Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Optimal Hit More Line Drives Launch Angle For Homerun Distance Like Joey Votto For Baseball & Softball Hitters

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Discover the optimal hit more line drives launch angle for home-run distance (25-30 degrees) like Joey Votto for baseball and softball hitters, and…

Joey Votto Explains Why Coaches SHOULD NOT Be Obsessed With Launch Angles

 

 

The Josh Donaldson interview last year was awesome, but I think THIS interview with Joey Votto may be better.  It doesn’t have the same let-the-beast-out-of-cage feeling that Donaldson contributed, but I feel Votto gives us more of a glimpse into the true art of hitting.  What Votto shares confirms what my hitters have been working on this past off season…line drive barrel control.  Precision.

Look, I love teaching my hitters the process of how to increase Ball Exit Speeds and to get the ball off the ground (optimal Line Drive Launch Angles), but as Joey Votto says, it’s not the whole story.  And this is where I’ve been lying to you for a couple years.  Actually, not lying, just not sharing the whole story. 😉

Let me explain…

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My friend and professional golf instructor Lee Comeaux knows golf, and brought this idea of “precision” to my attention a few years back.  He understands springy fascia and the spinal engine, which is a PLUS.  Also, over the past few years he’s mentored his teenage daughter to hit .600 in Texas fast-pitch softball leagues.  But most importantly, he comes from a sport where precision is king.  Ask any golfer if they’re as obsessed about Ball Exit Speeds and Launch Angles like we are, and they’ll look at you as if a third eye grew in the middle of your forehead overnight.

What good is Ball Exit Speed if the ball is not going towards the hole?  And Launch Angles matter depending on the distance to the target.  And by the way, the angled club face kind of takes care of Launch Angles for golfers anyway.

Put yourself in a golf mindset for a moment.  Imagine thinking about hitting, like you would golf?  Precision.  In the above interview, Joey Votto mentions the best hitters can hit the ball where they want, when they want.   This may not be 100% true in games, but during Batting Practice most surely.  How many of your hitters can do that?  Not many of mine, but we’re working on it.

Precision.  This is not being talked about or taught in today’s baseball and softball circles.  How to control the line drive.  The height AND width of it.  Why are we so obsessed with the vertical aspect of the field and not the horizontal?  So many coaches out there believe a hitter can’t have power without sacrificing swing quality.  An increase in power doesn’t have to dampen Batting Average and/or increase a hitter’s Strikeouts.

Precision.  How to control the line drive.  It’s not easy, but it CAN be done.  Hitters CAN have a high Batting Average (even though BA isn’t a good indicator of value anymore, according to Sabermetrics), power numbers, and low strikeout totals.  And I think Joey Votto touched on what I feel is just the tip of the iceberg.  Here are the few key things to look out for in the above interview:

  • This idea of Precision. Controlling the line drive.
  • Setting hitting goals and reverse engineering purpose of the swing.
  • The idea of using a batted ball as feedback to make adjustments (not new for golfers btw).

Without further adieu, here are…

 

My Joey Votto Interview Notes on his 2018 Hitting Approach

  • About 0:20 second mark, Votto believes talking Launch Angles isn’t telling the whole story, how complete you are as a hitter, rebuts Josh Donaldson’s “ignore coach if he tells you to hit a ground-ball” comment, all fly-balls are not good fly-balls,
  • About 1:30 minute mark, Votto talks about how hitters like Donaldson, et al. can hit a ball with any trajectory to any part of the ballpark, he uses golfer with a bag of clubs metaphor, doing anything you want at anytime is the story we’re not telling, best hitters can do everything – he brings up Mike Trout (diverse array of skills),
  • About 3:00 minute mark, Eric Byrnes asked Votto how his approach has changed since coming into league in 2007, give away less pitches, anytime he takes a swing there’s intent or purpose to each swing (not being reckless), since he’s aging as a player, Votto isn’t able to make up for swing inefficiencies he could with a young athletic swing,
  • About 4:30 minute mark, Byrnes asks Votto how he is super-human with his walk to strikeout ratio when the league really doesn’t care about inflated K quantities, making a conscious effort to cut down on K’s, goals – looked to Sabermetrics to see how he could hit .340 or .350 last year and math said he had to strikeout a bit less, mentioned a few years prior his goal was to get on base half the time (OBP would = .500), chokes up, the “con” was it led to softer contact at times, ability to foul off tough pitches, buys a better pitch later in the AB, spreading out, seeing ball a little deeper,
  • About 6:50 minute mark, Votto was asked about how he has the highest batting average in his first AB, how important is starting game off with good momentum, separated each AB like it’s their own thing, focusing on one AB at a time, every single game over an entire season, sticking with plan in the long run, Jay Bruce “to hit homer, you have to miss homers”, focus on process,
  • About 8:40 minute mark, Byrnes asked Votto, “I have a 6yo boy at home, what’s the #1 thing you’d teach him about hitting?” Let the ball be your feedback.  Spending too much time on mechanics, ball is going straight in the air, ground-ball, in the air, is the ball coming off 4-seam, on a line with backspin, story about watching Albert Pujols with Cardinals on a line with backspin.
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Learn How To Correctly Position And Move Your Head To See The Ball Better

