempo, increases inertial mass (balancing turning speed), AND encourages predictability in barrel path because it keeps the front arm shape at a constant versus the inconsistent “bending” of the front elbow taught by a few.

Did Cutch Pass the Turning Speed Test?

In the above Andrew McCutchen baseball hitting video, science clearly says that ‘Cutch’ can in fact turn faster during his Final Turn.

However in this Andrew McCutchen baseball hitting video, he can get away with it because of his shorter arm span in comparison to a hitter with a longer one, like Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera would have to stand farther off the plate to make an early arm bar work. Similar to what Ken Griffey Jr. did.

And as we’ll discover what force bleeding compensation he makes – possibly – because of his early arm barring in Part-3 of the Andrew Mccutchen baseball hitting video: Do This For Longer Drives video series.

UPDATED NOTES: Cutch is doing just fine in this swing analysis. Just how it’s suppose to be 😉

How Do We Practice a Faster Turn at Home?

Break the swing into two-steps: 1) To the Fight Position (Landing), and 2) the Final Turn
Use a mirror or batting tee
Video analysis feedback – either Coach’s Eye app (free for android) or Ubersense app (free for iphone)
Hitter “hides their hands from the pitcher”, while keeping front arm straight or with a slight bend
Going into the Final Turn, the hitter will try and “crush the proper catcher’s glove”

CLICK HERE for Part-3: Do This For Longer Drives: Andrew McCutchen baseball hitting video series, where we look to see if Cutch breaks the One-Joint Rule…If you missed Part-1, then CLICK HERE.

9 Comments/by Joey Myers

Online Hitting Lesson Swing Analysis Program To Increase Bat Speed And Power For Baseball Softball

Online Hitting Lessons Swing Analysis Increase Bat Speed And Power Program For Baseball & Softball

Build More Power, Move Better

Discover this online hitting lessons swing analysis program to increase bat speed and power for the baseball and softball swing.

The Sooner You Use These Baseball Exercises the Better

I was working on a feedback session with one of my online lessons Austin, from SoCal, the other day…

And I realized that yes, most of the time, fixes are swing specific, but other times…

It can be suggesting a corrective exercise to help stabilize the core better during the swing. In this post, I’m going to walk you through:

The late torso “tip”, and then
How to correct it with two simple baseball exercises…

The Late Torso “Tip”

Watch the quick analysis video above…

Basically it’s a late tipping of the torso towards the plate, at the waist. This can cause the head to lay parallel to the ground obstructing vision. Sometimes, the back shoulder and ear get closer to together (like Derek Jeter), which breaks, what Dr. Kelly Starrett calls, spinal integrity, and will bleed force at impact.

This can be caused by a dysfunctional Quadratus Lumborum (or QL). And, according to Thomas Myers of Anatomy Trains, an imbalanced Lateral Fascial Line.

How To Correct it with Two Simple Baseball Exercises

Here are the two exercises to help with lateral core stabilization during the Final Turn:

Side Plank (specific) – or CLICK HERE to view a side plank laying on the forearm (if you have wrist issues).
One-Sided Farmer’s Walk (integrated).

Here’s what the acute variables look like (for both baseball exercises)…

Week-ONE: 2 sets X 45 secs ea. side,
Week-TWO: 2 sets X 60 secs each side,
Week-THREE: 3 sets X 45 secs ea. side, and
Week-FOUR: 3 sets X 60 secs ea side.

Do these baseball exercises horizontally. In other words, do a set of side planks (both sides), followed by a set of one-sided farmer’s walks (both sides). Rest 60-seconds, then move onto set #2.

8 Comments/by Joey Myers

Baseball Vs Softball Swing: Beginner Hitting Drills & Mechanics To Hit Bombs Further

Build More Power, Case Studies

Discover the baseball vs softball swing and learn beginner hitting drills and mechanics to hit bombs further in this swing comparison between Aaron Judge and Sierra Romero.

Aaron Judge Home Run: Same As Sierra Romero?

Let me be up front with you in this Aaron Judge home run post. Some hitting coaches still think the baseball and softball swing are drastically different. I disagree…Bigly. Human movement is human movement. Sure there are undeniable anatomical differences in body type between males and females, and differences in reaction time from sport to sport…

But there’s virtually zero difference in explosive human movement when the swing objective is hit the ball as hard as you can, as far as you can…consistently. In this video analysis, I wanted to compare the swings of Sierra Romero and Aaron Judge. Don’t worry if you don’t know one or the other…you will by the end of this post.

Actually, you know what, if you don’t know either of these hitters, then SHAME ON YOU!!! 😛 lol

Kidding aside, and in my opinion, more baseball players can learn A LOT by watching Sierra Romero swing the bat than any Big Leaguer. It’s a bold thing to say, but it’s true.

