Troy Tulowitzki Part-2 VIDEO: Stride Length Killing Your Bat Speed?

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Troy Tulowitzki Stride Length Experiment

Troy Tulowitzki Stride Length Killing Your Bat Speed?

Photo courtesy: MLB.com

Question: Does Stride Length Kill Bat Speed?

Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze whether Troy Tulowitzki’s longer stride increases or decreases bat speed.  Not just a longer stride, but I want to see the torso moving forward as well.

Background Research

Troy Tulowitzki had a wider stance in 2013.  In 2014, he’s adopted more of a narrow stance and a longer stride length.

Forward Momentum may be a new concept to hitting, but not to other explosive rotational athletes.  It’s also known as the Conservation of Linear Momentum and the Un-Weighting Principal.  The idea is that the hitter is getting a “head start”.  Other high level athletes using Forward Momentum:

  • Olympic Throwers (Discus, Javelin, and Hammer)
  • Olympic Shot Put
  • 4 X 100 meter relay sprinters
  • Circus Trapeze Artists
  • Lacrosse Players
  • Hockey Players

Hypothesis

I think the addition of forward momentum, or a longer stride length, will contribute to more bat speed because this gives the hitter a “head start”, making the body feel lighter while moving.  This allows the body to turn harder, and ultimately increase bat speed.

Troy Tulowitzki Experiment

Equipment:

Setup:

  • 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
  • NO-stride stance was width of feedback markers
  • Forward movement stance was open, and feet set a little wider than shoulder width
  • Tee was set a baseball or two behind the front feedback marker, and tee height was about mid-thigh
  • 101 baseballs were hit using both the NO-stride and longer stride sessions

Data Collected:

Results of Tulo Stride Length Bat Speed Experiment

Pay particular attention to the bold typeface…

 

Data Analysis & Conclusion

Last 6 Swing Zepp Baseball app

NO-stride: last 6 batted balls (Zepp Baseball app)

  • 0.624 mph average bat speed increase with a longer stride.
  • Apex of bell curve for NO-stride swings ranged from 77 mph to 83 mph*.
  • With a longer stride, you’ll see the bell curve shifted, 81 mph to 85 mph*.
  • Three more 90 mph+ swings using a longer stride, in addition to increasing my Personal Record 2 mph.

*Based on six or more batted balls repeated in specific mph (bold typeface in the chart above)

 

Notes

Longer Stride: last 6 batted balls (Zepp Baseball app)

Longer Stride: last 6 batted balls (Zepp Baseball app)

  • Before the experiment I did a 7 minute Dynamic Warm-up.
  • I didn’t just increase my stride length, I moved my whole torso forward.
  • I began the experiment with the NO-stride swings.
  • I took a 20-30 minute break between the two sessions.
  • During the last twenty swings of the longer stride session, I hit five-of-eight 90 mph+ balls.

From the Zepp Baseball screenshots to the right, it’s interesting to note, my bat speed kept up, even increased with forward momentum and a longer stride.  In other words, I wasn’t as tired at the end of hitting over 200 baseballs.

Now that Troy Tulowitzki is using a more narrow stance and generating forward momentum with a longer stride, he’s able to increase his bat speed.  This may explain the surge in opposite field home-runs in 2014.

Stay tuned for the Part-3VIDEO: Revealing the Science of Turning Faster in a couple days where we’ll be analyzing Andrew McCutchen.

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Carlos Gonzalez

Carlos Gonzalez Killer Power Strategy Video

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Carlos Gonzalez: A Killer MLB Power Strategy You Can Use Too…

 

Carlos Gonzalez Spine Angle

Carlos Gonzalez photo courtesy: MLB.com

I’m comparing two Colorado Rockies hitters, Carlos Gonzalez (aka Car-Go) and Nolan Arenado (2014 franchise record 28-game hit streak).  What repeatable power advantage does a guy like Car-Go have that Arenado may not?  Is it height?  Weight?

Neither.  Look how similar Car-Go and Arenado are physically (resource: Baseball-Reference.com):

  • Carlos Gonzalez – 6 foot, 1 inch, 220 pounds
  • Nolan Arenado – 6 foot, 2 inches, 205 pounds

In this video, we’re going to:

  1. Compare 5 key offensive numbers (based on a 162-game average),
  2. See what Car-Go and Arenado’s swings have in common, and
  3. Reveal the killer MLB power strategy.

