Discover how to see the ball better with batting examples from this Mike Trout swing analysis.  Learn keep eye on the ball drills and head position in and still baseball or softball hitting tips for kids.

Mike Trout Video: Why Consistency Won’t Improve

 

 

Mike Trout: 3 Reasons Why Consistency Won't Improve

Posted to Hitting Performance Lab’s Facebook page…

…This three-part video series will analyze how to optimize vision, tracking, and timing.  This Part-1 video, featuring Mike Trout, will be unwrapping how the best mechanics in the world mean nothing without proper vision.  In this game, we live and die by how consistent we are.

In this post, we’ll go over:

  • Physically impossible to keep eyes on the ball,
  • How much and when head movement is okay, and
  • Building consistency with vision.

CLICK HERE for an interesting academic study on six elite female shot putters.  Results found head movement during rotation can influence the movements of the limbs and trunk.

Physically Impossible to Keep Eyes on the Ball

In a study by A. Terry Bahill, titled “Baseball Players Cannot Keep Their Eyes on the Ball”, his findings say this:

“We have shown that no one could keep his eye continuously on the ball as it flies from the pitcher to the plate.  For our professional athlete, the ball was always more than 2-degrees off his fovea before it came within 5-ft of the plate.  However, when the ball is off your fovea, you can still see with peripheral vision.  However, with peripheral vision, the ball would only appear as a white blur, you would not see details.”

The finding that was most interesting in the study, using University students as a control for the study, was:

“Most of our student subjects tracked the ball with either head movements alone or eye movements alone, but not both…After the ball crossed the plate, the students usually made large eye or head movements, whereas the gaze of the professional athlete was quite steady…The stance of our professional athlete was very repeatable.  At the beginning of the pitch, his head position was the same (within 1-degree) for each of the three experimental pitches we recorded.  When he was looking at the ball in the beginning of the experiment, his eyes were rotated 22-degrees to the left; his head was rotated left 65-degrees (yaw), was bowed down 23-degrees (pitch), and was tilted right 12-degrees (roll).”

The professional hitter in the study was right handed.

What’s interesting with hitters like Mike Trout, is that they have to use a bit of head and eye movement when tracking the incoming pitch.  Not one or the other. However, nobody on earth, EVER, has been proven to keep both eyes on a pitched ball continuously to home plate.

In the study, A. Terry Bahill said, in order to do that, the ball would have to be traveling at around 25-mph, in which case, it would NEVER reach home plate in softball or baseball.

 

How Much and When Head Movement is Okay

Olympic throwers move their heads forward (including Javelin, Discus, and Hammer).  Lacrosse players do too.  And so do Pitchers!

For a hitter like Mike Trout, forward head movement, dropping the “eye-line”,  are okay…until landing.  I say, get head movement out of the way early.  Mike Trout does strikeout quite a bit, which may be attributed to the dropping eye line.

The hitter told to “Sit back”, keeps the head still early, but moves it after the landing position and during the Final Turn.  This is not good for improving consistency.

 

Building Vision Consistency like Mike Trout

How-to improve consistency with vision:

  • Understand the swing is a “snapping towel” (forward first, then back),
  • Keep head in-line with spine,
  • Use the study finding parameters above, to know how much head and eye movement keeps consistency, and
  • Maintain a moderate swing tempo and relax the jaw (not over-swinging).

CLICK HERE for the Josh Hamilton Part-2 Video: Coaches Don’t Tell You This (About Timing)…

Discover overload and underload how to increase bat speed training for baseball and softball players in this Perry Husband from Effective Velocity interview.  Check out these heavy bat and light bat wood trainers for sale at TheStartingLineupStore.com

Overload Bat Training: Hitter Has To Work Butt Off To Resist “Casting”

 

 

Here’s the Hitting Jam Session Interview Collection with Perry Husband:

  1. Why You Should Not Teach Hitters To Hit Homers?
  2. What’s The Biggest Mistake Coaches Make In Boosting Ball Exit Speeds
  3. How To Make Teaching Proper Weight Shift In Swing More Understandable To Hitter
  4. Teach: How To STOP Hitting Excess Of Ground-balls & Fly-balls
  5. 5,000 Swing Experiments Validate Locked Lead Arm Is Superior To Bent
  6. [YOU ARE HERE] Overload Bat Training: Hitter Has To Work Butt Off To Resist “Casting”

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

  • WHY a hanging FB (located down/away) is more likely to get hit harder than hanging off speed or breaker,
  • How every Major League hitter locks lead arm, may not talk about it, may not practice it, but when they hit their hardest “bolt” – they’re doing it,
  • Overload training: WHY Heavier weight is better, especially end loaded, hitter has to work their butt off with end loaded to keep from “casting”,
  • How changing length of bat and weight helps hitter learn how to adjust timing – training body to be more sensitive to timing,
  • And much more!