In comparing Sierra Romero to Aaron Judge, we’ll compare the following components of an effective swing:

Key elements of the Catapult Loading System,
Weight Shift,
Sideways back foot, and
Getting/staying shorter.

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.

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Who is Sierra Romero?

Besides being my favorite swing model for Fast-Pitch Softball hitters, and according to the USSSA Pride website:

5-foot, 5-inches in height.
Sierra finished her rookie professional Fast-Pitch Softball season batting .339 in 109 at-bats with 18 runs scored, 37 hits, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 5 HR, 21 RBI and a .397 OBP.
First player in NCAA softball history (at Uni of Michigan) to record 300 runs, 300 hits and 300 RBI in her career.
Owns NCAA record in career runs (300) and grand slams (11). Ranks fourth all-time in career RBI (305) and slugging percentage (.882) and eighth in home runs (82) and walks (225).
Joined the USA Junior Women’s National Team (2012), ISF Junior Women’s World Championship Silver Medalist (2012).

Who is Aaron Judge?

Besides this guy being a friggin’ BEAST of a human being!? Here are some major talking points, according to Wikipedia.org and FanGraphs.com:

6-foot, 7-inches tall, and 282-pounds (imagine the parents that had to feed this guy!!) lol
Was a three sport athlete in High School (Football, Basketball, and Baseball).
Played at my Alma-mater, Fresno State, from 2010 and got drafted by the Yankees 32nd overall by the Yankees in 2013.
As of April 2017 Exit Velocity metrics, Judge clocked game batted balls of at least 115-mph SIX TIMES!! Joey Gallo was second with two.
Did I mention this guy is a BEAST?!

The Bottom Line…?

In comparing the swings of Sierra Romero and Aaron Judge, there are many BIG WIN mechanical similarities. They both hit for power and precision. The softball swing isn’t any different than its baseball counterpart. Power and precision don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Size doesn’t matter, however if you’re a beast like Aaron Judge the capability of hitting the ball farther with consistently higher Ball Exit Speeds is greater. What is clear however, is if you move better, then you perform better.

In the day and age of advanced technology and access to specific experts on human movement and Physics, there’s no room for coaches who resist getting educated. If you aren’t growing, then you’re dying.

17 Comments/by Joey Myers

Increase Power Hitting: Teach Kid Drills To Hit Baseball Or Softball Farther Like Khris Davis

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Learn how to increase power hitting by teaching a kid drills to hit a baseball or softball farther like Khris Davis.

Ball Exit Speed & Launch Angle Hacking With Khris Davis [Part-2]

Khris Davis swing analysis, and not to be confused with “Chris” Davis, the 1st baseman for the Baltimore Orioles! …they’re having two COMPLETELY different years 😛 lol This Khris Davis swing analysis is Part-2 to our series looking at one my 9yo online lessons, Ethan. In case you missed it, here you go:

Ethan case study The Feedback Lab online hit training video,
Khris Davis swing analysis video [YOU ARE HERE],
How to drills to fix (COMING SOON).

In the above Khris Davis swing analysis video, we’re going to look at:

Khris Davis stat analysis comparing 2015 & 2016 seasons to 2018,
Khris Davis swing analysis comparing 2015 & 2018 swings (when things seemed to have changed), and
Human movement principles 9yo Ethan is working on that Khris Davis does well.

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.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Khris Davis Stat Analysis Comparing 2015 & 2016 seasons to 2018

I wanted to share a recent and insightful Beyond The Box Score post on Khris Davis’s 2018 season titled: “Khris Davis is swimming against the current: As home runs continue to decline this season, Davis has counteracted the trend”

From the article, and since 2016, Khris Davis has improved tremendously, and here are just a few highlights:

2016 avg. Launch Angle = 12.9 degrees…2018 avg. Launch Angle = 17.7 degrees, and
2016 avg. Ball Exit Speed = 91.7-mph…2018 avg. Ball Exit Speed = 92.7-mph.

I think everyone understands how important hitting the ball hard is, but a lot out there are rejecting Launch Angles! They matter, check out this “Parabolic motion – range of a projectile” video (thanks Lee!)…

Optimized is key! Goldilocks golden rule, not too high, not to low…just right!

Furthermore,

Khris Davis is someone who has been good at hitting despite, as some will say, being poorly built for it – he’s 5-foot, 10-inches, 195-pounds. Compare him to Aaron Judge who’s 6-foot, 7-inches, and 282-pounds.