Correct Head Position And Movement, See Ball Better, & Keep Eye On Ball For Baseball And Softball Hitters 2023 | Keep Head Still Batting Swing Drills

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Discover correct head position, head movement, see the ball better, and how to keep your eye on the ball for baseball and softball hitters in 2023.  Learn how to keep head still with this batting swing drill.

You Too Can STOP Head Movement With The Snapping Towel Drill

 

 

 

Look, I’m not going to get into the specifics of head movement with the written part of this video post.  You can go to the following links for that:

But I WILL get into an outstanding drill that helps my hitters get rid of late head movement.  I get asked quite a bit on the ‘Socials’ about posting the “Snapping Towel Drill”.  I learned this drill from Chas Pippitt of BaseballRebellion.com, which he calls the Lean Drill.

Well, here you go!  This is one of my favorite go-to drills with most of my hitters.  It helps with lunging, which I define as when a hitter continues moving forward during the turn…NOT at stride landing.  It also helps a hitter cover more of the pitch plane with the barrel, which is why I promote it in the Pitch-Plane Dominator online video mini-course.

In the above video, we’ll discuss:

  • How the swing is a snapping towel,
  • And define Reactive Neuromuscular Training (or RNT),
  • How to BEWARE of the “C” Shape, and
  • How to setup the Snapping Towel Drill…

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The following video I did awhile back, which analyzes Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz’s swings to show the ‘snapping towel’ effect…

CLICK HERE for a post I did on how to fix stepping in the bucket using Reactive Neuromuscular Training (RNT).

The following image is Chase B., one of my hitters, that is working on fixing his Reverse ‘C’ shape (by the way, the same fault with a lefty will resemble a normal ‘C’)…
chaseb-reversec-shape

It’s not too bad, but I’ve seen worse.  Some of the things to look out for at and post impact:

  • Head floating out over “no man’s land”,
  • Over arching of the low back, and
  • The hitter complaining of low back ‘pinching’ or pain in the Up Dog Yoga Pose…

The latter can be because of tight hamstrings and hip flexors, in addition to glutes and low abdominals (psoas) not firing off.  However, please consult a Physical Therapist if there’s discomfort in the Up-Dog Pose.

What is this hitting position suppose to look like?

Check out Sierra Romero (one of my fav. fastpitch hitter’s to model)…

Sierra Romero Post Impact

Sierra Romero in a nice ‘stacked’ position, NO reverse ‘C’ here. Photo courtesy: MichiganDaily.com

Notice the stacking of her head over rib cage, and rib cage over pelvis.  In a perfect world, we’d like to see a slight slant back over the catcher with these three pieces of the body.

Think about three bricks stacked on top of each other, but being stacked slightly off center towards the left hand side (for a righty), and reverse for a lefty.

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How To Correctly Position Your Head When Batting To See the Ball Better

Correct Head Position While Batting To See Ball Better During Baseball & Softball Swing Drills

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Learn how to correctly position the head while batting to see the ball better during baseball and softball swing drills.

Baseball Hitting Mechanics: Snapping Towel

 

 

…I analyze one of my eighth graders Zack, and we uncover the #1 simple tip can overcome bad hitting technique:

  • “How to make your everyday stance your fight stance, and your fight stance your everyday stance” – Musashi, a famous Japanese Samurai swordsman
  • The Snapping Towel Effect: getting the body moving,
  • The Snapping Towel Effect: the snap back, and
  • How Zack can improve…

CLICK HERE for an MLB case study YouTube video I did on David Ortiz looking into how Big Papi used the same Snapping Towel Metaphor in the 2013 Playoffs.

