How To Increase Baseball Softball Bat Speed & Exit Velocity

Learn how to increase hitting power using a bat speed and exit velocity exercises drill formula for baseball, softball, and slow pitch.  Discover what is a good ball exit speed off the batting tee by age, and average High School programming.  When it comes to ball exit speeds by age, here’s what I like to see by the end of each year, off the tee… (add about 5-mph exit velocity to the following, in game at-bats)

  • Seniors: 90 to 95-mph
  • Juniors: 85 to 90-mph
  • Sophomores: 80 to 85-mph
  • Frosh: 75 to 80-mph
  • 8th graders: 70 to 75-mph
  • 7th graders: 65 to 70-mph
  • 12 years old: 60 to 65-mph

How To Hit 120.5-mph Ball Exit Speeds Like Josh Donaldson

 

 

Amy Gill and Andrew Marden from KSEE24, a local sports news station here in Fresno, CA, put this video together of an HPL Batted Ball Distance Challenge held about a month ago.

We worked primarily on testing showing the numbers, and the results were interesting…

Twelve total hitters, ranging in ages from 8-17 years old.  Nine of them had been exposed to the HPL system.  Two of them had not, and one had minimal exposure.

The familiar ones (control group) gained or lost between -1 to +1-mph of Ball Exit Speed, while the three “newbies” gained between 3 and 10-mph of Ball Exit Speed in one 30-minute session.  That’s between 15 to 50-feet of added batted ball distance!!

The Definitive Guide To Measuring, Tracking, & Boosting Ball Exit Speed

Josh Donaldson: 120.5-mph Ball Exit Speed

Josh Donaldson 120.5-mph Ball Exit Speed homer on April 23, 2015. Photo courtesy: MLB.com

On April 23rd, 2015…

The Toronto Blue Jays’ 3rd baseman, Josh Donaldson, hit a two-run homer to left off Chris Tillman that was clocked at 120.5-mph!

And as of August 18th, according to ESPN’s HitTrackerOnline.com (no longer available), was the highest Ball Exit Speed home-run in 2015.  By the way, this topped Giancarlo Stanton’s highest Ball Exit Speed homer, in the same year, by 3.2-mph (117.3-mph).

How does Josh Donaldson do it?

I mean, come on!

Giancarlo Stanton, also referred to as “Bigfoot”, stands at a gargantuan 6-foot, 6-inches tall, 240-pounds.  And from what I hear, has about 3-4% bodyfat.

On the other hand, Josh Donaldson stands in at mere 6-foot, 220-pounds.

Talk about David & Goliath!

But what little realize about David was that he was an expert marksman from long range.  So he never had to go toe-to-toe with Goliath.

David had a better strategy.  And so do small sluggers like Josh Donaldson.

In this post, we’ll be talking about Ball Exit Speed (BES), also known as Speed Off the Bat (SOB), or simply Exit Speed.  We’ll learn:

  • What affects Ball Exit Speeds?
  • What is the Desirable Minimum Effective Dosage (MED) for Ball Exit Speed? And
  • How-to increase Ball Exit Speed…

 

What Affects Ball Exit Speeds?

“What gets measured gets managed.” – Peter Drucker

Recently, I use a Pocket Radar Ball Coach to measure the Ball Exit Speeds of my hitters, off the tee, before and after each session.

It’s not radar gun accuracy we’re looking for here, but an apples to apples comparison.  Here’s what we’re comparing, using the radar gun, before and after each hitting session:

  1. Did the hitter beat a personal record (PR), and/or
  2. How consistent and stable their Ball Exit Speed readings are, or whether they’re jumping all over the place.

Unlike bat speed, there are many things that can affect the speed of the ball coming off the bat:

  • Bat Composition (BESR rating) – Wood v. non-wood.  End loaded v. more balanced weight. Bat size and weight.
  • Ball Composition (COR rating) – Plastic balls v. rawhide.  Corked core v. rubber.  Higher v. lower seams.
  • Hitter’s Arm/Leg Length vs Body Mass – In my opinion I think limb length is more of a factor than body mass.  And Physicist Dr. Alan Nathan has confirmed this.
  • Ball Spin Rate – Backspin and topspin, in addition to the coveted knuckle-ball will all affect BES differently.
  • Effective Mechanics – the better a hitter is at effectively using human movement rules that are validated by science, the better energy transfer from body to barrel to ball.
  • Pitching Velocity – From what I’ve heard and seen, pitch speed can add between 10-20-mph to Ball Exit Speeds, say from off the tee.
  • Fatigue – sleep, over-training, nutrition, and supplementation.  CLICK HERE for Zach Calhoon’s recovery shake mix.
  • Warm Up Factor – I noticed in my latest Zepp swing experiment, that I didn’t consistently hit 90+mph Ball Exit Speed, off the tee, until I reached about the 75 swing mark.
  • Learning New Hitting Mechanics – I’ve noticed with my hitters that when we introduce a brand new hitting movement into their swing, their Ball Exit Speeds drop between one to four-mph.  But if it’s something we’ve covered before, then they may actually increase by one to four-mph.
  • Timing – If a hitter is too late, and doesn’t allow his or her bat speed to mature, then Ball Exit Speeds will be lower.  If a hitter is too early, and their bat speed has begun to decelerate, then Ball Exit Speeds will also go down.
  • Environment – Humidity dampens Ball Exit Speeds (pun intended).  So does a head wind, duh.  On the other hand, hitting in dry hotter climates OR in Denver, Colorado, Ball Exit Speeds will increase because the air is less dense.
  • Hitting the Sweet Spot – Hitting the ball on the end of the bat, or closer to the hands will decrease Ball Exit Speed, while consistently hitting the sweet spot will boost it.
  • Bat Speed at Impact – Most of the time Ball Exit Speeds will be higher than Bat Speed at Impact.  With my Zepp swing experiments off the tee, it looks to be about a 6-mph difference.
  • Strength and conditioning – this can help but shouldn’t be the highest priority.  This should be the cherry on top.
  • Mobility and stability – if you move better, then you perform better.  Simple as that.  This MUST be a high priority not just to increase BES, but to minimize an athlete’s risk for injury.

What is the Desirable Minimum Effective Dosage (MED) for Ball Exit Speed?

“The smallest dose that will produce the desired outcome.” – Tim Ferriss on MED, 3-time NY Times Bestselling Author

According to this Wall Street Journal article titled, Yankees Dive Into the Numbers to Find Winning Patterns,

“Computers can track a ball’s exit velocity, launch angle, hang time and spin rate, 100 mph, the
speed necessary for most home runs; 75 mph, commonly the break-even pace for a ground ball to skip through the infield for a hit; and four seconds, the inflection point for fly ball hang-time, with any remaining in the air that long before getting caught.”

You may be wondering, what is the launch angle for a typical home-run?  According to the following Sports Science video, about 20-degrees:

According to a Beyond the Boxscore article titled, Do Hard Hit Ground-balls Produce More Errors?, that there is no significant increase in errorsat the Major League level, until Ball Exit Speeds reach and go beyond 95-mph.

This NY Times article titled, New Way To Judge Hitters? It’s Rocket Science – Sort Of, reports about Ball Exit Speed that:

  • The threshold for hitting a homerun is 95-mph,
  • Ball Exit Speed is being used to evaluate upcoming professionals, and can decide who starts,
  • Managers can use Ball Exit Speeds to see if there’s a drop off in a hitter’s Ball Exit Speed, which may reveal the player is hurt or needs to adjust their mechanics, and
  • Teams can shift their infielders back with hitters clocking higher Ball Exit Speeds.

And lastly, an article from eFastball.com titled, Bat Speed, Batted Ball Speed (Exit Speed) in MPH by Age Group, had this to say:

“MLB average exit speed is 103 mph, bat speed ranges roughly from 70-85 mph. 1 mph of additional exit speed makes the ball go 5 more feet. This would be roughly 4 feet for 1-mph bat speed – which is less than the 7-8 feet we have heard from other studies.”

Based on the information above, ideally the MED Ball Exit Speed, for the average Little Leaguer, would be 40-mph BES (40-mph BES X 5-feet = 200-feet of distance).  I want my Little Leaguers to get to 50-mph BES, for the fields that have 220-foot fences.  And of course launch angle is a huge factor in this.

And on the big field, it looks like 95-mph Ball Exit Speed is the MED because that means the hitter has the ability to hit the ball 475-feet (95-mph BES X 5-feet of distance).  Furthermore, the fact that Beyond the Boxscore’s observations about errors not increasing until Ball Exit Speeds reach 95-mph.

 

How-to Increase Ball Exit Speed

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” – Mark Twain

So, what advantage does a small slugger like Josh Donaldson have over Giancarlo “Bigfoot” Stanton?

Here’s the secret to boosting Ball Exit Speeds…

Tinker and Test.

Remember, Peter Drucker’s quote above?

“What gets measured gets managed.”