 

Comparing 5 Key Offensive Numbers…

Here are key offensive numbers from the charts below, between Car-Go and Arenado:

  1. On-Base% (OBP)…Carlos Gonzalez = .355, Nolan Arenado = .309
  2. Slug% (SLG)…Car-Go = .527, Arenado = .432
  3. On-Base%+Slug% (OPS)…Car-Go = .882, Arenado = .741
  4. Doubles (2B)…Car-Go = 36, Arenado = 40
  5. Home-runs (HR)…Car-Go = 29, Arenado = 15

Sure we have more data points for Car-Go (7-years) than Arenado (2-years).  However, looking at how efficient each moves when swinging the bat, we’ll be able to assess the potential for Arenado’s performance in the future.  In addition to learning how Gonzalez may be able to improve.

CLICK HERE to get a brilliant Sabermetrics point of view for Car-Go 2.0.

What Car-Go & Arenado’s Swings have in Common

Nolan Arenado

Nolan Arenado photo courtesy: MLB.com

These are the human movement rules in common from the analysis:

  • Vision
  • Forward Momentum
  • Tight Turns
  • Engage Catapult Loading System

 

The Killer MLB Power Strategy

In comparing the two swings, what steps would Arenado have to take to hit for more consistent power like Carlos Gonzalez?  One of the secrets to repeatable power lies in the spine angle, which is achieved by the bend in the back knee.  The spine’s angle can allow a hitter to:

  • Get the barrel level on the downward plane of the pitch (slight upswing),
  • Stay in the impact zone longer (increased margin for error),
  • Keep the eyes and head from moving forward during the Final Turn,
  • Fully transfer linear (forward) into angular (turning) momentum (increased bat speed).
  • Drive the ball!!
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Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Chris Davis Video: “Power Move”

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Does Chris Davis Hit Backwards?  Common Mistake #4 (of 4)…

 

Chris Davis Deep Barrel

Chris Davis deep barrel photo courtesy: MLB.com

The last installment to the Hitting Backwards: 4 Common Mistakes Hitters Make video series, looks at the swing of 2013 MLB home-run leader Chris Davis.

“Being short to the ball” is disastrous to repeatable power.  We can be ‘compact’, but ‘swinging down on the ball’ in order to be ‘short to the ball’ is NOT what the best do.

Get “on pitch plane” with the barrel as soon as possible is what I tell my hitters to do.

In this Chris Davis video, we’ll look at:

  • The science of barrel path,
  • 5 Problems with being “short to the ball”, and
  • When the barrel should accelerate.

 

The Science of Barrel Path

  • Center spinning axis (the spine and torso)
  • Centripetal Force = center-seeking (arms and hands)
  • Centrifugal Force = center-fleeing (barrel)

5 Problems with “Being Short to the Ball”

Some write off what Chris Davis does here as being above average in size and weight, in other words, “he’s just strong and can get away with doing it like this.” I beg to differ…Aaron Miles told me that a downward traveling barrel (to impact) hitter doesn’t last past AA-ball.

Here are 5 PROBLEMS with ‘being short’:

Ryan Braun Deep Barrel

Is Ryan Braun ‘being short to the ball’ by today’s conventional standards? Photo courtesy: MLB.com

  1. Jab v. Knockout punch
  2. Rather get hit by a train going 30mph, or motorcycle going 60mph?
  3. NOT in hitting zone very long
  4. Weakness to off speed and breaking balls
  5. Focuses barrel acceleration at the wrong time

 

When the Barrel Should Accelerate

Here’s how Chris Davis transfers energy and uses Centripetal and Centrifugal Forces in his swing:

  • Potential Energy – made up of his height, weight, joint mobility and stability, bat length and weight.
  • Kinetic (moving) Energy – he un-weights the bat with forward momentum, then transfers that into angular (turning) momentum…
  • Barrel – because of the barrel’s moving inertia, Davis fights center-fleeing Centrifugal Forces early by keeping his front arm slightly bent to increase the speed of his body’s rotation, AND to accelerate the barrel.  Then as his barrel “turns the corner”…
  • Ball – …it gets on plane early, body to barrel to ball energy transfer is almost complete…Chris Davis finally gets long through contact with his arms (center-fleeing Centrifugal Forces).