What’s also telling, according to Fangraphs.com, Khris Davis has steadily moved away from hitting ground-balls, pulling the ball less, and built a more frequent opposite field hitting approach. Compare 2015 to 2018 (stats experiencing most significant impact):

2015: GB% = 42.5%,
2018: GB% = 36.1%
2015: Pull% = 41.4%
2018: Pull% = 36.1%
2015: Oppo% = 20.1%
2018: Oppo% = 24.5%

Khris Davis Swing Analysis Comparing 2015 & 2018 Swings (when things seemed to have changed)

PLEASE NOTE: very similar pitch type, speed, location, and swing timing in above video:

2015 (w/ Brewers): 96-mph middle/middle, and
2018 (w/ A’s): 94-mph middle/middle-slightly in.

Mechanically speaking, here are a couple things I noticed:

Seems to be “stepping out”, slightly opening hips more at stride landing, while keeping shoulders “blocked”,
Slight difference in back foot behavior (could be a timing thing),
Back knee angle (about 10-degree difference),
Head in circle just after impact, could be direct result of change in back knee angle, and
Getting shorter from start to the turn (camera angle could be slightly different).

Human Movement Principles 9yo Ethan is Working on Khris Davis does well

If you remember in the Ethan case study The Feedback Lab online hit training video, his hitting homework was to work on the following positions at stride landing:

Showing numbers, and
Slight downhill shoulder angle…

In the above Khris Davis swing analysis video, we covered:

Khris Davis stat analysis comparing 2015, 2016 seasons to 2018,
Khris Davis swing analysis comparing 2015 & 2018 swings (when things seemed to changed), and
Human movement principles 9yo Ethan is working on that Khris Davis does well.

Stay tuned for Part-3, where we discuss drills…

7 Comments/by Joey Myers

How To Increase Bat Speed & Improve Hitting Power With Tee Drills for Baseball & Softball

Increase Bat Speed And Improve Hitting Power With Tee Drills For Baseball & Softball Youth

Build More Power, Hit More Line Drives, Swing Experiments

Discover how to increase bat speed and improve hitting power with these tee drills for baseball and softball youth players as young as 8 years old.

“Blocking” Like Jose Bautista: A Baseball Hitting Drills For Bat Speed Experiment

Question: Does Landing Bent with the Front Knee & then Straightening it, Add Bat Speed?

Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze if “Blocking”, or using Ground Reaction Forces (GRF), produces a significant gain in bat speed.

Background Research

Check out this YouTube video from ZenoLink about “Blocking”, or GRF:

CLICK HERE for a Wikipedia article defining Ground Reaction Forces. Quote from post:

“The use of the word reaction derives from Newton’s third law, which essentially states that if a force, called action, acts upon a body, then an equal and opposite force, called reaction, must act upon another body. The force exerted by the ground is conventionally referred to as the reaction, although, since the distinction between action and reaction is completely arbitrary, the expression ground action would be, in principle, equally acceptable.”

CLICK HERE for another baseball hitting drills for bat speed post I did about Edwin Encarnacion: A How-To “Blocking” Guide.

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.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Hypothesis

Based on the above baseball hitting drills for bat speed research and study, I think “Bent Knee Blocking” will produce more bat speed than “Straight Knee Blocking”. For some of you, this may be obvious. But the data comparing the two is quite interesting to see.

Baseball Hitting Drills For Bat Speed Experiment: “Blocking”

Equipment Used:

Zepp Baseball app,
SwingAway MVP Bryce Harper model,
Two yellow dimple baseballs (feedback markers),
Flip Video Camera and Tripod, and
33 inch, 30 ounce Pinnacle Bamboo bat.

Setup:

Yellow dimple ball feedback markers = my bat length, plus two baseballs
Distance from plate = end of the bat touching inside corner of plate, and knob of bat touching my mid-thigh.
SwingAway was set slightly behind the front feedback marker, and ball height was about the hip.
First 101 baseballs were hit with a landing leg angle of about 170-degrees.
Second 101 baseballs were hit with a landing leg angle of about 146-degrees.

Data Collected (Zepp Baseball App Screenshots):

Baseball Hitting Drills For Bat Speed: Blocking Experiment

Check out the differences in average bat speed and hand speed (red arrows)…

Data Analysis & Conclusion

6-mph average bat speed difference between “Straight Knee Blocking” versus “Bent Knee Blocking”,
2-mph average hand speed difference between “Straight Knee Blocking” versus “Bent Knee Blocking”,
The Average Time to Impact was about the same,
The average Bat Vertical Angle at Impact had a 6-degree difference, and
There was only 1-degree of difference between the Attack Angles.