Here’s what to do to ensure a healthy increase in Ball Exit Speeds:

  • Get yourself a Bushnell Radar Gun and/or a Zepp baseball app,
  • CLICK HERE to read the definitive guide to running swing experiments,
  • Choose an HPL “Topic” in the navigation bar above, or search for one in the upper right hand corner of the website, and start testing.
  • Stop analyzing big hitters.  Instead look at the small sluggers, and see what they’re doing to compete, such as: Cano, McCutchen, Donaldson, Bautista, Vogt, Beltre, Braun, Pedroia (averages 44 doubles and 15 homers a season), Victor Martinez, Edwin Encarnacion, David Wright, Hank Aaron, Sadaharu Oh, and Mickey Mantle.

Do you have anything to add to the discussion?  Please REPLY below…

FernandoTatisJrBaseballSwingAnalysisPart YouTubeThumbnail

Discover in this Fernando Tatis Jr. swing breakdown and analysis…how to use the lower half and legs, stride, how much hip rotation, and arm bar for baseball and softball hitting athletes.

Fernando Tatis Jr Baseball Swing Analysis Part-2

 

 

Here’s what we’re talking about in this Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing analysis:

Fernando Tatis Jr Baseball Swing Analysis Part-2

Fernando Tatis Jr Baseball Swing Analysis Part-2 photo courtesy: MLB.com

  • Distance between feet – Getting to a balanced position on our stride,
  • Staying sideways with lower half – most still want to pivot on back foot instead of with the hip, and
  • Front arm shape – Arm bar a problem?

The following is the transcription from the above video.  Time stamped of course, so you can skip ahead if you’d like. And in case you missed Part-1, then check it out Here.

Enjoy!

00:38

Remember, in part one, we went over some fangraphs stats, Fernando Tatis Jr. We talked about catapult loading system principles and how he uses them in his swing. And we also talked a little bit about staying sideways there as well. We will go in a little bit more depth in this video.

 

Distance between feet – Getting to a balanced position on Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing’s stride

00:56

Let’s talk about the distance between the feet and getting to a balanced position in the stride. First, I wanted to give you a little context between these pitches, the one on the left, I think both of these are 2020. The one on the right we talked about in part one, but this one is a low and in breaker. Slower than average pitch.

 

01:18

And then this one over here, if you remember was a fastball up and in. Just to give each context there. On the left, we’ll go… there’s three swings over here. The first one will be this one, and then the other two I don’t have the pitchers view on, so we will look at the distance between the feet.

 

01:37

One of the things that elite hitters have in common is they get distance between their feet at stride landing and during their turn. A lot of young hitters tend to either be too narrow, don’t get a long enough stride or if they skip their back foot they skip too far, creating more of narrow feet during the turn itself.

 

01:55

Elite hitters don’t do that, elite hitters will create distance between their feet. It makes for a more athletic position and allows them to be able to, if they want to use their knees to get to pitches down in the zone like a Cody Bellinger or an Anthony Rizzo or Dustin Pedroia, they can do that.  With narrow feet during the turn, it’s not going to happen.

 

02:16

So as this also applies to getting to balance at your stride landing, you’re going to notice that in Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing, that he is not going to be very heavy on that front foot as he lands. You can see that, and we’ll get to this a little later in the video, this idea of shifting foot pressure. But if we look at this little ride or float, we like to call the float, Matt Nokes calls the ride and then the stride or the fall we call it the float in the fall.

 

02:49

You can see that there isn’t a 100% commitment to the front leg yet. It’s a little bit more uncommitted, feeling out, being more controlled, and there’s different drills that you can do for this you can put weight on the front foot, like a band pulling the front foot forward or the band pulling the hitters body forward wrapped around their waist, and the coach is out in front pulling the bands, and the hitter’s got to resist the band.  Got to resist gravity from landing too hard and heavy on that front foot.

 

03:17

But that’s what you’re going to see. You’re going to see that distance between the foot and as he begins his turn, you will see him maintain the distance between his feet. Look out over here. Very light and hover-y with that front foot at landing. And you see there’s a little bit of a glide or skip of the back foot.

 

03:46

Here’s another swing.  You can see this really controlled fall, it is a fall because you will see him unweight that back leg completely with the skipping of that back foot or the scissoring into that back foot. But at first before the stride foot lands, you’re going to see this very tentative with the weight. He’s going to get to the end of his hip, front hip and that’s going to allow him to rotate without having to shift more during the turn as he rotates.

 

04:31

A lot of hitters, young hitters, will get to landing and then they’ll continue to shift forward with their hips as they’re turning the barrel.  In both baseball and softball. We want to get to the end of that hip, front hip. As we land, that’s it. There’s no more shifting of the hip, of the weight. We should be done shifting, then as we start to turn, that head should stay still, shouldn’t move anymore once a stride foot hits the ground.

 

05:07

Here’s the fourth swing.  You can see this hover, he’s still committing his weight forward, but it’s controlled. Again, we can stand out in front of this hitter, and we can wrap a band, resistance band around their waist, we can hold the handles and pull them forward and they have to resist our pull forward, that is a way to help with this… not committing that weight 100% at stride touchdown.

 

05:37

We’ll get the hip to the endpoint, which is right there. And then as the turn starts, and on this pitch Tatis is a little bit out in front looks almost like a Jose Bautista swing. But that is a way to stay balanced and making sure we maintain distance between the feet.

Staying sideways with lower half – most still want to pivot on back foot instead of with the hip

05:57

Now let’s talk about staying sideways. There’s this tendency for hitting coaches out there, and for usually the older kids, the younger ones that are under coached tend to do this correctly. But the ones that have been over coached a little bit will tend to want to pivot on that back foot. And these coaches are teaching them to pivot on the back foot to get the hips through. And that’s not what we’re looking for.

 

06:20

The hips aren’t, rotation of the hips, maximum rotation of the hip isn’t where power is coming from, not most of the power anyway.  The hips and the pelvis are about 33% of the equation when it comes to the spinal engine. Thoracic spine, the spine is split into three, the cervicles – the neck, thoracic – the middle, the bigger part of the spine, and then you have the lumbar is the lower part.

 

06:43

Those three sections, along with the shoulders, and the pelvis surrounding that are where most of the power is. The pelvis and the hips are a very small percentage of that, 33% or so, if you split it in three. What we see is this shifting foot pressure, you’ll see where you got foot pressure on the outside of the back foot, inside of the front foot up to landing.

 

07:14

And then same over here. This is a different angle. But you can see the inside of the front foot here, can see it over on the right and outside, it’s starting to shift. And then as the turn starts, the foot pressure on the part of the foot will shift completely opposite side. Back one will go from outside to inside. You can see the insides already starting to shift here on the left pane. Same thing on the right pane, you’re also going to see the front foot do the opposite, it’s going to go from the inside to the outside.

 

07:47

Staying sideways and making sure we get to the end of the front hip at landing. We’re going to see that bowing in here. The inside of the back foot when we see kids turning that back foot. By this point, the foot is almost vertical. And they’re turning what we say is with the middle of the foot instead of the inside of the foot. What we should see is what Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing analysis is doing, one on the left you’re seeing a little bit more vertical but then he pushes that heel down and stays inside.

 

08:25

Remember this pitch was the breaker the slower breaker down and in. He was a little bit out in front of this you can tell just by where the barrel is entering the zone. It’s not knocking off the real catcher’s glove, which is back here. It’s actually between the back-foot catcher’s glove and the belly button catcher’s glove. A little bit out in front, over here on the right, can see the same inside back foot, you can see the front foot clearly go from inside to outside, pushes that back heel behind him.

 

08:59

The hips are for direction, not for 100% complete rotation.  That’s not where the power is coming from, the hips set directional force. Here’s another swing, same thing outside of the back foot inside of the front foot. You’re going to see that all the way until about landing, and then we’re going to see the shift happen inside of the back foot outside of the front foot. push that back heel behind them.

 

09:29

Fourth swing, outside of the back foot, inside of the front foot going to stay sideways, we’re not going to pivot on that back foot. Like most young hitters do that coaches have taught him to do that. The youngest hitters 7, 8, 9… They tend to do this on their own if we don’t touch them. Same shifting the foot pressure. This one he actually scissors is a little bit more out in front than he was on that first swing, and you can see big time skip and hop, don’t like the hop so much, but this is just a compensation, you didn’t see that in the other three swings, but he is scissoring here to keep his balance on this swing.

 

10:13

You can see our lower half, combination of distance between the feet. This allows the hitter to keep a balance into their stride by staying sideways, and in doing so, shifting our foot pressure from outside of the back foot, inside of the front foot to, during the turn inside of the back foot, outside of the front foot allows the pelvis in the lower half to control and guide our directional force.

Front arm shape – Arm bar a problem?

10:46

Alright, let’s talk about is the arm-bar okay?  I hear a lot of coaches out there like to teach the adjustable swing, meaning look away, adjust in, or look in and adjust the way. And when you start facing better pitching that just doesn’t work. We can’t get to balls and be able to maximize our ball exit speed inside with an elbow bent at 90 degrees.