Without further adieu, here’s Hitting Jam Session #6…

Show Notes

  • At about the 2-minute mark, Perry and I discuss putting together a subscription based coaching program for coaches which would have access to our courses and have weekly coaching calls to mentor coaches, Twitter bantar…pitching philosophy used to be 70% fastballs, mixed up/down & inside/outside, then moved to away/away and down/down because hitting was hard to lift far away, then hitters started lifting those pitches – Moneyball & analytics, hitters focus now on swinging up and everyone on the field can go oppo bomb, teams will start elevating fastballs which will set in motion more stuff, odds of “up swings” getting to high heat will be more challenging, is the idea of throwing fastballs down “stupid”?  Perry did micro study…MLB – RHP v. RHH: FB up/in = 84.6-mph BES, SL down/away = 82.2-mph BES, CB down/away = 80.1-mph BES, & CH down/in = 86.5-mph BES (chose pitches that would be in that FB tunnel), a hanging FB (located down/away) is more likely to get hit harder than any other hanging off speed or breaker because every hitter is focused on the FB.
  • At about 12-minute mark, Perry study comparing middle three, upper three, and above three part of the zone with off speed and breaking (hanging stuff) versus the bottom three parts of the zone with fastballs…he counted number of hitters that averaged 90-mph BES…12 to 1 hitters favoring fastball down versus changeup up (12X more likely to avg. 90-mph BES), not a fair study, just a ballpark, today more likely to hit a fastball down than a hanging changeup up,
  • At about 14-minute mark, locked lead arm follow up, reader saying not many hitters using locked lead arm…Williams and Choo both lock lead arm and pull the ball – can locked lead arm help going to opposite field, every Major League hitter locks lead arm, may not talk about it, may not practice it, but when they hit their hardest bolt – they’re doing it, Perry talks about one of elite Fastpitch Softball hitters in the country Todd Budke locked lead arm (YouTube video of him hitting oppo dinger) – facing guys that made Randy Johnson look like a thumber 80-86-mph velo from 46-feet, bent front arm results in more balls fouled back, evidence of what happens when guys hit up/in pitch – they’re doing it with bent lead arm, can we do better than that with locked lead arm?  What happens when all fastballs go away EXCEPT the up/in fastball?  The “adjustable” hitting mindset isn’t going to work anymore when pitchers get more EV efficient
  • At about 23-minute mark, do young hitters from High School on down learn how to “hunt” pitches or wait till pitchers get better? Thank God pitchers still make mistakes, but what pitchers are being taught right now is to stay down with fastballs, sliders, etc.  It’s predictable.  When pitchers TRY to be EV efficient, things will be troublesome for hitters, the basic hitting approach of today is like a 2-strike approach (the “adjustable” swing), the adjustment will be much harder for hitters when EV tunnels are enforced, will happen at Big League level first, Greinke example using certain pitches to take hitter’s attention away from where hitter’s strength is, creating shiny objects, get swing down right, then figure out how to apply it,
  • At about 33-minute mark, I ask Perry his advice on how to teach 6-8yo to get more on time, Inner Game of Tennis book drills – 100% on-time 100% effective with swing mechanics (not about swinging as hard as you can), take and control “A” swing – best swing, being on-time to that pitch,
  • At about 38-minute, 30-sec mark, Perry talks about over under load training, we talk about Axe Bat and DriveLine 20% over/under $600 system, Perry asked Gray Cook’s advice about over/under load training in 1992, Babe Ruth did overload training, end loaded is key, does Axe bat’s 20% over/under go far enough? No.  Is it effective? Yes, but it doesn’t go far enough, would you get stronger with light weight in gym?  Heavier weight is better, especially end loaded, hitter has to work their butt off with end loaded +10 and control line drives, hitters will “cast” with an end loaded bat – but hitter MUST keep that from happening, Perry over/under load study +10 and -10 results were astounding looking at video of players and data – consistency numbers went up and recruitment of lower half, fastpitch softball Frosh case study 6-weeks no change in mechanics went from 55-mph to 62 or 63-mph BES, Reactive Neuromuscular Training (RNT) – this is what overload training is doing, feeding the “mistake”, Cook bands, TheStartingLineupStore.com Anchor Bat +4 to +6 and -5 wood bats over/under load system, locked lead arm, end loaded bat, and releasing barrel into “belly button” catcher’s glove,
  • At about 58-minute mark, Perry’s effective velocity timing sticks, change length of bat and weight – hitter is learning to adjust timing, training body to be more sensitive to timing, using different size, color, weight balls, “Riiiiight Now” Drill for 6-8yos to train timing, keep conscious mind busy, so unconscious mind can get to work,
  • You can find Perry Husband at EffectiveVelocity.com, use EV25 coupon code for any of the online courses.  @EVPerryHusband on Twitter, and @PerryHusband on Facebook.

Learn how to Stop AND Fix missing under the ball, hitting too many popups, and late batting timing for baseball and fast-pitch softball players.  Discover how to swing the bat faster, for more power, and ultimately hit more line drives.

“Shorten Swing” Like An Elite Hitter (Not What You Think)

 

 

Ask any “self-proclaimed” hitting coach what a “short swing” is, and you’ll get many differing interpretations.  I think the problem is found in the debate of feel versus real.  If you ask professional and MLB hitters what they’re trying to do, and they’ll use phrases like:

  • “I’m trying to stay short to the ball”, or
  • “I’m trying to be compact”...

The challenge is these examples are so vague, they’re widely open to interpretation.  And give coaches that kind of slack, and they tend to “hang” their hitters.  For instance, take the following swing example of Kris Bryant:

 

 

Some coaches will say his swing is too long, and that ONLY Big Leaguers can have swings like this.  This is an EXCUSE.  Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark McGwire have been quoted as saying they swing/swung down on the ball.

You see, what elite hitters are feeling, and what we’re actually seeing on slow motion video (what’s real) can be two totally different things.  So how do we get our hitters to “swing shorter”, like Kris Bryant…?

…without using hitting aids, and using effective external coaching cues, which science says are far superior than internal ones (CLICK HERE to read this post about that).  Without further adieu, here’s the…

Shorten Swing Path Drill

In the above video we discuss:

  • Drill Objective: to help fix “casting”, “long”, or “bat drag” type swings.
  • Define “Long” versus “Short” swing
  • Finger Pressure for “connection”
  • Hitting the “catcher’s glove”:
    – “Ferris Wheel” versus “Merry-Go-Round”
    – Throwing barrel “sideways”
    – Using Variations
  • Ropebat as a supplemental hitting aid.

The following is the NEW Improved and Updated version of the video above…

Discover our online hitting lesson mechanics analysis program for the baseball or softball swing.  Learn how to increase bat speed and hit for more power with our remote instruction.  Check out 9 year old Ethan’s case study…

Hit Training: What Your Hitting Instructor Won’t Tell You & How It Can Save You Time And Money 

 

 

Before we dig into 9yo Ethan’s hit training case study 3-part series, I wanted to RANT on something that transpired this past week.  Where does the MAJORITY of power come from?  I recently posted this on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/HittingPerformanceLab/posts/1670819569714497

The comments under this post were a little confirmation bias because my readers – who know my hit training teachings – not shockingly responded with “C”.  Please note: the keyword is “majority” in that question.  Unlike my readers – who know better, in the social media reality I can tell you the majority teach the legs and/or hips (pelvis) to be the main driver of power.

This is what your hitting instructor won’t tell you and can save you time and money: Legs and/or hips aren’t the main drivers of power.