Notes

I broke my swing into two steps (stopping momentum), to make sure I could accurately isolate the difference in the front knee action.
The “Bent Knee Blocking” 6-mph average increase is equivalent to 24-48 feet of batted ball distance (depends on the speed of the pitch).
What was interesting was the huge shift in Bat Vertical Angle at Impact. I suspect it’s because of the higher landing position, and the barrel compensated down to accommodate hitting the sweet spot.
Looking at the nominal increase in Attack Angle and the wide degree shift in Bat Vertical Angle at Impact, it looks like “Straight Knee Blocking” would lead to more mishits.
Like in this “Blocking” Experiment, baseball hitting drills for bat speed need to be put to the test. We can’t just feel something will increase bat speed. We must look at what the data says.

In Conclusion

From the Baseball Hitting Drills for Bat Speed Experiment data, we can see that “Bent Knee Blocking” produces more average bat and hand speed than “Straight Knee Blocking”. The other thing that landing with a bent knee does (approx. 146-degrees), is shrink the strike-zone. Or at least create an illusion that it’s shrinking, to the umpire. I call this “Getting Shorter”.

Coupled with forward momentum, the hitter is making a “cut”, much like a wide receiver would on an “L” route. Except instead of the wide receiver changing from the Sagittal (forward/backward) to the Frontal (sideways) Plane of motion, the hitter changes from the Frontal to Transverse (twisting) Plane of motion. And in order to do this, the “plant leg” needs to be bent in order to transfer Ground Reaction Forces efficiently. You’ll NEVER see an NFL wide receiver “cut” with a straight plant leg…they plant bent, then push into the ground to change directions.

6 Comments/by Joey Myers

3 Tips To Hit Line Drives Farther With Power And Square Ball Up Instead Of Hitting Ground Balls For Baseball, Fastpitch, & Slow Pitch Softball

Build More Power, Case Studies, Hit More Line Drives

Discover 3 tips to hit line drives farther with power and square the ball up instead of hitting ground balls for baseball, fast-pitch, and slow pitch slow pitch softball players.

Like Anthony Rizzo Swing Mechanics, You Too Can Optimize ‘Line-to-Line’ & Launch Angles By “Bending The Knee”?

We’ll be chatting about the following 4 things in the above Anthony Rizzo swing mechanics video:

Anthony Rizzo quick stat chat,
Bent front knee,
Sideways back foot, and
Spinal engine – pelvis opens, shoulders block…

There is a lot of misinformation out there that in order to have power, a hitter must straighten the front knee. When it comes to power, the causation-correlation of this is very vague. I’ve seen Rizzo hit a ball 460+ feet during batting practice with a bent front knee. He never straightened it.

Look, 70-80% of power is the spinal engine. Click Here if you don’t believe me. I go over a thought experiment where we look at a water polo athlete with the fastest throw in water, and compare him to fastest velo pitcher on the planet. Remember, the water polo thrower doesn’t have the luxury of Gravitational Forces.

Now, it can be argued the lower half (including and mostly because of the pelvis) is responsible for 20-30% of the power equation. Since the lower half rotates the least, I say the it’s priority is setting the direction of the hitter’s force. We achieve this through keeping the back foot sideways.

The spinal engine is at the heart of consistent power. The Thoracic and Cervical vertebrae act against each other like a wringing towel to pre-load the torso before stride landing. Then as the lower back and pelvis begin their limited rotation, they will complete the wringing towel effect on the lower half of the spinal engine – Lumbar and Thoracic.

4 Comments/by Joey Myers

Is Hitting For Power: Hips Before Hands, Hip Rotation, Legs, Or Lower Body Mechanics For Youth Baseball & Softball Swing? | Drills To Do At Home

Build More Power, Swing Experiments

Learn whether hitting for power is either or neither of: hips before hands, hip rotation, all in the legs, or lower body mechanics. You’ll discover useful youth baseball and softball swing drills to do at home.

Zepp Swing Experiment Attempting To Put Value On Role Of Pelvis In Swing

Question: How Much Does Pelvis Add to Bat Speed at Impact?

According to InnerBody.com, the pelvis is a sturdy ring of bones that protects the delicate organs of the abdomino-pelvic cavity while anchoring the powerful muscles of the hip, thigh, and abdomen. Several bones unite to form the pelvis, including the sacrum, coccyx (tail bone), and the left and right coxal (hip) bones. Photo courtesy: OrthoInfo.aaos.org

Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to employ the Scientific Method to analyze how much turning the pelvis (some refer to this as the hips) adds to Bat Speed at Impact. The ‘Front Facing Swings’ are an attempt to isolate out the role of the pelvis in the swing, so we can analyze how much the pelvis adds to swing performance.

Just a heads up, the “pelvis” and “hips” are not the same thing. The hips are a small part of the pelvis. However, most coaches refer to “hips” when instructing the swing, when most likely they mean “pelvis”.

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