 

11:08

You’ll see in the four swings of this Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing analysis; he’ll do a very good job of maintaining the shape of that front arm.  Maintaining the shape of the front arm will allow consistency in the performance of the swing. And the longer the front arm, the longer the lever is, an engineering principle, the more the force gets multiplied at the end of the lever. It’s both power or ball exit speed, batted ball distance, and consistency.

 

11:40

We can get to an inside pitch, or a pitch up in the zone with a straight barred out front arm, but it’s when the hitters barrel enters the zone is what really matters. It’s not about the length of the front arm if it’s getting locked out. As much as it is when the barrel enters the zone, and the coaches that teach the barrel to get into the zone super early, knocking off the real catcher’s glove. Are going to have a hard time getting the barrel to the ball on the inner half part of the plate or getting to the ball on the middle up part of the zone.

 

12:16

But it’s not because of the front arm shape, it is because of when the barrel is entering the zone. The best hitters in the world change, instinctively, we can teach it but instinctively change when their barrel enters the zone. That’s another topic for another video. But let’s look over here at our first swing. Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing analysis, you’re going to see that front arm shape almost from the start of the turn.

 

12:45

Again, this one is a breaking ball that was probably 80-ish miles an hour, located down and in the part of the zone.  You can see the arms fully locked out, see where the barrels at?  Barrel is tight to the back shoulder. And then you’re going to start to see him unwind and release the barrel, like I said earlier in this video, is going to be somewhere between the back foot catcher’s glove… If you can if you can imagine a catcher’s glove in line with his back foot, and a catcher’s glove in line with his belly button.

 

13:15

He releases it somewhere in the middle of those, being a little bit out in front of this ball and this ball being on the inner, the lower inner part of the zone. See the front arm shape there, is a different angle, but you can still see he pulls in just a little bit here you can see he’s a little bit bent. But he works it to get in, it’s very minimal. That will screw up consistency a little bit, if we have a hitter that’s doing this all the time. Fernando Tatis Jr is doing this to be able to catch up to this fastball.  And this one was remember, located up and in, in the zone, a fastball up and in…

 

13:27

A little bit, but we don’t see a 90-degree chicken wing getting to this ball especially at a contact. You can see that front arm shape is complete, almost completely barred out to get to this ball.  And he’s got something we’ll talk about another video wrist snap, beautiful wrist snap, you can see in this swing, same thing. Watch that front arm shape. From the start of the turn, you see the front arm shape, almost completely barred out slight bend can be argued with it.

 

14:25

Can see barrel’s entering the zone, again we don’t have a pitcher’s view of this pitch, but you can see is entering the zone off his back foot. He’s releasing that barrel off his shoulder and then slamming it into the back-foot catcher’s glove, not in the real catcher’s glove because real catcher’s glove you can see is farther away. But he’s releasing it off his back-foot catcher’s glove.

 

14:51

But look at the shape of that front arm. Got a lot of consistency there and you have a long lever so that at impact it’s going to amplify the force at the end of that lever. Last swing, front arm shape, started the turn, you can see it’s almost completely barred out. He’s a little out in front on this one, remember, probably more out in front than the other three swings.

 

15:27

You can see the blur of the bat, is happening again, he’s releasing this into the belly button catcher’s glove. Because he’s out in front, we’ll see that on timing. When they’re out in front, we’ll see the barrel get released later into the zone, not early. Later. You see that front arm shape is completely barred out on this one. Trout does this too. If he’s out in front, and the balls middle away or middle down, you’ll see that straight up front arm, but he’s a little different when it comes to middle in, middle up especially if it’s something hard. Plus velocity, you’ll see a 90 degree bend in that front arm…

 

16:04

But you can see boom, completely arm barred with the front arm at impact. This is going to amplify the force at the end of that lever. And because he’s keeping a consistent long shape with that front arm to get to this ball, it’s going to lead to some consistency. And in this Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing analysis, those of you who have been charting him in the 2020 season, have seen the consistency throughout the season. Albeit a shortened 60 game college season. We’ll see what happens in the playoffs.

 

16:38

Just a quick recap of this Fernando Tatis Jr baseball swing analysis video,

  • We talked about the distance between the feet getting into a balanced position on our stride.
  • We also went into staying sideways with the lower half a little bit more depth, because most still want to pivot on the back foot instead of with the hip, the front hip we talked about.
  • And front arm shape, is the armbar a problem?  And we saw in four separate swings that Fernando Tatis Jr. in his baseball swing does a very good job of keeping a longer front arm, which helps with consistency and batted ball distance.

Make sure that we’re swinging smarter by moving better, and before I let you go…

Tight Hip Flexors? Low Back Pain Relief Strengthening Exercises

Discover these little known low back pain relief strengthening exercises.  Learn how to dynamically stretch and release hip flexor tightness for athletes, beginners, bodybuilders, runners, and seniors.

How To Stretch Hip Flexors

 

 

“Why Are My Hip Flexors so Tight?” How To Stretch Hip Flexors (Release Or Strengthen?)

Post and video by Dr. Joe LaCaze, founder of RotexMotion

Concerning how to stretch hip flexors, I have seen, performed and taught every conceivable method of releasing them from tightness.

As a flexibility specialist, I stretched thousands of patients and athletes using the most popular muscle and fascial release techniques. I got so proficient with these stretch techniques, I taught seminars to other doctors and therapists…

As a neuromuscular therapist, I performed soft tissue techniques to release muscles from strain and tightness. I learned how to perform manual Trigger Point Therapy from a few masters.

As a performance enhancement specialist, I integrated PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation) stretching and neuromuscular therapy with dynamic exercise for reestablishing normal movement patterns for the muscles and fascia we worked on.

This journey was all in an effort to discover how to stretch hip flexors and release strain and tightness for two main reasons – to create more…

  1. Stability in the lower back and pelvis, and
  2. Mobility in the hips and the thoracic spine.

We have been in the habit of looking at certain muscles like how to stretch hip flexors, and thinking they are too short and tight. Here’s what we’ll cover in this post:

  • Logical thing to do with short tight muscles,
  • Primary hip flexors causing problems, &
  • 4 Reasons hips flexors are short and tight.

Logical thing to do w/ short tight muscles

In the past 15 years, with the help of some of the most renowned doctors, therapists, strength coaches, trainers and skills coaches, I have developed a much different view on how to treat these short, tight muscles. It has completely changed my understanding of how to stretch hip flexors.

If we have short, tight hip flexors, we should ask ourselves:

  • “WHY are they so short and tight?” And,
  • “WHAT are the restrictions to these muscles performing to their highest capability”?

Primary hip flexors causing problems

How To Stretch The Hip Flexor

How To Stretch The Hip Flexor: psoas major muscle

There are four primary hip flexors but the one we hear about most, the one that causes us the most problems is the psoas major muscle. When we hear or read about the psoas major, 99% of the problems associated are attributed to it being short and tight.

The psoas major is responsible for lifting the thigh once it gets to 90° (parallel the floor), and everything after that, about another 45%. So it would seem that if it is short and tight, it would easily be able to lift the thigh to its limit. That is actually opposite to what happens.

If it is short and tight, it will also be weak and won’t be able to perform its normal function to full capacity. There are also neurological reasons it won’t be able to perform, but that’s a little complicated for this article.

Important to swinging and throwing athletes, the psoas major is also responsible for stabilizing the lower back, that is where it attaches to the lower spine. If the psoas major is short, tight and weak, it does a poor job of stabilizing against dynamic rotation and puts the lower back at high risk of injury.

The lower back will also become tighter as a protective mechanism and will not completely release its tension until the psoas major is strengthened through its entire range of motion, among other things.

 

4 Reasons hips flexors are short and tight

Problem #1

There are restrictors to the movement of the psoas major. These are mainly the deep hip muscles (the deep external hip rotators) and the hamstrings.

Solution to #1

Strengthen these muscles, don’t constantly stretch them. A strong muscle is much more flexible than a weakened muscle due to constant stretching.

Problem #2

The psoas major is WEAK because it has been constantly stretched, massaged, released, etc.

Solution to #2

Since the psoas major is almost 100% responsible for lifting the thigh past 90° to about 135%, it needs to be strengthened against some sort of resistance through its entire range of motion.

Problem #3

Almost everyone in our society sits for most of our non-athletic activities – driving, working at a desk, watching TV, reading, texting, etc.

Solution to #3

If we sit as part of our lifestyle, we will probably not change that. What we CAN do is to super strengthen our glutes, hamstrings and the deep external hip rotators. Those are the opposite muscles to the sitting muscles and they will help to release them as soon as we stand up and start moving.

Problem #4

If the hip flexors are unequal in the balance of strength, they will not be able to lift the thigh symmetrically. If the psoas major is weak, a muscle called the TFL (tensor fascia lata) will pull the hip and thigh outward and will create very complicated problems that are difficult to resolve in both the hips and lower back.

Solution to #4

Strengthen the TFL and hip in internal hip rotation against a strong rotational resistance, THEN strengthen the psoas major through its full lifting action, against resistance.