The hips (or better yet – the pelvis) are a start, making up 1/3 of the spinal engine.  And I can prove it with REAL science!  If you haven’t already, then please check out the following two posts, and you’ll see my reasoning:

The following video is the first link in “video” form, in case you want to “watch” the gist in 4-mins and 30-secs…

 

The week prior, I debated with a few “leg/hip drives majority of power” hit training gurus on Twitter, and I posed this question,

“Do legs drive the spinal engine, or does the spinal engine drive the legs?”

And I followed that question up with the following statement:

“The answer to that question will determine credibility in hitting mechanic circles” (something to that effect)

That caught some off guard.  Bold statement another well known said.  “Yes. It is,” I responded.  Tis’ the facts.  Some ask me, aren’t you afraid others will take this information, claim it without attribution, and take all the glory?  I say no, because Hitting Guru #57 is too stubborn to listen and learn.   They clutch to their hitting dogmas like a rich woman and her Prada walking through the “ghetto”.  And last time I checked, opinions ARE NOT facts.

Do you know how many Physical Therapists, Doctor MD’s, Physicists, Chiropractors, Engineers, and other Body Workers follow me?  A LOT!  If I was full of it – as my wife says – do you think THEY would be following me and offering kudos to what I’m doing?

Okay, RANT over.  Let’s move onto a young 9-year-old hitter, Ethan, that I’m VERY proud of.  He’s put in so much hard work, bought into the process (which is key), and has made fantastic strides with his swing in less than 6 short months…pun intended 😛

In this 3-part series we’ll be covering:

  1. Ethan case study The Feedback Lab online hit training video [YOU ARE HERE],
  2. Khris Davis Swing Analysis: Ball Exit Speed & Launch Angle Hacking With Khris Davis [Part-2],

In Part-1 (tippy-top video above), Hit Training: Catapult Loading System Like Andrew McCutchen [9yo 6-Month Case Study], we’ll be discussing:Hit Training: 9yo Ethan Case Study

  • How far Ethan’s swing has come,
  • What he’s working on next, and
  • Follow up notes about Ethan’s progress…

PLEASE NOTE: Ethan is still on the journey, his swing isn’t perfectly clean yet.  This is only a 6-month snapshot of how far his swing has come.  Don’t be that “guy” and judge his swing at this point in time, celebrate it!

How far Ethan’s Swing has Come

I keep notes on all my online hit training hitters at The Feedback Lab.  Here are a few things Ethan had working well for him before we started (Thanks Peter! – he’s dad btw):

  • Forward Momentum,
  • Good space between feet before the turn, and
  • Decent barrel path, not extreme down or up.

In Ethan’s first online hit training with me, I wanted to start working with him on:

Fast forwarding over the past six months together (six total online hit training sessions), our working strategy methodically moved to other human movement principles such as:

By the way, I don’t typically cover this much in such a short period of time with a 9-year-old, but Ethan was ON IT!!  Diligent with getting in his 4-5 days per week, for at least 5-mins per day.  He worked the process like a ROCK STAR, and is one of the many reasons I’m so proud of him 😀  Ethan is a coaches dream client!

What’s that famous quote…? “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t show up.” Yah, that’s Ethan.

Now, let’s move on to…

 

What Ethan’s Working on Next…

As many of you coaches or instructors who do hit training for a living, every hitter has one or two things their brain/body doesn’t want to give up easily.  These stubborn challenges don’t go away without a fight.  Here are Ethan’s:

  • Showing numbers to the pitcher at landing, and
  • Taking Slack Out of the System to landing.

You’ll see in Part-2 of this series when we look at high level MLB hitters, the key to these two human movement principles is to get that “shape” at stride landing.

Okay, so let’s move on to…

 

Follow up Notes about Ethan’s Progress…

Here’s some of the hit training dialog over the past few months between Peter (dad) and I via email…

“Joey, hope all is well and you’re enjoying the summer. Attached is Ethan latest video from this weekend. We took a week off while on vacation at the end of June, but Ethan’s been great the last three weeks getting in 5-6 sessions a week. He really likes these round of drills and tells me he’s feeling more power. You’ll see he’s changed up his stance a bit. He made that change naturally while working through the drills.  Thanks Joey looking forward to your feedback!” – Peter (Mon, Jul 16, 2018)

After sharing these particular hit training “marching orders”, Peter said this…

“Thanks Joey, great feedback and analysis as always. The great part is that I’m also learning from you as we continue along. As I was getting ready to send you the last video I was seeing a lot of what you discussed in your analysis; keeping the shoulder angle and showing numbers to landing, and the top hand coming off way too soon. But I was struck by the consistency with his swing, every one had good barrel angle at landing, head movement after landing is way down and as you mentioned you can really see a much more confident swing!  Thanks again Joey, we couldn’t be happier! Looking forward to getting back at it! Talk again in a few weeks!” – Peter (Thursday, Jul 19, 2018)

And finally, after sending the most recent “tippy top” hit training video analysis above to Ethan and Peter, and after asking permission to share that video with you all, Peter said this…

“Joey, absolutely, we’d be honored and he’ll be so excited. It’s funny because I was also going to send you a note today. We did the taking the slack out drill for the first time yesterday, ran through it doing break it apart and then we always finish up our sessions with about 30 soft toss balls. The first soft toss ball he did it beautifully and he just says “oh wow”, I asked him if he felt the difference and his eyes light up and he says “oh yeah, I crushed it but didn’t even feel the ball it just jumped off the bat.”  Thanks for everything Joey! Looking forward to seeing the blog post!” – Peter (Wednesday, September 5, 2018)

Learn how to increase power by hitting a baseball or softball better, farther, and harder.  Discover how in this Babe Ruth swing mechanics analysis.

Baseball Hitting Drills For Power That Babe Ruth WOULD BE Talking About

 

 

Baseball Hitting Drills for Power: Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth post impact…notice he’s not ‘squashing the bug’ with his back foot? 😉 Photo courtesy: ABCNews.com

This baseball hitting drills for power video post, featuring Babe Ruth, was recorded on Jun 11, 2013 for my old hitting site Swing Smarter Baseball Hitting Drills dot com (not online anymore).  I’m going to revisit the information in this post because…

The coaching cues I teach now are a bit different, but what hasn’t changed are the human movement principles brought to light in the analysis.  Since I created the video, it’s amassed over 151K views on YouTube.