I’ll be doing a lot of baseball hitting mechanics video case studies of my own hitting students.  Some where I do before and afters of their own swing.  And other times, comparing their swing to a small bopper I think is relevant to them.  I think these case studies help coaches and instructors eliminate the excuse of how young hitters can’t develop high level mechanics.

The main objective of the Hitting Performance Lab is to show we’re not arguing about linear versus rotational mechanics.  It’s that we’re discussing human movement.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female.  Young or mature.  Baseball or softball.  We’re talking about how the human body is designed to efficiently move.

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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

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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.

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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”Baseball Hitting Drills For Bat Speed: SwingAway MVP Bryce Harper model

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.

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Hit Line Drives Farther With Power And Square Ball Up Instead Of Hitting Ground Balls For Baseball

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

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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.

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STOP: Hitting Pop-ups, Swinging And Missing, & Uppercutting Swing - Stay On Top Baseball Drills

Stop Hitting Pop-ups, Why Swinging Under And Missing, & Fix Uppercut Swing By Staying On Top Of Baseball Or Softball Drills

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Learn how to STOP hitting pop-ups, why are you swinging under and missing, and drills on how to fix an uppercut swing by staying on top of the baseball or softball.

Paul Goldschmidt: Can a Bleeding Barrel Kill Hitting Potential?

 

 

Paul Goldschmidt Youth Hitting Case Study

My 9yo hitter Collin bleeding his barrel. Swings are synced, before (on the left) & after (on the right)

In this video, we’ll look at 2013 National League MVP runner up Paul Goldschmidt’s swing and relate it to one of my younger hitters.  We’ll talk about:

  • What is a bleeding barrel (1-week before & after case study),
  • The “Goldy” standard, and
  • How-to fix a bleeding barrel at home.

 

What is a “Bleeding Barrel” (1-week before & after case study)

I’ve been working on this with one of my young hitters, Collin.  Bleeding the barrel is when the barrel starts to launch (turn into the hitting zone) before the hitter’s front foot touches down.

It’s caused by a premature turning of the shoulders, and is very inefficient when it comes to transferring energy.  In order to load powerful springy fascia and connective tissue in the torso, the front shoulder must stay in and down towards the back hip, at front foot touch down.  CLICK HERE for similar analysis comparing Josh Donaldson (Oakland A’s) to Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays).

The week following my young hitter Collin’s AFTER video, he was bleeding his barrel again.  The cause?  His dad said a coach was doing rapid-fire soft toss before games.  Needless to say, Collin’s dad had a talk with the coach.

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The “Goldy” Standard

Notice Paul Goldschmidt (pictured to the right) at front foot touch down:

  • His barrel angle is up (70-degree angle), and
  • He’s showing his numbers to the pitcher  (see video above).

Most importantly, taking care of point #2 above will stop the bleeding barrel.

Can Paul Goldschmidt do better?  According to Baseball-Reference.com, he stands at 6’3″, and weighs 245 lbs.  With this line, he can get away with inefficient mechanics and still hit for decent power.  His average home-run total per 162-game season is only 29.  For how big he is, he can average over 40 homers per season.

Here are a couple things I’d love to see change in Goldy’s swing:

  1. More forward momentum,
  2. Better down shoulder angle (side bending in the spine),
  3. Hide his hands a little more from the pitcher, and
  4. Extend up and back over the catcher more (he was a little out front on this pitch).

 

How-To Fix a Bleeding Barrel at Home

Remember to use Variance in the following scenario.  Three steps to stop the bleeding barrel:

  1. Break Swing into 2-Steps (1-2 second pause between): 1) Fight Position (landing), and 2) Final Turn – focus on showing the hitter’s numbers to the pitcher at the Fight Position, and keep a barrel angle around 45-55 degrees.
  2. Check-Swing Drill – get hitter to show they can keep from bleeding the barrel to impact.
  3. Put Swing Together – once they get here, then progress them from tee, to soft toss, to LIVE batting practice.  If they can hold together their mechanics, then the brain has ingrained the movement.

CLICK HERE to get more information on my online hitting lessons program The Feedback Lab.