For those who have access to the two RotexMotion floor models, here’s the Inward Hip Rotation exercise to accomplish this…

 

How To Increase Youth Baseball Hitting Power And Hit Softball Better And Farther

Learn how to teach kids to increase youth baseball hitting power. Also discover how to hit Fast-pitch or Slow-pitch softball better, farther, and in a certain direction. Home-run batting tips revealed in this swing experiment post…

Want To ADD Between 25 to 40-Feet Of Batted Ball Distance?

 

 

Nelson Cruz: 'Showing Numbers'

Nelson Cruz ‘showing numbers’ hitting a 2-run monster shot traveling 463-feet with a launch angle of 23.7-degrees off 75-mph CB on 09/23/16. Photo courtesy: MLB.com

(‘Showing Numbers’ Experiment REVISITED) 

Question: Is Increased Bat & Ball Exit Speed ALL in the Hips?

Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze whether ‘Showing the Numbers’ to the pitcher is more effective than ‘NOT Showing’ them when it comes to measuring Bat and Ball Exit Speeds.

In this swing experiment, I had professional hitter of mine that I’ve been working with for a few months, Preston Scott, do the hitting.

 

Background Research

I’m revisiting an earlier experiment I did, looking into whether power was ALL in the hips.  You can CLICK HERE to read and watch the experiment findings.

Not to beat the springy fascia horse, but you can get more background information on why this swing experiment turned out like it did by reading through the following video blog posts.

  1. Miguel Cabrera and the timing of torque.
  2. Josh Donaldson v. Jose Bautista: how spine engine mechanics are amplified by Gravitational Forces, and
  3. Adrian Gonzalez: how-to naturally spring load the body.

Hypothesis

From the research into Anatomy Trains (Thomas Myers), The Spinal Engine (Dr. Serge Gracovetsky), and from my past swing experiment, I expect to see similar results…maybe even slightly lower numbers favoring ‘Showing Numbers’.

I say slightly lower numbers because in the first experiment I didn’t counter-balance the swings.  In other words, I took 100 consecutive swings ‘NOT Showing Numbers’ first, then took another 100 consecutive swings ‘Showing Numbers’.  This may have caused a “getting tired” or “not warmed up yet” effect, therefore biasing the experiment results.

The big UPDATES to the experiment will be:

  • Adding the measure of Ball Exit Speed,
  • Counter-balancing the swings, and
  • Professional Preston Scott taking the swings, not me.

I’m interested to see how this experiment turns out…

 

ADD Ball Exit Speed Swing Experiment

Equipment Used:

  • Zepp Baseball app (to measure Bat Speed, Hand Speed, Time to Impact, & Attack Angle),
  • Bushnell Radar Gun (to measure Ball Exit Speed, or BES),
  • Backspin batting tee,
  • Two yellow dimple baseballs (feedback markers),
  • Android GS6 video camera and Tripod, and
  • 34 inch wood bat.

Setup:

Preston Scott: Showing versus NOT Showing Numbers

Preston Scott: ‘NOT Showing’ versus ‘Showing Numbers’

  • Yellow dimple ball feedback markers to keep starting footwork the same = bat length
  • Tee was set one baseball’s length behind the front feedback marker, and tee height was about mid-thigh
  • Forward momentum was eliminated in this experiment, and Preston hit from a 1-2 second pause at landing
  • We stayed as consistent as we could with keeping the ball height and depth the same for most swings.
  • I used two yellow dimple ball markers to make my stance setup consistent…one was placed inside my back foot, close to the plate.  The other was placed one bat’s length ahead of the back marker.
  • The two tests in the swing experiment were counter-balanced.  Which consisted of eight blocks of 25-swings done in the following order ABBA BAAB.  ‘NOT Showing Numbers’ was letter ‘A’, and ‘Showing Numbers’ was letter ‘B’.  200 total swings were completed in the experiment, 100 per test.  Counter-balancing helps remove the “getting tired” and “warm up” factors.
  • On ‘NOT Showing Numbers’ swings, Preston kept his shoulders in line with the blue band on the ground in front of him (towards the pitcher).  And on ‘Showing Numbers’ swings, he kept his shoulders in line with the red band that was set at about a 30-degree angle from the blue band.
  • Preston Scott was sipping a protein shake throughout the length of the experiment to aid in recovery.
  • On both experiment days, Preston had finished “leg day” at the gym, so our warm-up was brief, followed by about 15-20 swings off the tee.
  • We had to break the 200 total swings (4 sets of 25 swing chunks each day) into two days, with the second day coming 1 week later because of time constraints.
  • It’s important to note, Preston and I were working on improving his mechanics slightly different both days (having nothing to do with ‘showing numbers’), but even though Day 1 (November 7, 2016), and a week later, Day 2 (November 14, 2016) swings may look a bit different, the slightly differing mechanics were used for BOTH ‘NOT Showing Numbers’ and ‘Showing Numbers’ tests, so as not to muddy the experiment results.

Data Collected (Zepp Baseball App):

‘NOT Showing Numbers’ Day 1 & 2 side by side comparison…

NOT Showing Numbers Day 1 & 2 (100 swings total)

‘NOT Showing Numbers’ Averages of averages: 71-mph Bat Speed at Impact, 27.5-mph Hand Speed Max, 0.165 Time To Impact, -25* Bat Vertical Angle at Impact, & 4.5* Attack Angle

‘Showing Numbers’ Day 1 & 2 side by side comparison…

Showing Numbers Day 1 & 2

‘Showing Numbers’ Averages of Averages: 76-mph Bat Speed at Impact, 28-mph Hand Speed Max, 0.162 Time to Impact, 28* Bat Vertical Angle at Impact, & 6* Attack Angle

Also, CLICK HERE to access the Google Drive spreadsheet with all Ball Exit Speed (BES) readings from the experiment.

 

Data Analysis & Conclusion

Starting with Zepp data analysis comparing the averages of averages:

  • 5-mph INCREASE in Bat Speed at Impact with ‘Showing Numbers’
  • 0.5-mph INCREASE in Hand Speed Max with ‘Showing Numbers’
  • .003 second DECREASE in Time to Impact with ‘Showing Numbers’
  • 3* INCREASE in Bat Vertical Angle at Impact with ‘Showing Numbers’
  • 1.5* INCREASE in Attack Angle with ‘Showing Numbers

Now, let’s see how the Ball Exit Speed averages compare between the two mechanics:

  • 76.02-mph BES when ‘NOT Showing Numbers’
  • 77.32-mph BES  when ‘Showing Numbers’
  • That’s a 1.3-mph average INCREASE when ‘Showing Numbers’
  • Translates between 5.2-feet to 7.8-feet of EXTRA batted ball distance – depending on if you calculate using 1-mph BES = 4-feet of distance OR 1-mph BES = 6-feet of distance.

 

Notes

  • In this experiment, if you look at the ‘NOT Showing Numbers’ swings, they were actually ‘Showing Numbers’.  In other words, Preston already shows his number to the pitcher well causing him a challenge to not show them.  Therefore on the ‘Showing Numbers’ swings, he showed them more.  I think that’s why we didn’t see as much of a difference in Ball Exit Speeds.
  • One of the big objections from some is that ‘Showing Numbers’ causes an increase in Time To Impact.  These results show it doesn’t – it actually decreases Time To Impact.  WHY is this? It has to do with ‘taking slack out of the system’ as it relates to compression/tension forces acting within the body.
  • Preston Scott generally does a great job of ‘Showing Numbers’, even before I started working with him, so he felt like he really had to try and keep from pulling the ball too much when ‘NOT Showing Numbers’. And as you can see in the video, he was still ‘Showing Numbers’ somewhat, even when he wasn’t suppose to!
Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Learn more about Brian Domenico’s baseball Power Showcase home run derby in Arlington, Texas (National) and Miami, Florida (International) reviews for 2022 and 2023 seasons.  Discover how Blaze Jordan hit two 500+ foot monster bombs!

Power Showcase: How To Fast Track Your Recruiting Process

 

 

I have an opportunity for coaches with a hitter or two in mind you think could compete in Brian Domenico’s National or International Power Showcase Home-Run Derby.

If you remember, towards the end of 2016, I did a video post showcasing a small 14u slugger by the name of Hudson “The Hawk” White, who at the time of the 2016 National Power Showcase was 5’7″, and only 130-pound, managed to hit 11 consecutive homers averaging 398-feet.  He also came in second overall in the Derby!

Come to find out, Hudson’s father Martin said his son has been taught my system over the past 2+ years.  Mr. Martin left a fantastic testimonial in the following post, so please CLICK HERE to check it out.

Also remember, it was in the same post I talked about how 14u Blaze Jordan, 6’2″, 215-pounds, jacked two balls over 500-feet!