Probably more now that you’re reading this.  And by the way, the baseball hitting drills for power tips we’ll be covering work REALLY well for softball players too.

Don’t believe me?

CLICK HERE for a recent post I did discussing how similar the baseball and softball swings are.  Be sure to read some of the comments at the end of the post, where I asked my readers who coach softball players, to share how these same human movement principles are working for their girls.

In this baseball hitting drills for power post, we’ll REVISIT and ADD information to the above video:

  • What Forward Momentum looks like in Babe Ruth’s swing,
  • How The Babe uses the Springy ‘X’ Pattern, and
  • Compare how WR holding Shot Putter Ulf Timmerman uses the same human movement principles…

Baseball Hitting Drills For Power: What Forward Momentum Looks like in Babe Ruth’s Swing

I mention a few things in the video…

How The Babe seemingly throws his body (or hips) forward, making an aggressive move towards the pitched ball.

This looks very similar to a pitcher falling down the mound.

There was no ‘push off’ with his back leg, just a natural fall forward with his front leg catching him at stride landing.

In the above video, I also mention, how Babe Ruth commits his body weight forward, similar to how we walk…

A person’s body weight is shifted forward to the swing through leg, as the heel approaches the ground.

Unlike a cat taking a tentative step forward as if the ground is going to give way, we don’t walk by ‘sitting back’ at every step forward.

We walk more like dogs! Committing forward with EVERY step.

And this is WHY we shouldn’t be teaching hitters to ‘Sit back’ when hitting.  Unless of course, you want to create timid and defensive swinging hitters that WILL reach a ceiling at the lower levels.

Now, using this same Babe Ruth style fall is where baseball hitting drills for power semi-fork away from fastpitch softball hitters.

Because of a shortened pitching distance and reaction time, we’ll see forward momentum look more like Lauren Chamberlain’s shifting foot pressure in the following video:

 

 

In this video, she starts super wide with her feet, but you’ll see her shift her weight back, then forward (watch her body move away from the grounded heavy bag behind her).

This is still a form of Forward Momentum.  Just more tailored for a fastpitch hitting strategy.

In the above Babe Ruth video, I mention Un-Weighting, or the Un-Weighting Principle.

CLICK HERE for an HPL video demonstrating a test I use to get my hitters ‘buying into’ Forward Momentum benefits.

The bottom line with forward momentum is that it increases a hitter’s reaction time by giving them a head start.

It’s easier to change planes of motion when you’re already moving…rather than standing still like purely rotational hitters.

Does it take more energy to push a car when it’s already moving, or at a dead stop?

We want effortless power, NOT a powerless effort.

Are you concerned about too much head movement?

Check out these FOUR posts that address that issue:

How The Babe Uses the Springy ‘X’ Pattern

CLICK HERE for an HPL post talking about the science of tension/compression forces in the body, known as fascia.

CLICK HERE for another HPL post analyzing the swing of Adrian Gonzalez highlighting the Springy ‘X’ Pattern.

I call this piece of my hitting system the Catapult Loading System.  This online video mini-course teaches exactly how to manipulate springy fascia for repeatable power.

Here’s one of my favorite YouTube interviews with Thomas Myers, who does a GREAT job explaining the role of springy fascia in the body, so the Layman understands:

 

 

Thomas Myers authored the book Anatomy Trains, which I highly recommend as a MUST read to anyone serious about teaching hitting.  The information in his book holds the key to how hitting will be taught 5 years from now.  BELIEVE IT.

Baseball Hitting Drills For Power: Josh Donaldson Springy 'X' Pattern

Watch how Josh Donaldson manipulates the Springy ‘X’ Pattern. Photo courtesy: YouTuber PastimeAthletics & PicPlayHost

There a couple baseball hitting drills for power points I’ve recently changed, when teaching hitting, different from the information in the Babe Ruth video above (thanks Lee Comeaux for pointing these out)

  • #1 – I don’t focus on the shoulders facilitating the Springy ‘X’ Pattern anymore, but the armpits (view Josh Donaldson RED ‘X’ image to the right). This is where, as Thomas Myers puts it, the Front Arm Fascial Line passes through connecting bottom of the left hand and arm, across the chest, to the bottom of the right hand and arm.
  •  #2 – Notice how Babe Ruth seems to be ‘hunched’ over from the start of his swing into loading the Springy ‘X’ Pattern? Dr. Kelly Starrett calls this global flexion of the spine.  This allows the spine to decompress. In his book The Spinal Engine, Dr. Serge Gracovetsky talks about this ‘hunched’ posture as the Posterior Ligamentous System (PLS) turning on, which acts like a harness supporting the spine under load.  There’s less muscle activation when this happens.  Think about a fishing rod bending under the weight and energy of a fish catching bait.  This keeps the spine vertebrae safe through torsion forces.

PLEASE NOTE: the hitter still MUST show numbers and get a slight downward shoulder angle, but we’re using a better coaching cue to get the mechanical outcome.

 

Compare How WR Holding Shot Putter Ulf Timmermann uses the Same Movement Principles

Ulf Zimmermann holds the World Record in the Shot Put using the Glide technique.

Check out his World Record throw on September 22nd, 1985 at a distance of 22.62 meters (about 25 yards):

 

 

What a BEAST!  By the way, that iron cannonball he just tossed, almost the quarter length of a football field, weighs 16-pounds!!

Three eerily similar baseball hitting drills for power tips you’ll find with Ulf Timmermann’s record breaking ‘Glide’ technique and Babe Ruth’s swing are:

  1. Ulf Timmermann gets his weight aggressively moving forward with a combination of back leg push off and front leg ‘reaching’ momentum.  What Ulf does with his front leg is similar to a Broad Jumper using their arms to build momentum before a jump.
  2. You also see Ulf Timmermann employing the same Springy ‘X’ Pattern, however more extreme than The Babe (track his compressed armpit and opposing hip).  Ulf is more extreme with the ‘turn in’ because Babe Ruth still has to keep his eyes forward to hit a ball coming towards him, whereas Ulf has the freedom to look away from his target.
  3. You also see both Ulf and The Babe ‘getting shorter’ before exploding rotationally (compare knee bend). They’re both using Ground Reaction Forces very well.

CLICK HERE for a baseball hitting drills for power video post I did outlining the ‘Back Eye Test’, so hitters don’t turn in too much, like Ulf.