If after reading this Chris Davis video post, you missed Parts 1-3, here they are:

  1. Ryan Braun: Common Mistakes Hitters Make #1 (Sitting Back)
  2. Adrian Gonzalez: Common Mistakes Hitters Make #2 (Walking Away from the Hands)
  3. Miguel Cabrera: Common Mistakes Hitters Make #3 (Timing of Torque)
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Hitting Training For Baseball & Softball Swing Trainers | Hitting Performance Lab

Softball Hitting Drills Video: Cutch #1 Power Fix

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In This Softball Hitting Drills: Andrew McCutchen #1 Fix Video (4 of 4),

 

…of the Do This For Longer Drives softball hitting drills series, we’ll talk about:Softball Hitting Drills: Andrew McCutchen #1 Power Fix

  • #1 Fix to consistent power,
  • Science of compressing the spring, and
  • How Andrew McCutchen and others get springy…

 

#1 Fix to Consistent Power

According to Thomas Myers in his book Anatomy Trains, consistent power doesn’t come from conventional softball hitting drills teaching:

  • Load hands back towards catcher,
  • Pull front arm,
  • Fire back hip,
  • Push back knee forward and/or down, or
  • Pull knob straight to the ball.

According to Dr. Erik Dalton in his collaborative book Dynamic Body, the brain-body connection doesn’t work in this way:

“Modern Science reveals the brain does not recognize individual muscle activities due to lack of practical purpose.”

 

Science of Compressing the Spring

The secret to consistent power lies in springy connective tissue called Fascia…Cotton Candy Springy Fascia

  • Cotton candy or spider web-like material,
  • The bones and muscles float in it,
  • Is made up of mostly stiff collagen…which to the body, is like steel to the building industry,
  • Compression and tension forces are acting within the body at all times, and
  • Compressing the spring happens in an “X” pattern across the front and back of the torso.

I call it the Catapult Loading System.

 

How Andrew McCutchen and Others Get Springy

Watch how similar the following athlete movements are…front shoulder down and back to back hip…

Andrew McCutchen – 2013 NL MVP:

Andrew McCutchen Gets Springy

Paul Rabil – USA Lacrosse, fastest throw on record:

Paul Rabil Springy Lacrosse Throw

Jurgen Schult (German) – Discus World Record Holder (since 1986):

Jurgen Schult (German) - Discus WR Holder

So, when doing softball hitting drills, charge the body’s springy fascial tissue.  This is the #1 fix to consistent power.  CLICK HERE if you missed Part-3: losing force transfer with a bad head-spine connection.

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

Andrew McCutchen Video: Do This For Longer Drives

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In This Andrew McCutchen Video (1 of 4),

 

Andrew McCutchen Un-Weighting Principal…We’re going to look at how ‘Cutch’ (5’10” 190 lbs*) used Science to beat Paul Goldschmidt (6’3″, 245 lbs*) for the 2013 NL MVP.  McCutchen has to stay close to human movement science in order to compete with big guys like Goldschmidt.

(*according to Baseball-Reference.com)

In this Part-1 video, we’ll:

  • Demo the Un-Weighting Principal,
  • See how Cutch either DOES or DOESN’T use this in his swing, and
  • Look at how to work on this at home.

For a different angle on this, CLICK HERE to watch the – 1 min, 58 second – PBS Circus Physics video about the Conservation of Linear Momentum (aka, the Un-Weighting Principal).

A few notable explosive rotational athletes who also use this human movement rule:

  1. Olympic throwers (javelin, hammer, and discus)
  2. Olympic shot putters
  3. Olympic jumpers (high, long, and triple)

 

WHY the Wide Stance?

I get tired of hearing about instructors pushing the wider [non-athletic] stance.  This makes it difficult to create any forward movement in the swing, and see it’s benefits (read below).

I ask my students…what position – with your feet – would you want to cover a fast wide receiver?  How about guarding an agile soccer striker?  Or jumping to slam dunk a basketball?  Hitters need to start from an athletic stance – feet slightly wider than shoulder width.

“Sitting back” isn’t very effective when it comes to dynamic human movements.

As a famous Samurai swordsman Miyamoto Musashi once said:

“In all forms of strategy, it is necessary to maintain the combat stance in everyday life and to make your everyday stance your combat stance.” – Musashi, The Water Book

 

Un-Weighting Principal Benefits:

  • Feel lighter in Final Turn
  • Easier to move heavy objects
  • Get a ‘head start’

 

How Does Andrew McCutchen Do This?Andrew McCutchen Un-Weighting Principal

  • Front hip moves forward
  • Head movement is okay to heel strike
  • NO push, natural fall forward

 

How-To Practice at Home (feedback marker setup)

  1. Back marker (dimple ball or duct tape) inside back foot
  2. Front marker is hitter’s bat length, plus one or two baseballs in front
  3. Get “front hip” to front marker
  4. Set tee slightly behind front marker

CLICK HERE to watch Part-2, Andrew McCutchen: Do This For Longer Drives.  We’ll look at how effective Cutch’s Final Turn is…or isn’t.