Here are some quick bullet points about the Power Showcases:

  • Brian Domenico is the President.
  • International Power Showcase has been around 12 years (started in 2004), and the National Power Showcase has been around for 3 years (started in 2014).
  • International Showcase has had 27 countries represented from around the world since its inception.
  • National Power Showcase (3 days – October 31st though November 2nd) & International (4 days in December and includes a Pro Scout Day).
  • Participants must achieve and maintain a high-level academic status, while possessing the redeeming leadership qualities and determination that exemplify respect in keeping with the game of baseball.
  • Notable Power Showcase Draftees: Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo
    Power Showcase: Bryce Harper

    Bryce Harper at the 2009 Power Showcase hitting a 502-foot bomb. Photo courtesy: Power-Showcase.com

  • Objective of the Showcase for the player: to promote and market each player to the fullest extent possible (Great opportunity to dramatically boost a player’s recruiting stock).
  • Age Divisions: Future Stars 10-14 years old, High School, and Brian just added College.
  • Bats used are official, and NOT “juiced” or “hot”.

What’s interesting to note, for recruiting purposes is…

Over one half of POWER SHOWCASE participants were drafted by major league organizations directly out of high school. The remaining participants go on to play for major Division I and junior college programs and were/will likely be selected in upcoming MLB drafts.

Now, a HUGE event like this does not come with a cheap price tag, so it may not be for everyone.  However, I think you can see the HUGE upside potential to get a name out there, especially if you’re a coach who enjoys marketing your players.

Please expect to pay at least $1775.00 with a $575.00 deposit due within 7 days to hold spot.  Please CLICK HERE to get more information on how to register on the Power Showcase website.  Then click on either the “2017 PSC Nationals Texas” OR “2017 PSC Miami 12th” navigation bar links.

I’ve been asked by Brian to come out, and would love to see some of my students from afar, and coaching disciples.

If you’re interested, then please reach out to Brian Domenico at his website’s contact page (CLICK HERE to do that).  Also, VERY IMPORTANT: please mention where you heard about the Power Showcase, by mentioning my name and blog.

Brian has really put together an outstanding event that is a HUGE opportunity for those hitters looking to compete and make a name for themselves.

As always, keep me updated 😀

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

Discover swing performance training exercises review of Rotex Motion floor models for sale in Fresno and Clovis, CA.  Big benefits for baseball and softball players, pitchers, and golf athletes.  Learn how to improve hip and shoulder mobility, core stability, flexibility stretches, and thoracic extension for hitting.

You Too Can Experience More Flexibility & Better Movement Patterns In 5 Minutes A Day With Rotex Motion

 

 

Since this COVID-19 thing, we’ve been busy with a Rotex Motion movement experiment.  The system has been on my radar for a little over a year.  And it was developed by ex-Navy Seal Dr. Joe LaCaze, who’s also a Chiropractor.  By the way, he understands the spinal engine and springy fascia.  Always a good sign.

Anyway,Rotex Motion: Move Better Equals Perform Better

I’ve been testing myself and some of my players using the Rotex Motion movement system.  And I have an excel spreadsheet to share with you.  But before I get to the results, let me explain the phases of the Rotex Motion experiment:

  • Week #1 on myself: Hip Internal/External Rotation
  • Week #2 on myself and my wife: Ankle Dorsiflexion
  • Week #3 on myself: Seated Trunk Rotation
  • Next 4-weeks on my players: Ankle Dorsiflexion
  • Next 4-weeks on my players: Seated Trunk Rotation (this is ongoing)

In this Rotex Motion post, we’ll cover:

  • Highlights from my movement experiments using Rotex Motion…
  • What happened to Ball Exit Speeds, downloading swing mechanics, & hitter feels
  • And next steps to get started using Rotex Motion movement systems…

Highlights from my movement experiments using Rotex Motion

CLICK HERE to download the excel spreadsheet, so you can follow along.  Here are some highlights:

  • PLEASE NOTE: I was getting used to the BodyROM app with the Active Hip, got better with Passive Ankle Dorsiflexion measurements, and finally have a handle on the Seated Rotational measurement.
  • Also NOTE: My right hip and ankle were injured during my time in college on two separate occasions, so you’ll see how Rotex Motion really made a difference there.
  • After one week: Internal hip rotation on my right side significantly improved by 21-degrees!  And the left improved by 8-degrees. 26/29 degrees afterwards – almost balanced.  Before, my right side internal hip rotation was REALLY restricted.
  • After one week: Ankle Dorsiflexion on right side improved by 24-degrees!  This may have been a little human error with the measurement.  Left side improved by 9-degrees.  Even if right improved as much as left – to 26-degrees – it still would’ve had a 12-degree jump!
  • After one session: my wife’s Ankle Dorsiflexion improved by 9-degrees on her right, and 13-degrees on her left.  Btw, she has a bum right ankle as well.
  • After one week: my rotation to the right significantly improved by 24-degrees, and my left by 26-degrees!  105/103 respectively, now they’re virtually balanced.
  • For my players, after 4-weeks doing “Foot, Ankle, Calf” exercises one time or less per week didn’t see a big change in range of motion, but did see a balancing of the ankle.
    Rotex Motion: Ankle Inversion & Eversion

    Photo courtesy: Crossfit.com

  • For my players, after 4-weeks doing “Foot, Ankle, Calf” exercises two times per week improved in a range of 4-10 degrees on the right ankle, and 4-6 degrees on the left.  Also, they had a great balancing effect of the ankle, which I think is even more important.

What happened to Ball Exit Speeds, downloading swing mechanics, & hitter feels

That’s great, improved range of motion and a balancing of the ankle…so what?!  How did it affect “hitters”?  Here are the observations I found within the four weeks of dorsiflexion with my hitters ranging in age from 10-years-old to High School seniors.  Specifically, this group is mostly made up of High Schoolers…

  • Keep in mind, our weather in California at the time was moderate, 65-70 degrees.  Not super hot, so ball wasn’t flying more than usual.
  • Getting into certain hitting positions like Ankle eversion (keeping back foot sideways), think about turning inside of foot down and outside part up.
  • About 30-40% of the guys broke their highest ball exit speed, or was consistently high with them.  In other words, their numbers weren’t jumping, but stabilized.
  • They frequently said things like: “I feel more stable”, “I have a better connection to ground”, “My swing feels easier”.

 

Next steps to get started using Rotex Motion movement systems

Here are the steps to getting started:

  1. Invest in Rotex Motion system at the TheStartingLineupStore.com (range in price from $149 to $529*),
  2. Download BodyROM app on android or iphone (one-time $4 fee),
  3. Once you get the system, then CLICK HERE and follow instructions on how to use the BodyROM app to measure (you won’t be good at first, so practice, practice, practice),
  4. Of those BodyROM videos, start with the first one, Ankle Dorsiflexion Measurement, & Torso Rotation Measurement
  5. For direction on where to start with the exercises (this would of course depend on what package you invest in), go CLICK HERE and click the “Foot, Ankle, Calf” first.
  6. Follow the “Foot, Ankle, Calf” exercises 2 times per day (morning and evening), everyday, for one week.  These exercises take me 3-minutes to complete.  Measure again to get the after.
  7. After week #1, I’d click the “Rotational Performance” link on the same exercise training page, and do those once or twice per day, everyday for one week.  These exercises take me 5-mins to complete.  Measure again to get the after.
  8. If you invest in the handheld only, then I’d click the “Handheld Exercises Only”, and pick out 3-5 exercises, do them 1-2 times per day, everyday, for a week.  The exercises you group together should revolve around the same joint, then measure that joint using the BodyROM app, and you’re off to the races!
  9. Any other questions, then please let me know.
Fun Youth Hitting Drills To Fix Bat Drag For Baseball Softball Players What Causes What Is It How To Cure Stop Tips For Batting Swing Beginners

This newly UPDATED article (video isn’t updated) presents a fun youth hitting drills approach to help fix bat drag for baseball and softball players.  We go over what causes and what is bat drag, how to cure and stop it tips for batting swing beginners.

#1 Youth Baseball Swing Fix To Deflating Bat Speed

 

 

Awhile back I posted the following youth baseball post to my Hitting Performance Lab Facebook fan-page (CLICK HERE if you haven’t “Liked” my fan-page yet…new content daily):

[fb_embed_post href=”https://www.facebook.com/HittingPerformanceLab/posts/565739680222497/” width=”400″/]

This video blog post will target one of the worst youth baseball swing offenders to deflating bat speed…bat drag.  In this article, we’re going over:

  • What is and What Causes Bat Drag?
  • The science of Bat Drag (to hitting an unknown moving pitch), and
  • 1 Way How to Fix, Cure, & Stop Youth Bat Drag

 

What Causes AND What is Baseball Youth Bat Drag?

#1 Youth Baseball Swing Fix To Deflating Bat Speed

Notice the difference in Charles’s barrel angle.

Article UPDATE: Bat drag is when a young hitter’s upper and/or lower body rotates way passed the hands and bat to cause the back arm elbow to race passed the hitter’s belly button.  We call this racing back elbow.

Youth bat drag is causes mostly by over rotation of the upper and/or lower half.  It is NOT like what some coaches say, being caused by a dominant top hand or back arm, quite the opposite actually.  Bat drag can be caused by a weak and disconnected top hand and back arm.