A Couple Interesting Tid-Bits from YouTube Video Comments

  • “Excellent video. I recommend everyone read The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs. You will be even more amazed with his achievements.” – YouTube user: Gto1927
  • One commenter said this video shows why The Babe hit for so much power, but also struck out A LOT. However, Baseball-Reference.com puts Babe Ruth’s 162-game batting average at .342 with 86 strikeouts per year. How about Chris “Crush” Davis? Same numbers: .255 BA & 200 K’s/year.  I don’t think The Babe struck out that much…what do you think? 😉
J.D. Sullivan Hitting4Contracts.com

J.D. Sullivan hitting…

Discover how to use lower half ground forces in this hitting mechanics breakdown.  Learn proper weight transfer and footwork drills for youth baseball and softball beginner swings.

3 Shocking Mistakes Killing Your Effortless Power

You guys are in for a treat… (also, make time to go through the comments at the end of the blog post.  There are a ton with REALLY good information!!)

I wanted to share with you a 1991 article published in Hardball Magazine about hitting.  Keep in mind that video motion analysis was virtually non-existent at that time.  Video cameras resembled what Michael J. Fox held in the movie Back To The Future 😛 lol

The information contained in the following two pages is eerily similar to what we talk about here at HPL.  Even down to the “buzz” words used.  And just to let you know, the ‘3 Shocking Mistakes…” are covered in the below article.  By the way, I’ve never come into contact with the gentleman I’m about to introduce until now…

The author of the published post, Jim Sullivan (J.D.), has accumulated the following credentials with his hitters over the last couple decades (from his website: Hitting4Contracts.com):

  • 7 First Round Draft Choices,
  • $20,000,000 (million) in Signing Bonuses,
  • Players Drafted or Signed 60 Times, and
  • Millions in Scholarships.

And he did this completely under the radar.  As he said, to escape coaches punishing his hitters in their lineups.  My hitters have received the same treatment, much like a lot of yours.  Crazy how fragile a 40+ year old male ego is when it comes to hitting!

One of the hitters J.D. worked with at both the amateur and professional levels was Troy Glaus:

“JD introduced me to key concepts that are essential to my approach to hitting. Concepts that you won’t find anywhere else. I first met him in 1991 and have since spent serious one on one hitting time with him (as both an amateur and pro).  I have seen him greatly increase power in not only individual hitters but also entire teams.”

For those that don’t remember Troy Glaus, he was a World Series MVP, American League Home Run Champion, Four Time All Star, 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. Angels #1 Draft Pick 1997, # 3 overall.

J.D. reached out to me via comment on my baseball swing mechanics “Squish the Bug” experiment YouTube video.  Without further adieu, here are the two pages of the published article in 1991…

J.D. published post on hitting in 1991

 

Page 2…

J.D. published hitting article in 1991

What are your thoughts on the article?

Discover how to increase hitting power consistency.  Learn how to teach a kid to hit a baseball or softball farther and harder using the Catapult Loading System principles like Fernando Tatis Jr’s swing!

Fernando Tatis Jr Hitting Mechanics Video Part-1

 

 

In the above Fernando Tatis Jr hitting mechanics video, we’re going to discuss:

The following is the Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting mechanics video transcription.  After you enjoy this analysis, then check out Part-2 Here.

Enjoy!

0:05
Hey, what’s going on? It’s Joey Myers from the Hitting Performance Lab, and in this Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting mechanics video, we’re going to go over a couple things.

0:13
First, we’re going to start with a couple fan graph points of interest, and then we’re going to go over how Fernando Tatis Jr. uses Catapult Loading System principles. And lastly, we’re going to touch on how he stays sideways using his lower half.

Fernando Tatis Jr. Hitting Mechanics Fan-graph Stats…

0:30
A couple things worth noting in the fan-graphs article, as you can see that he is 6’3″, 185 pounds. I may be wrong but that’s about what Ted Williams was coming into the league. You could see comparing his 2019 and 2020 seasons, obviously 2020 is going to be quite shortened and 60 games season.

0:53
You can see that with almost half of the amount at-bats, plates appearances. He’s got almost as many doubles, and almost as many homers as he did in 2019, where he played in 84 games. And then you can see in his line drive, ground-ball, fly-ball rates that again, this is about half the amount of games in 2019, he played in, and then he’s got about half or so that he’s played in 2020.

1:24
You can see that, of course, these numbers, the data is going to be a little skewed because there’s lower data points, but you have a 22.4% line drive rate league average is 20. Got 16.3 here this year, ground-ball percentage is about average last year 46.6%, or 43% is average. So he’s a little bit above average. A little bit even more above average of 48.2 this year, and then his fly-ball rate has gone up from last year. He’s at 38, or 30.9%, which league average tends to be, league averages about 34%.

1:58
And then he’s almost about average on his fly ball percentage but increasing about 5% from last year to this year. Again, we’re talking lower data points.

Catapult Loading System Principles

2:07
Alright, let’s really dig into this Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting mechanics video, we’re going to look at the Catapult Loading System principles. The best view for these, for most of them, is from the pitchers view. Just to give a little context to this pitch, you can see the location is about up and in, up and in part of the strike zone. And the pitch, you can’t see it on the screen. I can’t see it on the screen, but it’s flashing a nine, here. So it’s 90 plus for sure. 92. There you go 92 miles an hour.

Neck Pressure – Showing Numbers

2:34
And now let’s check out and one of the big principles is showing numbers or what we call neck pressure, creating neck pressure where the head becomes an anchor point anchors in a tracking position. That front shoulder scap protraction for those kinetic nerds out there, is coming underneath the front chin, shoulder’s sliding under the chin, head is holding it’s anchored tracking position.

3:01
And you’re going to see Fernando Tatis Jr. in these hitting mechanics, you can see him show his numbers on his back because of what that front shoulder is doing moving underneath to pass the chin.

Hiding Hands – Scap Pinch

3:14
The other thing he’s doing the other big one is the scap pinch. Some of you might know it as a scap row. You can see the back elbow will peek out behind him. Again the head is at an anchor point and he is doing like a rowing motion with that back arm and scap, and you’ll see that back elbow peek out from a pitchers view. Does a very good job.