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

Softball Hitting Tips Video: Bat Speed Killer!

In This Softball Hitting Tips Video,

 

Softball Hitting Tips Video: Bat Speed Killer!

These softball hitting tips work for baseball too.

…We’ll be talking about softball hitting tips that work well for baseball too. What happens when a hitter doesn’t optimally use the Conserving Angular Momentum to fit a softball or baseball swing outcome:

  • Problems and compensations, and
  • What you can do to fix it.

This video compares a…

…Two-week swing period from one of my ten-year-old baseball hitters, Mikey.  It doesn’t matter whether we talk baseball or softball hitting tips, it’s human movement principles we should be concerned with.  It’s just amazing how one small change can have such a profound effect on bat speed.

 

Clarification on the front arm barring out…

  • ARM Barring Bad: when it happens up to the Fight Position and/or during bat lag or drag.
  • ARM Barring Okay: when we get to contact.  You see Big Leaguers do this when they’re adjusting to reach pitches lower in the zone or towards the outside part.

Please realize that a hitter swinging with an early arm bar will cause them to rotate slower, leaving them susceptible to fastballs up or inside the strike zone.

I’m not talking about the shape of the front arm at impact, which if straighter will increase Ball Exit Speed.  I teach my hitters to start bent, then let the pitch location dictate whether that front arm gets to bent or not at impact.

See, hitters don’t know what pitch type, speed, or location beforehand.  So our softball or baseball swing must build in that margin for error.

 

How-to Fix:

  1. Break the swing apart into two steps: 1) To the Fight Position (Landing), 2) Go into the Final Turn.
  2. NO extra movement with the hands going back is allowed before hitter proceeds to step-two above.
  3. Once they get to the Fight Position, tell the hitter to move the upper body as “one piece” to get into the Final Turn.
  4. Doing this while hitting a heavy bag would be great because it allows the hitter to go into the Final Turn at game speed, and gives instant feedback to the contact position

 

Resources:

CLICK HERE for short video on Conserving Angular Momentum from the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) on Circus Physics.

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Robinson Cano Baseball Hitting Mechanics Video Reveals...

Baseball Hitting Mechanics Video: Form Fix?

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In This Baseball Hitting Mechanics Video,

 

…We’re comparing the “Fight” position of one of my young hitters to Robinson Cano. You’ll discover a little known technical flaw limiting explosive rotational power. Cleaning this up gears the body for a more effective turn.

We’re going over:

  • What is an optimal “Fight Position”
  • Hitter compensations associated with a bad Fight Position
  • How-to get into a good Fight Position

It’s amazing how many flaws happen before the Final Turn evens takes place.  I would say 75% of the mechanical breakdown can be solved before the Final Turn takes place.  Robinson Cano has such a friction-free swing that it’s critical we copy his pre-turn positioning.  He’s one of the most consistently powerful guys in the game, and not very big by today’s standards.

Here’s Robinson Cano in the 2013 home-run derby:

Backside Baseball Hitting Mechanics Robinson Cano

Back view: Notice how his hands push back towards first base dugout, and elbow comes up and out of the way…

Baseball Hitting Mechanics: Robinson Cano

Front view: see how he’s hiding his hands from the pitcher and showing his numbers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[VIDEO] Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake (and BLEED force at contact) PART 4

In Part 4: Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake Video Series,

We’re going over how:

  • The Truth Course hitting information is backed by proven scientific PRINCIPALS,
  • There are FOUR modules: Lab, Practice, Balance, and Bonuses,
  • The entire course is mobile device compatible, and
  • Easy access community support.

 

For YOUR Eyes ONLY…

The previous days’ videos were LEAKED from The Truth About Explosive Rotational Power Course.  ALL information is backed by proven scientific PRINCIPALS.  Absolutely NO guessing involved.

The Truth Course will walk you through EIGHT-Steps to an explosive rotational power and friction-free swing. ALL course videos are mobile device compatible.  AND, offers a second-to-none support team.

In The Truth Course you’ll be getting…

  • …a course that is a STEP-BY-STEP online video guide to the most up-to-date Scientific research unlocking powerful, yet universal, human movement PRINCIPALS to ADD explosive rotational power to any baseball or softball swing.  Small hitters can hit like big ones because there’s LIMITED muscle needed in a truly explosive rotational swing.
  • …a hitting community of over 175 users!
  • …over eight-hours of optimized video you can conveniently watch anywhere on your mobile device.
  • …learn the philosophy and application of how the body truly loads itself like a spring, in what I like to call The Catapult Loading System (NOT talked about in hitting circles).
  • …to learn how-to AVOID a worse swing fate than arm barring, “bleeding the barrel”.
  • …the Joey Myers 60-Day Money Back Guarantee, AND
  • …a whole lot more…

As previously mentioned, I’m a member of the American Baseball Coaches’ Association (ABCA), International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA), and the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).