This article I originally posted back in 2015, and blamed bat drag on a barred out-front arm.  I’ve since revised my position on this thanks to Perry Husband.  A barred out-front arm DOES NOT result in a long slow swing, an early barrel in the hitting zone does.  Specifically on pitches that are middle in.  For a refresher on how barrel path changes based on pitch depth, then click this post.

3 Common Myth “Tips” of Fixing Bat Drag

Myth#1 – sometimes coaches say get the back elbow up in the batting stance.  We do teach this to help get the front shoulder slightly down at stride landing.  Lifting the back elbow without this principle is irrelevant to fixing anything.

Myth#2 – the hips before hands argument is old and stale.  This is EXACTLY what’s happening with bat drag, the hips are way out front of the hands, resulting in a connected swing.  The two main problem with bat drag are 1) Not taking slack out of system (fix below helps with this), and 2) over rotation of upper and or lower half.  Over-teaching myth #2 tends to promote over-rotation.

Myth#3 – again, hip rotation is not the end all be all to power, contact, etc. in the swing.  It’s over coached.  If anything, we should be coaching LESS hip rotation, NOT more.

Bat drag is a disease of over rotation, so rotating more will only make matters worse.  Here’s a great place to start…

1 Way How to Fix, Cure, & Stop Youth Bat Drag

Youth Baseball ALERT: Stop Arm Barring

See Cutch pulling his top hand, while bottom hand restrains that pull forward (look at muscles in left forearm and triceps). Photo courtesy: MLB.com

Typically, I have my youth baseball hitters practice the Catapult Loading System when we have an arm barring issue.  The finer points before a hitter lands in the Fight Position are:

  • Showing pitcher your numbers,
  • Hiding hands from pitcher, and
  • Slight downhill shoulder angle.

Another piece I’ve just added to the puzzle comes from Homer Kelly in his book The Golfing Machine.  The following quote may shed additional light on “educating the hands” to combat arm barring…

“Power Accumulator #1 (for right handed golfer) – is the bent right arm. Even though the right biceps is active, the backstroke is always made with the right arm striving to remain straight. But the straight left arm restrains this continuous extensor action of the right triceps with an effortless checkerin action. Consequently , during release, the right arm can straighten only as the left arm moves away from the right shoulder.”

You see, the problem with bat drag at the youth baseball level isn’t the move itself, but how the compensation is triggered.  What’s happening before the front arm bars out?  Is the hitter properly activating the springy fascia within the torso?

If you “Click here to ‘Get Instant Access'” button below, you can get a free video that explains:

  • Why the following advice: “Power is all in the hips”, “Load and explode the hips”, and “The hips lead the way” won’t produce the repeatable power you’re looking for…

  • Where power really comes from – the answers to how the body actually loads are validated by science…

  • The 3 Do’s & Don’ts that will help you execute this simple strategy without any hitches in swing quality…

Bust Bat Drag With Camwood Heavy Bat Baseball Softball Hitting Drills To Get Rid Of Cure And Fix Causes Of Racing Back Elbow

Bust bat drag with Camwood heavy bat?  Simple baseball and softball hitting mechanical drill to help get rid of, cure, and fix causes of racing back elbow.  I probably wouldn’t look to fixing bat drag with a heavy bat like Camwood in the beginning.  It’s mainly caused by a mechanical and over-rotation issue.

Baseball Hitting Drills For Little League: How To Fix Bat Drag In 2-Weeks [Swing Experiment]

 

 

Baseball Hitting Drills for Little League: Jace Bat Drag

Look at my 11u hitter Jace’s racing back elbow, and the fix a week later. On the left side, he weighed in at 68-lbs, and right before our session, hit his first official homer distancing 180-feet!

Question: Does ‘Top Hand Finger Pressure’ Effect Bat & Hand Speed, and Time To Impact versus Keeping the Hands Loose? (Pre-Turn Hand Tension Revisited)

Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to revisit a past experiment I did titled “Babe Ruth Reveals Hand Tension?”  And analyze whether having relaxed hands OR ‘finger pressure’ affects Zepp metrics.

Growing up, I was taught baseball hitting drills for Little League – which are still being taught, that loose hands are quick hands.  Modern research REVEALS that may not be the WHOLE story.

I wanted to revisit the previous ‘Babe Ruth experiment’ because in that test, I wasn’t actively holding the finger pressure through impact.  In this experiment, I will be.

In the Conclusion of this post, I’ll also give a couple examples of my hitters who were suffering from really stubborn bat drag (one for over 1.5 years), and how we used ‘finger pressure’ to correct it within 1-2 weeks.

Background Research

In the Babe Ruth Pre-Turn Hand Tension Zepp swing experiment, I used the following Research links:

  • Pavel Tsatsouline Tim Ferriss podcast revealing how the hands can be used to recruit more muscle tissue and connect larger areas of the body,
  • Homer Kelly’s book The Golfing Machine went into describing one of the four power accumulators in the golf swing, and
  • Thomas Myers’s book Anatomy Trains, and how Front Arm Fascial Lines are responsible for connecting what an explosive rotational athlete is holding in their hand(s), with the other springy fascial lines inter-weaving throughout the rest of the torso and body.

I also wanted to point out that a few months after publishing the ‘Babe Ruth Pre-Turn Hand Tension’ experiment I met Lee Comeaux, now a good friend of mine, who is a professional golf instructor out in Texas.  He’s been studying Thomas Myers’s book Anatomy Trains for over a decade now.

He simplifies the concept we now call top hand finger pressure.  So THANK YOU Lee!  CLICK HERE to visit Lee’s (Roy) YouTube channel.  And by the way, Lee has a 13u daughter playing fastpitch softball in Texas, and last time I heard she was hitting .800 using the same principles we talk about here.

So yes, this works for both fastpitch and baseball hitters!

Please watch the following interview with Thomas Myers titled, “Tensegrity Applied To Human Biomechanics”:

 

 

  • Defining tension & compression Forces (0:10)
  • Applying tension to the structure makes it stronger and more stable (5:55)
  • Applying tensegrity to the human body and tightening up as a benefit to taking on impact (12:35)

I’ve also heard Thomas Myers talk about synovial fluid in our joints.  It’s our lubrication system.  And it’s liquid, between the joints, when we’re relaxed…in the above video, he called this “adaptability”.

However, when we catch a ball in a glove, for instance, we squeeze our hand around the ball turning the synovial fluid to a solid state.  This concept becomes important when we’re talking about ‘finger pressure’ when hitting.

I tell my hitters it’s the difference between the ball feeling like it’s hitting a cinder block (the bat), or a wet pool noodle.

Hypothesis

Baseball Hitting Drills for Little League: Zack Racing Back Elbow Fix

This is my Sophomore in H.S. Zack and his racing back elbow BEFORE & AFTER. This was a 1 week fix employing ‘finger pressure’.

I’m a little biased in this experiment because I’ve seen the research AND how this has worked miracles with my own hitters employing ‘top hand finger pressure’. However, I wanted to conduct another formal experiment comparing the  following Zepp metrics:

  • Bat Speed at Impact,
  • Hand Speed Max,
  • Time To Impact,
  • Barrel Vertical Angle at Impact, and
  • Attack Angle…

…between the two swings.  Whereas the aforementioned ‘Babe Ruth Pre-Turn Hand Tension‘ experiment I held the hand tension before the turn, then let it go.  This experiment I’ll be keeping top hand finger pressure from the moment I pick up my front foot to stride, to all the way through impact.

I predict, by using ‘top hand finger pressure’ longer, we’ll see an effective jump in all metrics rather than the conventional of ‘loose hands are fast hands’.  I also predict holding finger pressure longer will be more effective than the previously mentioned experiment metrics for Pre-Turn Hand Tension.

At the end, I’ll show how ‘finger pressure’ has STOPPED bat drag in two of my hitters at the Conclusion of the experiment.

 

Baseball Hitting Drills For Little League: ‘Finger Pressure’ Experiment

Equipment Used:

Setup:

  • We used the Zepp Labs Baseball app to gain swing data.
  • I stayed as consistent as I could with keeping the ball height and depth the same for most swings.
  • I used two yellow dimple ball markers to make my stance setup consistent…one was placed inside my back foot, close to the plate.  The other was placed one bat’s length plus two baseballs in front of the back marker.
  • The two tests in the baseball hitting drills for Little League ‘finger pressure’ experiment were counter-balanced.  Which consisted of eight blocks of 25-swings done in the following order ABBA BAAB.  ‘Finger pressure’ was letter ‘A’, and ‘loose hands’ was letter ‘B’.  200 total swings were completed in the experiment, 100 per test.  Counter-balancing helps remove the “getting tired” and “not being sufficiently warmed up” factors.
  • On the finger pressure swings, I used top hand bottom three finger pressure only, which consisted of tightening up the top hand bottom three fingers (pinky, ring, & middle) from the time I picked my stride foot up, to all the way through impact.  The bottom hand was doing what I call the ‘butterfly grip’…tight enough to keep a butterfly from getting away but not too tight to crush it.
  • Loose hands consisted of trying to maintain a ‘butterfly grip’ throughout the whole swing.
  • Throughout the baseball hitting drills for Little League swing experiment, I was drinking a Lime Cucumber flavored “Pepino” Gatorade (very good btw) and a chocolate milk to replenish my body’s protein, sugars, and electrolytes during the 2-hour experiment.
  • I did an 8 exercise dynamic warm up in this baseball hitting drills for Little League experiment before taking about 15-20 practice swings off the tee.