3:41
We also call this like wringing the towel out, so the head is the top one and the neck, and the shoulders are at the bottom and we’re wringing the towel out. The head anchors in a tracking position and the shoulders rolling beneath and their limitation… They’re limited by how much the head allows them, front shoulder allows the front shoulder to come in, and then it’s also about the back shoulder retracting the scapula retracting back. It’s all limited by the head in the tracking position.

Downhill Shoulder Angle

4:09
The other big principle of the three big Catapult Loading System rules is a downhill shoulder angle. Now Fernando Tatis Jr. in his hitting mechanics, he doesn’t really get a really high back elbow, you see some hitters like trout will do to angle those shoulders down. He actually keeps his back elbow about the height of his back shoulder.

4:32
But you’re going to see this front shoulder dip down a little bit almost like we talk about to our hitters, like the alligator when greater less than signs. So the front shoulder and hip becomes a closed alligator and the back shoulder and hip becomes an open alligator.

4:50
So we want to close the alligator on the front side, so we angle the shoulder slightly down again, slightly down between 6 to 10 degrees down and that goes for both fast-pitch softball and baseball slightly down. If you do it too much, you’re going to end up with a big fat uppercut, slightly down, and then we turn from there. Okay, those are the big three of the Catapult Loading System principles.

Staying Sideways with the Back Foot…

5:13
Let’s touch on, see how he stays sideways with that back foot. In baseball and softball, we’re dealing with 90 degrees of fair territory. So we have to manage our bodies effectively within that 90 degrees.

5:29
To do that we can’t over rotate our lower half rotation is okay, at the lower back but not too much. 7 to 12 degrees of rotation is what the lower back the lower lumbar is allowed. Seven to 12 degrees of rotation. The bones in the lumbar aren’t made to rotate, they’re only made to flex and extend. You can check it out, research it. They aren’t made to rotate. The rotation that you see is from the muscles surrounding the bones.

5:58
So we want to allow the lower half to decide our directional force or guide our directional force between the 90 degrees of fair territory. So we do not want our hitters over rotating. What we commonly see is that back foot over rotating.

6:14
But you’re going to see here, in this Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting mechanics video is, you’re going to see that back heel not rotate all the way over like you see a lot of young hitters do, and he’ll actually push it backwards. You can see it going backwards right here. He gets it almost to vertical, and then he pushes it backwards.

Shifting Foot Pressure?

6:33
We call this at Hitting Performance Lab, shifting foot pressure. So what generally happens is we’ll see foot pressure on the outside of the back foot, at this point at the stride, all the way to the touchdown, inside of the front foot.

6:47
Then when stride touchdown hits, you’re going to see Fernando Tatis Jr. hitting mechanics, he is going to shift his foot pressure to the opposite sides of each foot. So where he’s inside the front foot, outside the back foot. Now you’re going to see him shifting to the inside of the back foot, outside of the front foot.

7:07
Simple move sideways. You can practice this in your bedroom just shifting back and forth like a dance, shifting your footwork back and forth. Each foot sideways is going to be opposite of the other, where the foot pressure is. So as the swing starts, you’re going to see foot pressure outside. Again, back foot. It’s going to shift to the inside of the back foot outside of the front foot. You’re going to see him stay inside, see the back heel, you might see it get close to vertical but you’re never going to see it pop over towards the plate.

7:40
And then you’ll see him actually shift it even farther backwards behind him where we say trying to line up this back butt cheek with the back heel, see the outside of the front foot foot pressure, see it go from inside, to outside, and then the back foot… we’re going from outside to inside. And then as he’s swinging here, you’re going to see that back he’ll push even farther behind him.

8:07
You can see the bottom of his cleat here, again, remember this pitch was up and in. So you’re going to see more the bottom of the cleat, especially when it’s middle in possibly middle up depending on how close the ball is, you’re going to see the ball or the, you’re going to not see as much of the bottom of the front cleat if the ball’s middle away or middle down.

8:26
But you can see that shifting foot pressure beautiful for keeping the hitter effectively between the 90 degrees of the field. Alright, remember in this Fernando Tatis Jr hitting mechanics video we talked about:

  • Fan-graphs and a few stats there and how he’s 6’3″, 185 similar to the long lanky Ted Williams body back in 1938 or 39 when he broke into the league.
  • We talked about some examples of the Big Three the Catapult Loading System that Fernando Tatis Jr is using, and
  • We also ended on how he stays sideways using the shifting foot pressure and using his lower half effectively.

9:09
Make sure that we’re swinging smarter by moving better. And before I let you go…

In this Rope Bat review, you’ll discover a swing training aid to fix youth bat drag in baseball and softball hitters.  Learn about “shifting foot pressure” in this modern hitting mechanics video guide swing breakdown.

Baseball Swing Drills: Improve Bat Lag & Forward Momentum On The On-Deck Circle With The RopeBat

 

 

This is Part-2 of a 3-part baseball swing drills Ropebat (works well for softball too) video series coming straight out of the Reaction Time Mastery online video course…

Baseball Swing Drills Ropebat: Reaction Time Mastery

Sick of struggling to get your hitters on-time, balanced, and keeping high Ball Exit Speeds, especially while hitting off-speed and breaking pitches?  This online video course (7-modules total) reveals cutting edge science on the topics of: Vision, Tracking, Timing, and Forward Momentum.  Finally, you’ll be able to track pitches crystal clear, accelerate reaction time decision-making, & get ON-TIME without losing swing effectiveness with this “secret” online video course you can’t live without.

If you haven’t already, then CLICK the Link below to…

In this baseball swing drills video, we’ll discuss the following:

  • Rope Bat benefits to bat lag,
  • Forward Momentum Drill using Rope Bat, and
  • Top-hand finger pressure bat lag drill…

Baseball Swing Drills RopeBat Benefits to ‘Bat Lag’

‘Bat Lag’ is the beautiful result of fascial lines in the torso being CONNECTED to what the explosive rotational athlete is holding in their hand or hands.

See image of Josh Donaldson to the right.  Look how his hands are positioned between his elbows (odd camera angle to see this I know).

Which is to say, the barrel position in space and time in this image is perceived by A LOT of coaches as being waaaaay too long.

They add that Josh Donaldson is just strong and can get away with a ‘long barrel’ like that.