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Justin Turner Swing Analysis: Hit Line Drives Instead Of Ground Balls & WHY Squishing The Bug Is Bad

Hit Line Drives Instead Of Ground Balls, Why Squishing Bug Is Bad, & Keep Head Still While Batting: Justin Turner Baseball & Softball Swing Analysis

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Discover how to hit more line drives instead of ground balls, why squishing the bug is bad, and learn how to keep the head still while batting in this Justin Turner baseball and softball swing breakdown.

The Anatomy Of A Game Winning Justin Turner Walk Off Homerun

 

 

To be honest with you…

I MISSED watching the Justin Turner walk off homerun LIVE!!

My excuse…?

For those of you who can remember when your kids were 2-5 years old, you might recall the Disney channel being on almost constantly in your household.

When I turn on baseball, I get “Why are we watching this…?” from my 5yo.  And not after 30-mins of it being on…no…RIGHT AWAY!

He could be drawing, watching a kid’s show on his Kindle, or playing with his NERF gun, and he knows when the channel is changed.  It’s like he knows it’s going to happen before it does.  That’s another talk for another day.

But I digress…

I did get to see the replay of the game winning dinger via Twitter…

And, I DO know this, Justin Turner’s walk off homerun was a thing of beauty.

As many of you know, I get a lot of Fixed Mindset knuckleheads claiming this system doesn’t work at the higher level on the socials…in baseball and softball circles.

I blame the lenses they look at hitting through, which – let me tell you – are far less effective than picking up a bar fly with “beer goggles”.

Seriously though, here’s some context to put the dinger in perspective, before getting to the info in the video above…

  • Game 2 of 2017 NLCS,
  • Walk off 3-Run homerun,
  • 92-mph 2-seam FB middle down, and
  • 103.1-mph Ball Exit Speed, 25.6* Launch Angle, & ball traveled 419-feet.

In this Justin Turn walk off homerun swing analysis, we’ll go over…

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What’s he IS NOT Doing

I know, shocker for a select few out there.  I do define some of the above terms in the video, so make sure you watch that before commenting.  I know some of the cues can be used with the right framing of it.

So let’s see…

 

What he IS Doing

  • Catapult Loading System principles: globally flexed spine, hiding hands, showing numbers, and
  • Pitch Plane Domination: knee action, back foot skip, early barrel on pitch plane, barrel stays on plane for long time, great spine angle at impact.

 

The Catapult Loading System Kindle eBook Giveaway

Just FYI, on this Friday, October 20th, I’m giving away free Kindle versions of my new book The Catapult Loading System: How To Teach 100-Pound Hitters To Consistently Drive The Ball 300-Feet…but here’s the catch, this giveaway is for 5-days ONLY!  Last time I did this, over 1,300 coaches and parents downloaded the ebook.  And you don’t have to have a Kindle to read the book, just download the Kindle app on your mobile device.  If you’ve already downloaded it, then I’d appreciate it if you could let a friend know.  Literally hundreds of coaches across the States are getting the same results – if not better – with their hitters (literally THOUSANDS of them!!) using this system, than I am with mine.  I’ll make the announcement over email and Facebook, so please look out for that in a couple days…

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How To Increase Hitting Power, Bat, & Hand Speed Like Mookie Betts Using Catapult Loading System

Increase Hitting Power, Bat, & Hand Speed Like Mookie Betts Baseball Or Softball Swing | Square Ball Up & Hit Consistent Line Drives Instead Of Ground Balls

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Discover how to increase hitting power, bat, and hand speed like a Mookie Betts baseball or softball swing using the Catapult Loading System.  In addition, learn how to square the ball up and hit more consistent line drives instead of ground balls in this swing analysis…

Mookie Betts Swing Analysis: Build Massive Power For Small Sluggers Like Mookie Betts & Trea Turner…

 

 

What we’ll be contrasting in this Mookie Betts swing analysis compared with Trea Turner:

  • Mookie Betts stats on Fangraphs AND Trea Turner stats on Fangraphs
  • Catapult Loading System principles – CLICK HERE to watch this video post I did on taking slack out of the spine with the “wringing towel” metaphor…
  • Pitch-Plane Domination catcher’s glove barrel path principle – CLICK HERE to watch this video post on WHY we may have barrel path all wrong…

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

Few out there think power comes from the snapping of the back hip and barrel.  These people are only one-third of the way there.  The pelvis (including hip), spine, and shoulders as a complete unit is where to find consistent power.