Data Collected (Zepp App Screenshot)

Baseball Hitting Drills For Little League: Finger Pressure Zepp Experiment

Notice the slight change in bat and hand speed metrics, AND the difference in Time To Impact…

 

Data Analysis & Conclusion

Baseball Hitting Drills for Little League: Bat Path

You can clearly see the negative Attack Angle.  This was a finger pressure swing.

  • Using ‘Finger Pressure’ gained an average of 1-mph Bat Speed at Impact
  • Using ‘Finger Pressure’ gained an average of 1-mph Hand Speed Max
  • Using ‘Loose Hands’ decreased Time To Impact by a whopping 0.017 (17/100th’s of a second)
  • Bat Vertical Angle & Attack Angle showed no differences between the two swings.

These were interesting findings in this baseball hitting drills for Little League finger pressure Zepp swing experiment.

My Hypothesis proved correct in that we saw an increase in average Bat Speed at Impact and Hand Speed Max employing ‘finger pressure’, however it wasn’t a huge change.

Also in my Hypothesis, this experiment didn’t turn out more effective for finger pressure than it did for Pre-Turn Hand Tension (PTHT) in the Babe Ruth Experiment, where I gained an average of 3-mph Bat Speed at Impact using PTHT.

You’ll notice the major decrease in Time To Impact using the ‘loose hands’ method.  Excluding the racing back elbow bat drag hitter, from these results and the Thomas Myers research, we can say using a hybrid of the two methods…loose hands at the start of the turn, and finger pressure slightly pre-, at-, and post- impact would be more effective than not.

On the contrary, for the bat drag hitter with a racing back elbow issue, I think finger pressure MUST be used before the turn happens because these hitters evidently have a ‘fascial connection’ issue between what they’re holding in their hand, and their turning torso.

In other words, they may not intuitively use finger pressure like other hitters without the racing back elbow issue.  So this would be one of the smarter baseball hitting drills for little league.

Besides, according to the Zepp app Time To Impact Goals for Pro hitters are right around .140 anyway, so my .131 with finger pressure is still more effective.

One last thing to note, coming from my experiential knowledge in working with my hitters, I consistently see a 2-3-mph boost in Ball Exit Speed when using finger pressure versus NOT in one 45-minute session.

This just means I’ll have to REVISIT this baseball hitting drills for Little League finger pressure Zepp swing experiment again, but collecting and comparing Ball Exit Speed data.

If you have any other thoughts or questions about this baseball hitting drills for Little League Zepp swing experiment, please respond below in the comments…THANKS in advance!

AnalysisofA RodHittingAnalysis:PerryHusband&JoeyMyers

Is hitting more hard line drives all about using swinging up or down drills?  How about getting “on top” of the baseball or softball?  Discover how to stop chopping too many ground balls and square the ball up more in this conversation with Perry Husband of EffectiveVelocity.com.

 

Is “Swinging Down” Okay Since Alex Rodriguez Said So?

 

 

Before you watch the above video interview with Perry Husband, please watch the following 7-min video of Alex Rodriguez sticking-it-to-the-hitting-man lol (I promise you, it’s rather entertaining)

 

 

Wow!  The Social hitting community had a blast with this video.  Coaches talking how:

  • Cool his blue pool (which turned purple periodically throughout the video), and green lush backyard were…
    Analysis of A-Rod Hitting Analysis: Perry Husband & Joey Myers

    Alex Rodriguez YouTube channel titled, “HOW TO HIT HOME RUNS | TIPS FOR THE BEST APPROACH AT THE PLATE”

  • He added some sweet after effects into his video…
  • He may have had a couple bottles of wine (not glasses) pre-shoot, probably at the cautioning of his gal-pal J-Lo…
  • And the elephant in the room, how he seemed disconnected describing the elite swing…

There was A LOT to unpack in A-Rod’s video…here’s what he covered in only 7-mins:

  1. Real v. Feel – How to get the ball up…Swing down to get the ball up…swing down for “line to line”
  2. How to be effective as a hitter (Launch Angles, Line to Line) – forget “Launch Angle”, “Line to line” (beat the shift)…Legs underneath you with leverage, knee down to the ground…Think with “Ferris Wheel” launch angle…Ferris Wheel & “blind spot”…can’t catch up to fastball up?
  3. Sabermetrics v. Experience – Top 4 of last 5 winning teams, #1 in contact, least in K’s…Sabermetrics v. Experience…”an out is an out”, “K’s are overrated”…”Made to measure” approach, contact is king.

So now back to the video analysis Perry Husband and I did (tippy-top video) of A-Rod’s video analysis.  Here are some bullet points of what we cover:

  • Does hitting 100-mph ball exit speed mean you’re maxing out?  How do you know what your max is?
  • How applying tested human movement principles validated by REAL Science results in almost instant changes to key metrics,
  • Why hasn’t analytics given more value to Perry’s Effective Velocity?
  • Are there instances that “swinging down” is okay to teach hitters?
  • Why fastballs down, hit on the ground, reveal some of the highest ball exit speeds & why curveballs are some of the farthest hit balls…

As always, the following are quick reference points you can use to jump around in the supplemental analysis:

  • At about the 0:00 minute mark, talking about Alex Rodriguez explaining feel and “swinging down”, “squishing bugs”, and knee going to the ground, A-Rod said only way to lift is to “go down”
  • At about the 5-min, 30-sec mark, three major issues A-Rod brings up in the video: 1 ) Real v. Feel, 2) How to be effective as a hitter, & 3) Sabermetrics v. Experience, coaches go to one side or the other, A-Rod is right and wrong at the same time, lets get player (ahem, A-Rod) on tee and measure ball exit speed and launch angle – test it!  Let’s quantify and prove it or disprove it, early barrel dump works if pitchers aren’t elevating fastballs, very little on internet is testable, guys not liking ball exit speed and heavy ball tee swings for evaluation – Why not wanting a baseline?  Just because you’re hitting 100-mph exit velocity, is that your maximum?  How do you know without a baseline?
  • At about 14-min 30-sec mark, 3-dimensional hitting – verticals, horizontals, and timing or pitch velocity, where does power come from (according to A-Rod)? what do certain mechanics contribute to verticals, horizontals, power, or timing? Testing a hitter off the tee with regular ball, then heavy ball, then test it LIVE with ball, can see where hitter is deficient, out of 7-8 new kids (current hitters Perry is working with) have increased avg. 7 to 8-mph ball exit speed almost instantaneously, cleaning up mechanics aren’t like getting stronger and more coordinated, which takes more time,
  • At about 22-min 30 secs mark, Launch Angles are numbers without brains and coaches treat it like a character in a movie! Has Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton ever hit a ball at their max in a game?  “Ferris wheel” swing and the “blind spot”, what happens when the low fastball disappears, from TM’s perspective what is the “Ferris wheel” swing or is he using the WORST metaphor ever?! “Merry-Go-Round” versus “Ferris Wheel” swing, having a little bit of both depending on pitch height, depth, and timing, 150 locations within the strike zone – can you take same swing to each of those?
  • At about 30-min mark, Perry talks about his swing was in low-80’s in Ball Exit Speed when 100% purely rotational swing, but in the high 80’s low-90’s when releasing backside, there are consequences to mechanics you choose, are you afraid to test it? Perry is starting a club doing a bunch of different tests and demos on the mechanical side and effective velocity (show hitters what they’re missing), 18 of 19 Reds losses came on an EV inefficient pitch,
  • At about 35-min, 30-sec mark, what’s your hitting operating system? Best hitters in the world miss 80% of the time and hit it on the screws 20% of the time, is your hitting OS to reduce strikeouts above everything else? What are you giving up because of your primary hitting OS?  Looking away and adjusting in works IF pitchers keep throwing fastballs outside and/or down, and leaving off speed stuff up, what happens when Trout doesn’t see one fastball down?  Or one off speed or breaking pitch up?  Why hasn’t analytics given more value to Effective Velocity?  Because they don’t acknowledge measurement of timing,
  • At about 43-min mark, how can a pitcher be effective with Trout, he chooses to adjust to pitches not sit on them, he gives up a longer front arm on pitches up and in to get extended on down and away, how do you move away from the “adjustable” swing, 2015 Trout hit 6 bombs in the up/in box – made adjustment to pitchers changing, Trout almost has a recession-proof swing,
  • At about 50-min mark, if did study May of 2019 – fastball use top of strike zone would be up, couldn’t do 100% ferris wheel or 100% rotational, A-Rod is right and wrong at the same time, “swinging down” is okay for uppercut hitters, the brain is one step behind the brain, however in REAL swinging down on the ball DOES NOT make it go up consistently – center to center contact does (or slightly below center), gotta get hitters better at verticals, horizontals, and timing, can’t be 100% metrics OR 100% experience, “econ” hitting coaches? Linking Sabermetrics to the Scientific Process – asking question, form hypothesis, research subject, gather and compare data, then come to conclusion,
  • At about 57-min mark, Perry discusses how overrated backspin is and the importance A-Rod gave to it, why fastballs at bottom of zone have high exit velocities on the ground – from hitter’s perspective fastballs have backspin, struck grounders don’t change direction of pitcher’s spin…same with curveballs, Dr. Robert Adair in The Physics of Baseball said CB’s are hit the furthest – think about it, from hitter’s perspective CB’s have topspin, and when a hitter puts “backspin” on it, this doesn’t change direction of pitcher’s CB spin, so a pitcher should reverse that, locate fastballs up and curveballs down,
  • At the 1-hour, 2-min mark, Perry’s starting paid membership club at 65% OFF* (for limited time only) to get people started, daily Monday through Friday, demos, study of hitter or pitcher, at bat that stood out from EV standpoint, 15-20 min video that shows in personal locker, do for baseball and softball,
  • At HittingPerformanceLab.com FREE book just pay $11.95 S/H, TheStartingLineupStore.com use coupon code: GET10OFF at checkout
  • At about 1-hour, 6-min mark, I talk specifically how to lock the front arm out – direction-wise – to get ‘showing numbers’ and ‘hiding hands’ as well, killing three birds with one stone