I’m offering Facebook users like yourself 30% OFF The Truth Course for a LIMITED TIME only.  CLICK HERE to invest in your friction-free swing today before the price goes up.

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[VIDEO] Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake (and BLEED force at contact) PART 3

In Part 3: Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake Video Series,

We’re going over:

  • The One-Joint Rule (how-to test “Spinal Integrity” – head and spine alignment),
  • Spine Engine Theory (how the friction-free swing is driven by the spine), and
  • Tensegrity, OR Tension Integrity (discover how explosive the body’s own natural springiness can be).

Here’s a video of Physical Therapist Dr. Kelly Starrett of MobilityWOD.com demonstrating his Spinal Integrity Test (One-Joint Rule):

Here’s video of 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen breaking his Spinal Integrity.  Scary to think that he’s bleeding force at impact with the numbers he put up that year:

Andrew McCutchen Poor Spinal Integrity at Impact
Watch Cutch’s chin nod to his chest at and through contact…

Here’s a picture of one of my High School hitters doing the same thing:

baseball hitting video: breaking spinal integrity
See the same head nod…?

 

For YOUR Eyes ONLY…

The previous videos were LEAKED from The Truth About Explosive Rotational Power Course. ALL information is validated by scientific PRINCIPLES.

Besides discovering an EIGHT-Step Scientific System for building an explosive fiction-free swing, here are some other things you’ll be learning…

  • #1 Reason Youth Hitters have ‘Bad’ Swings (and how to fix)…
  • What a Chinese Finger Trap & Powerful Rotational Forces in the Body have in Common…
  • Learn Why What You Knew (or Thought You knew) About Hip Thrust is ALL Wrong…
  • The purpose of a FLOAT, when to start it, and how long should it be…
  • The quick weak posture at impact test…
  • The Catapult Loading System science and hitting application,
  • Breaking ball and off-speed mastery, AND
  • A whole lot more…

I’m a member of the American Baseball Coaches’ Association (ABCA), International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA), and the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).

CLICK HERE for Part-4 of the Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake Video Series, where we’ll take a one-minute tour of The Truth About Explosive Rotational Power Course.

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[VIDEO] Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake (and BLEED force at contact) PART 2

In Part 2: Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake Video Series,

We’re going over:

  • “Gas Pedal” — Natural, NO Push from Backside,
  • “Smooth” — NO Rush (Archer Metaphor), and
  • How Far Should the FREE-FALL be? (setting up your feedback markers).

 

MLB BIG-Boppers who use Forward Momentum

David “Big Papi” Ortiz (9-Time All-Star):

Davis Ortiz Baseball Hitting Video (Big Papi)
Video courtesy of MLB.com

Chris “Crash” Davis (2013, led Big Leagues with 53 hr’s and 138 RBI’s & was an All-Star in 2013):

Chris Davis Baseball Hitting Video
Video courtesy of MLB.com

Bo Jackson when he was with the White Sox (All-Star in 1989):

Bo Jackson (White Sox) Baseball Hitting Video

Here’s one of my college hitters, and his BEFORE (left) & AFTER (right) Forward Momentum:

Anthony Case Study 19yo

Other Athletes Who Use Forward Momentum…

Paul Rabil – Lacrosse player with world record’s fastest throw (111 mph, and averages well over 100 mph in games):

Paul Rabil - MLB Lacrosse Player (fastest Lacrosse ball thrown)
Courtesy of SportScience

Ulf Timmerman – holds the World Shot Put Record using the Glide Technique:

Ulf Timmermann Glide Technique Shot Put
Note how Ulf uses his front leg to gain forward momentum, before the slight push from his back one…

Jan Zelezny – World Record holding male Javelin Thrower:

Jan Zelezny World Record Holder in the Javelin Throw
Note how much linear momentum Jan creates…

I’m a member of the American Baseball Coaches’ Association (ABCA), International Youth Conditioning Association (IYCA), and the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).

Stay tuned for PART-THREE of the Don’t Make This Hitting Mistake Video Series, where we’ll find out how 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen was critically BLEEDING force at contact.  Watch for it in your inbox in the next few days…

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