There are three pieces of our spine:

  1. Cervical (neck)
  2. Thoracic (shoulders and middle back), and
  3. Lumbar (lower back).

Imagine each section as a hand.  Now imagine three hands wringing a towel out.  The top (Cervical) and the bottom (Lumbar) are wringing in the same direction, while the middle (Thoracic) is wringing in the opposite direction of its “bookends”.  Mookie Betts does this just as well as anybody.

When it comes to barrel path, these same “snapper” hitting instructors promote a one path fits all barrel path.  And they claim teaching a high level pattern.  This is the exact opposite of what a higher level pattern is.  The best hitters’ barrel enters the hitting zone at different points depending on pitch depth.  You don’t see Mookie Betts knocking off the “real” catcher’s glove when hitting 97-mph inside.  If he did, he’d be picking up his thumbs.  Or he’d have to bend his front elbow so significantly that it would drop his average ball exit speeds by 20-mph, which equals at least 80-feet of batted ball distance.

Shorten the lever, you shorten power amplification.  The “snappy” pattern has its consequences.

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Easton's Mako Torq Composite: Can Metal Baseball Bat STOP Wrist Rolling Over In Swing Path?

Can Metal Baseball Bat STOP Wrist Rolling Over In Swing Path? Easton’s Mako Torq Composite CANNOT

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Discover whether a metal baseball or softball bat (aluminum, composite, etc) can STOP wrist rolling over in the swing path? Learn how the Easton’s Mako Torq bat CANNOT!  Why?  Because “rolling over” is a timing issue, NOT a mechanical breakdown.  Good timing equals NO wrist roll.  Therefore, this bat was as irrelevant as the Easton “engineer” that bad mouthed me when I first published this post.

Composite Bats: Easton Mako Torq MISSED The Mark?

 

 

As a side note, let me clear the air about metal vs aluminum vs composite because there seems to be quite the confusion in the YouTube comments. In doing a quick Google search:

  • Is aluminum a type of metal? “Aluminum is the most abundant metal on Earth, and one of the cheapest to buy.  Aluminum is the third most common element in the Earth’s crust, but it also bonds easily with other elements. That means it is not found in nature as a pure metal.”
  • Are alloys considered metal? “An alloy is technically an impure metal, but when referring to alloys, the term impurities usually denotes undesirable elements. Such impurities are introduced from the base metals and alloying elements, but are removed during processing.”
  • Are composite bats metal? “Composite baseball bats, opposed to aluminum or wood baseball bats, incorporate a reinforced carbon fiber polymer, or composite, into the bat’s construction. This composite material can make up all or part of the bat. Bats made entirely of this polymer are referred to as composite bats.”

Okay, on with the review…

Let me be clear about the objective of this article.  There are bats, and there are hitting aids.  Easton Mako Torq composite bats have attempted to fuse both together.  This is fine, but the price point is high ($280-550) when compared to a simplified alternative.

We HAVE to scrutinize hitting aids with science, like we do efficient hitting movements.  If you haven’t heard of Easton Mako Torq composite bats yet, then here you go…

Key product marketing differentiation says they use “360-degree Torq Rotating Handle Technology”.  Easton’s claim is to stop a hitter from rolling their hands over at contact.  Their launch video says these composite bats help to be “short to the ball”, “square up more pitches”, “get to the zone faster”, and “stay in the zone longer”.

Let’s answer these THREE questions:

  • Is rolling over a big problem?
  • What do cues like being “short to the ball” really mean? And,
  • Attack of the shady Easton “engineer”?

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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Is Rolling Over a Big Problem?

Short answer is YES.  The real question is, is rolling over a mechanical problem?  NO.  It’s a timing problem.  I would challenge you to find a hitter ON-TIME rolling over. Even with the worst thing you can think of, try and find THAT swing rolling over.

With that being said, making a bat that “cures” rolling over is COMPLETELY irrelevant.  And if that’s your main marketing point, then you’re conning people into buying your gimmick.

 

What Do Cues like Being “Short to the Ball” Really Mean?

The marketing for Easton Mako Torq composite bats promise – that by using their bat – a hitter will:

  • “Be short to the ball”,
  • “Square up more pitches”,
  • “Get to the zone faster”, and
  • “Stay in the zone longer”.