*The regular price on that will be $299 for the year, but the first 100 will get 2/3 off or $99 for the year.  They get their own personal online locker where the videos will be delivered Mon through Friday.  15-20 minute videos that will feature pitching strategy on sequencing, pitch design, hitter profiles, pitcher profiles and breakdowns, at bat of the day with data and Ev breakdown.  In other words, the truth about what’s really going on within the game, timing breakdown. 

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

Discover pro batting stance weight shift, transfer, and distribution on the back foot for baseball and softball swing.  Learn how to see which stride hitting drills work and which do not.

How To Make Teaching Proper Weight Shift In Swing More Understandable To Hitter

 

 

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. [YOU ARE HERE] 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. Overload Bat Training: Hitting Has To Work Butt Off To Resist “Casting”

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

  • Answered: “Making teaching of proper weight shift in your swing and more understandable to the hitter?”Perry Husband & Joey Myers Hitting Jam Session #3
  • 1000’s of swing experiments confirm benefits of releasing backside: higher Ball Exit velocity, better ball flight, and swing consistency,
  • How to fix hitters that over stride,
  • Why ‘force plate’ studies DO NOT mean a darn thing, unless they correlate these two critical metrics,
  • And much more!

CLICK HERE for the full Facebook LIVE video and conversation.

Show Notes

  • At about the 4-minute mark, what’s missing with current hitting philosophies and what is effective and what is not, filtering through the white noise, Science v. bro-science testing,
  • At about 6-minute mark, What’s #1 struggle with teaching hitting right now?  We answer reader question, “Making teaching of proper weight shift in your swing and more understandable to the hitter?” getting off the back foot, foul ball rate goes down significantly by releasing the back foot, increase in exit velocity when releasing the back foot, Perry’s 10,000 swing tests show these same things, take bat out of hand and try similar movements – i.e. lightly playing catch will allow back foot to “push” and “turn”, forward momentum and rotation, anything you can do to get the backside to release is great to model what we want them to do swinging.
  • At about 10-minute mark, the challenge with teaching hitting mechanics, some players (Rachel Garcia was mentioned) easier to demonstrate then do, what kind of learner that player is (seeing, hearing, feeling), throwing motion (feel learner), video or demonstration (visual), “release-mechanism” that ‘clicks’ hitting aid would be cool for an audio learner.
  • At about 13-minute, 30-second mark, Jim Macarelli responded, “the difference with throwing though as you know is the weight ends up on the front foot.” Centrifugal (center fleeing) v. Centripetal (center seeking), imagine throwing uphill versus throwing downhill, will be harder to get off your backside throwing up hill, not over front side – up against it when hitting, not every player gets off their backside, don’t take our word for it – test it!! Exit velocity, ball flight, and consistency all get better releasing the back side.
  • At about 17-minute mark, sure BAD Science is out there, here’s the key with Science, with what you’re doing – can that end result or outcome be replicated a majority of the time?  Bryce Harper WaPo article addressing biomechanics of shifting weight into the ball, squishing bugs and backside hitting transfers only 75% of hitter’s bodyweight VERSUS releasing backside and transferring 150% of bodyweight into impact, Perry’s swing experiments found a 6-mph increase in Ball Exit Speed, bat speed during back foot skip releases much closer to impact whereas a backside weighted swing top out bat speed is sooner than impact,
  • At about 21-minute 30-second mark, dumping barrel right in front of catcher’s glove regardless of pitch depth is DANGEROUS for hitters career-wise, causes big loop in swing and hole up in the zone, Hank Aaron, Rod Carew, Roberto Clemente all released the back foot, Jim Macarelli asks “I think the challenge with teaching kids is we want them to stride and shift their weight forward, but we want them to FINISH with their weight back, not stay back throughout the swing… if that makes sense. Timing clearly effects the back foot. When of time the backside releases and when late, often not.” Hitters like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams released the back foot, then fell back onto back foot during finish, release first, then fall back,
  • At about 25-minute mark, how do we control our hitters from over-striding, belly button is our center of mass, axis of rotation during front and back flips, using variance to teach hitters not to over-stride: stride with belly button finishing over front knee at landing, then stride and land with belly button behind back knee, then stride keeping belly button in the center of legs, then stride keeping belly button behind front knee, then lastly stride keeping the belly button inside the back knee, all about locomotion, Tai Chi and shifting bodyweight, to do a lunge to the right – I have to shift my weight left to move to the right (and opposite for the opposite direction), Perry talks about the Reebok core board (feedback tool), experimenting with weight shift – downhill versus uphill, using Power Up Wedge
  • At about 31-minute 30-second mark, Nassim Talib’s book Antifragile – the majority of invention and innovation in history stems from tinker and testing NOT research and study, aspirin, penicillin as examples, Mike Ryan from Fastball USA has some great variance or chaos training stuff, David Weck and his Bosu Ball, striding uphill/downhill, try different things, tinker test, 3-D Hitting, Perry going to do stuff with University of Oregon softball, WARNING with some of these “force plate” tests: if it doesn’t include ball flight and exit velocity we don’t want to talk about it, how can we make any kind of conclusion from the data without that? Is happening off tee or LIVE pitching, releasing or spinning on backside, MYTH: the more ground force created is better, how does that translate to ball exit speed and ball flight?
  • At about 38-minute, 30-second mark, how to do these swing experiments, changing one swing variable at a time, then re-test, can take ANY hitter do a control round, change, and re-test to see how the change affected the control swings, Frosh softball High School player did over/under load training ONLY in a 6-week span, after re-testing went from 55-mph BES (control) to 62-mph, whoever you follow hitting guru-wise, get control swings, make the change, re-test, and see how BES and ball flight changed – for better or worse, what’s your main objective teaching hitters – high hard contact rate? Decrease strikeouts?
  • At about 44-minute mark, Perry talks about how effective or ineffective were the 2-strike adjustments Joey Votto made, CLICK HERE for Perry’s analysis article on this, in 2-strike counts: balls fouled back, swung and missed, etc. were balls he could have done damage with, can elite hitters foul balls off on purpose, Votto wasted so many good pitches with a less aggressive approach with 2-strikes, when Perry worked with Carlos Pena in 2009: K’s went down 25%, BA went up 25%, 2-strike BA went from .185 to .240, tripled his output with 2-strikes, Votto approach didn’t make much sense – he may have cut down on his K’s but his production went way down compared to before the change, reactionary hitting will die with EV efficient pitching, Joey Votto FanGraphs article, “Joey Votto Has Just Simply Stopped Striking Out”
  • At about 52-minute mark, discuss how poorly hitters will do when pitchers get more EV efficient, CLICK HERE for a video Perry did analyzing Chris Davis (of the Orioles), perfect example of a hitter gearing his swing to about a stubborn 6-mph EV zone regardless of pitch type, location, or speed, all 50-something of the homeruns he hit pitchers ran the ball right into his bat, when target rich environment goes away (pitchers throwing balls into barrel), it’s going to be a cold dark day in hitting, adjust or die, Carlos Pena’s chase rate went down 18% in 2009, changing the physical can take time (Perry suggests 3-4 months for more entrenched habits) – my research suggests 66-days to change a habit.
  • Find Perry Husband at HittingIsAGuess.com, use EV25 coupon code at checkout for online video courses.  If coupon code doesn’t work, then contact Perry and he’ll reset for you.
  • My offer…FREE Catapult Loading System 2nd edition print book – just pay $8.95 shipping and handling (retails on Amazon for $19.97) – in addition you’ll get our essential consistent power online video mini-course Power Hitter 2.0: Engineering The Alphahttps://www.truthaboutexplosiverotationalpower.com/pl/60039