And they’re WRONG.  Dead wrong!!

The difference between ‘The Bringer of Rain’, and those youth hitters that DO HAVE long swings is this…

‘Bat Drag’ (the evil one) is one of a racing back elbow.

The following baseball swing drills using the Rope Bat, particularly the Top-Hand Finger Pressure Drill, will be a lethal combination to crushing the ‘EVIL ONE’…

Forward Momentum using Rope Bat

Baseball Swing Drills Ropebat: Mickey Mantle Shifting Foot Pressure

The Mick’s first phase of shifting foot pressure. Photo courtesy: http://s685.photobucket.com/user/BillBurgess

In the HPL article titled, “Crush the Ball Like Mickey Mantle”, I went over his shifting foot pressure (aka Forward Momentum.  Quoted from the article,

“We can see from the moment he lifts his stride foot to that foot touching down that his foot pressure looks like this:

  • Back foot pressure – is on the outside, and
  • Stride foot pressure – is on the inside.

As Mickey Mantle’s stride foot lands the foot pressure shifts as follows:

  • Back foot pressure – moves to the inside, and
  • Stride foot pressure – moves to the outside.”

Before using shifting foot pressure baseball swing drills using the Rope Bat, a hitter must FIRST get comfortable executing shifting foot pressure without a bat, then with, then progressing to using the Rope Bat.

These are the proper progressions to get a younger hitter acclimated to the new skill.

 

Top-Hand Finger Pressure Bat Lag Drill using RopeBat

Baseball Swing Drills Ropebat: Finger Pressure

We used a couple ‘racing back elbow’ fixes for Zack, but it wasn’t until we used top hand finger pressure, that the fix stuck. It took two 30-min sessions, a week apart.

Nothing banishes Bat Drag like top hand finger pressure…

Bottom three fingers of the top hand only (pinky, ring, and middle fingers)…

Start squeezing these fingers when the hitter picks up their front foot, and hold the finger pressure well past impact.

This activates the springy fascia connecting what Thomas Myers, in his book Anatomy Trains, calls the Front Arm Lines to the multiple lines mapped throughout the torso.

CLICK HERE for the “Babe Ruth Reveals Hand Tension?” Zepp swing experiment I did testing this.  And a big THANKS goes out to Lee Comeaux for shedding even more light on this strategy.

Like I mentioned earlier, combining top hand finger pressure while swinging the Rope Bat, is a LETHAL combination for crushing ‘Bat Drag’.

Improve a hitter’s ‘Bat Lag’ and shifting foot pressure by having them swing the Rope Bat on the on-deck circle.

Unfortunately, you can’t hit baseballs, softballs, or tennis balls with it.  But whiffles are fine.  However, I think the magic in the Rope Bat, is in dry swings anyway. Baseball swing drills (works well with softball too) that promote a hitter’s tempo and cadence are worth their weight in gold.

Discover the power of Sybervision systems motor skill acquisition.  Using elite swing modeling, you can easily see why squishing the bug during the baseball or softball swing is bad.  And what weight transfer and footwork is suppose to look like.  Learn how the best keep their head hitting position still, down, and their eyes “on” the ball.

Watch Perfect Action Over And Over, Subconscious Mind and Muscle Memory Will Start To Incorporate The Actions…

 

 

(Disclaimer: my swing isn’t perfect, so please be nice in the comments.  Not even the fat old guy with the burner accounts and glasses has a perfect swing).

I had heard of Sybervision back in the early to mid-1990’s, when someone told me about a Baseball With Rod Carew instructional VHS hitting video you could watch over and over of him hitting, and “magically” you’d start moving just like him!  At least that’s what I thought about it at the time, but there actually is some merit to it.

Some call Sybervision the Neuropsychology of self discipline, and has a basis in visual modeling — how we  learn and assimilate (neurologically, psychologically, and cognitively) skills and behaviors from the observation of others.

It is based on research conducted by Steve DeVore, and Dr. Karl Pribram, a brain scientist (who postulated the holographic brain theory) at the Stanford University’s Neuropsychological Research Laboratories.

One of the grand-dads of two hitters I worked with this past summer, Paul Rosemont, said this of Sybervision:

“The Sybervision concept is that if someone watches perfect action over and over, their subconscious mind and muscle memory will start to incorporate the actions. It’s ideal to view it before practicing but just viewing it is still supposed to work. The system was used years ago on college and Olympic level athletes.”

By the way, Paul took the time to have my swings edited into the above video we’re sharing with you today, using the Sybervision technique.

Along the same lines, utilizing shorter clips of Big Leaguers, and without the different views, one of my online lesson dads Victor Canseco made the following two videos using the same Sybervision concept.  They’re cropped to specific aspects of the swing, to help his son Harrison get the concepts we were working on with him…

 

Back Foot Skip

 

 

Please CLICK HERE for the Back Foot Variance Drill I use with my hitters.

 

Head Movement & One-Joint Rule

 

 

Please CLICK HERE for the One-Joint Rule Drill I use with my hitters.

Thank you Paul and Victor!

Learn how to keep a hitter’s head position still, eyes on the ball, and see the baseball or softball better hitting with stride length.  Discover how in these batting swing drills.

Why Late Head Movement Fails & Early Head Movement Succeeds

 

 

This is Part-3 of a 3-part softball hitting tips for kids (works well for baseball too) video series coming straight out of the Reaction Time Mastery online video course…

Softball Hitting Tips for Kids: Reaction Time Mastery

Sick of struggling to get your hitters on-time, balanced, and keeping high Ball Exit Speeds, especially while hitting off-speed and breaking pitches?  This online video course (7-modules total) reveals cutting edge science on the topics of: Vision, Tracking, Timing, and Forward Momentum.  Finally, you’ll be able to track pitches crystal clear, accelerate reaction time decision-making, & get ON-TIME without losing swing effectiveness with this “secret” online video course you can’t live without.

If you haven’t already, then CLICK the Link below to…

Get Access to The Reaction Time Mastery Online Video Course

In this softball hitting tips for kids video post, we’ll be answering the following reader questions:

“What is your opinion of FOMO’s [Forward Momentum] impact on being able to hit the curveball? Wide stance vs. Narrow Stance in relationship to FOMO. Does wider give more balance and ability to see the ball better, recognize curveball?”