Let’s briefly break these claims down…

“Be short to the ball”

Being short to the ball is a term we use for middle in and middle up pitches.  This is achieved with top hand barrel control.  It can be argued that a more balanced bat would make it easier to control the barrel, rather than an end loaded one, but that has zero correlation to the Easton Mako Torq technology.

“Square up more pitches”

If rolling handle technology can counteract a hitter from rolling their wrist over at contact, then this may be true, sometimes.  Squaring up more pitches has MORE to do with a hitter’s timing.  Also, where a hitter makes contact in the impact zone can be the difference between hitting the sweet spot consistently or not.  Unfortunately, the Easton Maco Torq DOES NOT help with timing or a hitter’s contact point.

“Get to the zone faster”

Getting to the zone (impact zone I assume) is all about the Conservation of Angular Momentum.  Since a hitter doesn’t know which type of pitch, speed, and location beforehand, it’s a race – after a decision to swing has been made – to get the barrel on the pitch plane as soon as possible.  In order to spin faster, the hitter MUST stay tight in the turn until the barrel is on plane.

“Stay in the Zone longer”

Here’s where I think Easton Mako Torq composite bats hit the mark.  IF – and it is a BIG “if” – these bats can stop rolling over, then a hitter’s “stay through” will get better.  But at a price ($280-550).  And once the hitter has to swing a normal “one-piece” bat, then I’m not sure if the anti-roll over mechanics would transfer.  I don’t see higher levels adopting Easton Mako Torq composite bats.

 

Attack of the Shady Easton “Engineer”?

Post UPDATE: By the way, about a couple months after publishing this YouTube and article (when it began to gain serious traction – and as of this ‘update’ the video has been viewed almost 90K times on YouTube), one of Easton’s engineers contacted me VERY unprofessionally.  Clearly he had a bone to pick.  Saying I had zero ground to stand on, and how could I ‘bad mouth’ their precious Mako Torq technology…that I didn’t know what I was talking about.  What’s laughable is that this “engineer” couldn’t supply me with credible studies that supported their claims…he said they had them, but he wouldn’t share.  Hmmmm…

Let me be clear, I LOVE Easton bats, and preferred them well over Louisville Slugger’s. However, I don’t agree with their opinion on Torq technology benefits.

From what I’ve heard, Easton purchased the patent from a High School player who made the technology, in wood shop class, to alleviate pain in his wrist when swinging.  IT WORKED!!  If Easton would have marketed it based on that, there would be no discussion.  But I feel they stretched the technology truth a bit too much.  You be the judge.

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Hit Consistent Line Drives How Christian Yelich Is Doing It Better Than Everyone Else

Hit Consistent Line Drives Instead Of Ground Balls & Square Up Baseball Or Softball Using Rope Bat?

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In this Christian Yelich tongue-in-cheek swing analysis, can we discover how to hit more consistent line drives instead of ground balls and square up a baseball or softball better using a Rope Bat?

Here Are 6 Christian Yelich Swing Analysis Hitting Mechanic Strategies Helping Him Dominate (or Not? 🤔)

 

 

WARNING!  This Christian Yelich swing analysis video has been done tongue-and-cheek…sarcastic…mocking…joking…so please don’t send me HATE email because of this cheeky Christian Yelich hitting mechanics video.

Here are some of the topics we cover…

  1. Head movement,
  2. Back knee inside back foot,
  3. Over rotating back foot,
  4. Getting taller,
  5. “Launch angle” swing!
  6. Keep shoulders square (no counter rotation!!!)

By the way, at the beginning of the video, we look at the following Forbes article titled: “NL MVP Christian Yelich, Bucking The Launch Angle Trend”.

We teach our hitters to hit the ball back through the “tube”.  Imagine the pitcher throwing the ball through a tube.  Our hitters must hit the ball back through the tube.  For example is the pitch comes in hitting zone at 4-feet from the ground, then ball comes off bat four-feet off the ground.  If ball comes in two-inches off ground, then ball comes off bat two-inches off ground.

Consider this…

Major League average batted ball type percentages:

  • Line Drives = 20%
  • Ground-balls = 43%
  • Fly-balls = 38%

20% of the time the best in the world are hitting a line drive, and 80% of the time they’re miss hitting a line drive.  By hitting the ball back through the tube, the hitter matches the plane of the pitch better.  If ball is hit above or below the tube, then we use the adjustment principle paradoxical intention to get back to the tube.

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