We’ll discuss:

  • Myth of ‘keeping the head still’,
  • Proprioception & dynamic movement,
  • First baseman stretching to receive a throw, and
  • Watching TV upside down…

Myth of ‘Keeping the Head Still’ 

Softball Hitting Tips for Kids: Sierra Romero Head Movement

Use the blue pole (red arrow is pointing to) as a frame of reference, and compare to Sierra Romero’s head position…down and forward. Photo courtesy of YouTube user: Tony Jimenez

CLICK HERE for a post I did analyzing Mike Trout’s swing titled, “Why Consistency Won’t Improve”.  I cited a study that found it’s a physical impossibility to continuously follow the ball to the plate (for both baseball and softball), with both eyes, unless the ball is traveling 21mph, in which case, it wouldn’t make it to EITHER plate.

As the Bahill study in the above article suggests, it’s critical the hitter uses both head AND eye movements for tracking.  And even more vital, is that the hitter is consistent with the pitch, roll, and yaw positions of the head.

CLICK HERE for a very candid Washington Post article featuring Greg Maddux titled, “Baseball Hall of Fame: Greg Maddux used methodical approach to get to Cooperstown”.  He discussed how to make every pitch he threw look eerily similar to the hitter.

He likened this strategy to how the eyes make adjustments to driving on the freeway at high speeds.  In other words, even though the odometer has read 70-mph for the past hour, your eyes may perceive your speed to be 30-mph.

According to A. Terry Bahill, their are four eye movement systems that help keep the eye fovea on the object of interest (a pitched ball):

  1. Saccadic – used in reading text or scanning a roomful of people,
  2. Vestibulo-Ocular – used to maintain fixation during head movements,
  3. Vergence – used when looking between near and far objects, and
  4. Smooth-Pursuit – used when tracking a moving object.

Bahill says these four eye movement systems have four independent control systems.

You see, we have the necessary equipment to move, track, and hit a moving object…especially when pitch speeds are being manipulated.

Which leads us to softball hitting tips for kids involving…

 

Proprioception & Dynamic Movement

Softball Hitting Tips for Kids: Head Movement During Stages Leading up to Contact

For more clarification on this, please CLICK this graph, from the Dan Farnsworth FanGraphs article, and read under the “Keep Your Head Still” sub-title & below the graph.

So I don’t have to cover material that I’ve already covered in depth…

CLICK HERE to read a post titled, “Perfect Swing Hacking with Forward Momentum”.  Pay special attention to the section sub-titled, “Balance without Thinking”.

In the same post, read the next section sub-titled, “Debunking a Common Objection & a Study”. In that part of the post, I mention a FanGraphs.com analysis that Dan Farnsworth did about the top 50 hitters in 2012.  ZERO of them had zero head movement pre-Final Turn.

The verdict is in…

Here’s an important ABSOLUTE to hitting…

Early head movement is okay, pre-Final Turn.  But late head movement isn’t, during the Final Turn.

First Baseman Stretching to Receive a Throw

Softball Hitting Tips for Kids: Chris Davis stretching to a throw

Chris Davis doing the splits to receive a throw. Photo courtesy: i.ytimg.com

Every dynamically moving athlete, whether they’re throwing a ball, hammer, javelin, discus, or swinging a bat moves their head and eyes towards their target before actually throwing or swinging their respective objects.

Here’s another good example,

For a moment, imagine a first base-person stretching to receive a throw from the left side of the diamond…

What are their head and eyes doing in anticipation of the catch?

Are they traveling forward and down?

To ensure the catch, they moving their eyes to as close to impact with the glove as possible.

Same with hitting.  Hitters should ‘get shorter’ to landing, and ‘stay shorter’ during the turn.

So far, we know that the brain is fully capable of thriving in a forward moving environment.  Additionally, Forward Momentum’s impact on hitting a curveball has more benefits than cons…

One of the benefits comes from the first of Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion

“An object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by a force.”

In other words, it’s easier to keep a body moving that’s ALREADY MOVING (meaning transferring Forward into Rotational Momentum).  Contrary to getting a body at rest, moving again.

Let’s finish these softball hitting tips for kids with…

 

Watching TV Upside Down

Softball Hitting Tips for Kids: Watching TV Upside Down

Photo courtesy: http://www.farah.net.au/

Have you ever done this?

Try it as an experiment.  Watch a movie/show and note how strange everyone looks as they seem to ‘bob’ up and down when they walk.

Yep, when we walk OUR HEAD AND EYES move!!!

By the way, this also happens when we run, grab a can of soup out of the pantry, or are a part of a Navy Seal team doing a ‘sweep’ in a hostile target’s house.

Remember when I brought up the Greg Maddux article about the eyes adjusting to speed and movement?

Remember the four eye movement systems that A. Terry Bahill mentioned in his study?

Remember us talking about the role that proprioception plays in dynamic movement?

Returning to the original softball hitting tips for kids reader questions:

 “What is your opinion of FOMO’s [Forward Momentum] impact on being able to hit the curveball? Wide stance vs. Narrow Stance in relationship to FOMO. Does wider give more balance and ability to see the ball better, recognize curveball?”

Forward Momentum is a MUST to have the ability to CRUSH  curveball.  Wide or narrow stance doesn’t matter, just as long as the hitter looks like they can make an athletic move, and not in the extremes of the two.

However, Forward Momentum or shifting foot pressure MUST be present to be an effective hitter.

The question of balance and the ability to recognize off-speed pitches, has to do with the environment that we train our hitters in.

Think about the Navy Seal ‘sweep’ team…if they trained at the gun range by standing still and shooting a stationary target…I don’t think they’d be very effective at hitting their ‘target’.

They’re trained not only to hit moving targets from a stationary position (think snipers), but they’re also trained to shoot a moving target while moving themselves!

The bottom line to softball hitting tips for kids is this…

Softball hitting tips for kids MUST include:

  • Practicing some form of Forward Momentum or shifting foot pressure,
  • Varying batting practice distances,
  • Hitting random pitching during batting practice,
  • Doing active sit-ins during pitcher bullpens,
  • Training to recognize not only pitch spin, but pitch shapes

We cover ALL of these softball hitting tips for kids in The Reaction Time Mastery online video course mentioned at the beginning of this post.