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Why I Teach Hitters To ‘Show Numbers’ (And Maybe You Should Too)
Question: How does ‘Showing Numbers’ to the Pitcher Effect Bat Speed at Impact versus ‘NOT Showing’ them?
Aaron Judge (Showing Numbers), unloads a solo home run to center field on 10/17/17 to put the Yankees on the board in the 7th inning.
Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze if a hitter showing their numbers to the pitcher at landing adds to or takes away from keyswing performance metrics like Bat Speed at Impact, Time To Impact, and Attack Angle. This swing experiment is revisiting two other experiments done analyzing the same thing.
Background Research
Since we’re REVISITING two previous swing experiments on ‘Showing Numbers’ versus NOT, here are the original posts and data to get you up to speed:
Now, let’s see how the Ball Exit Speed averages compare:
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’, and
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.
In this experiment, if you look at the ‘NOT Showing Numbers’ swings, they were actually ‘Showing Numbers’. In other words, the subject in the swing experiment, Preston Scott, already shows his numbers well causing 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.
In 2014 ‘Show Numbers’ swing experiment, this was what the averaged out Zepp data looked like:
Bat speed for NOT showing numbers at landing: 73-mph,
Bat speed for showing numbers at landing: 79-mph (+6-mph),
Highest bat speed for NOT showing numbers at landing: 82-mph,
Highest bat speed for showing numbers at landing: 88-mph (+6-mph),
Hand speed max for NOT showing numbers was: 27-mph, and
Hand speed max for showing numbers was: 29-mph (+2-mph).
Between both swing experiments, we saw an average Bat Speed at Impact increase between 5 to 6-mph. In 2016 we saw a .003 second drop in Time To Impact ‘Showing Numbers’, while in 2014 we saw a .003 increase.
The research on increasing bat or ball exit speed can be seen in the following two books on springy fascia and spinal engine mechanics:
For those versed in Anatomy, for explosive movement on the Transverse Plane (twisting), there must be a protraction of the front scapula (‘showing numbers’), and a retraction of the back Scapula (what’s often referred to as ‘Scap Row’). Scap Rowing by itself doesn’t engage full range of springy fascia.
Hypothesis
Based on the above research, I’m expecting to see a dramatic bump in Bat Speed at Impact, Hand Speed Max, and possibly a reduction in Time To Impact. I think Attack Angle and Bat Vertical Angle at Impact will remain unchanged.
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This is the SwingAway Bryce Harper model hitting station used for the ‘Showing Numbers’ experiment.
Zepp Baseball app (to measure Bat Speed, Hand Speed, Time to Impact, & Attack Angle),
SwingAway Bryce Harper model hitting station,
GS6 android phone to record swings, and
33 inch bamboo bat.
Setup:
SwingAway Bryce Harper bungy suspended ball was set equal to the landing foot, and ball height was about knee height.
I broke each swing down into three steps: 1) Get to landing, 2) Pause for 2-secs, and 3) Swing. The reason for this was to better control whether I was showing numbers or not.
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. ‘Showing Numbers’ was letter ‘A’, and ‘NOT 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.
The ‘Showing Numbers’ swing shoulders were set to about 2’o’clock, if pitcher is 12’o’clock. The ‘NOT Showing Numbers’ swing shoulders were set to about 12’o’clock.
Data Collected from Zepp Baseball App:
Data Analysis & Conclusion
Zepp data analysis comparing the averages:
Bat Speed at ImpactINCREASE of 3-mph ‘Showing Numbers’,
Hand Speed Max DECREASE of 1-mph ‘Showing Numbers’,
Time To Impact INCREASE of 0.014 ‘Showing Numbers’,
Bat Vertical Angle At Impact DECREASE of 4-degree ‘Showing Numbers’, and
Attack Angle INCREASE of 6-degrees ‘Showing Numbers’.
The drop from previous ‘Showing Numbers’ swing experiments was surprising, in addition to a small 1-mph drop in Hand Speed Max. There was also a slight increase in Time To Impact. The interesting numbers were the ones that indicate Launch Angles, both Bat Vertical Angle at Impact and Attack Angle. We hadn’t experienced such a dramatic uptick in those in past experiments.
A couple notes…
The past two experiments were done in a cage, off a tee, so I could see ball flight, and maybe that had an effect on the swing metrics.
Some hitting coaches speak highly of Time To Impact and want to reduce at all cost, but I disagree. There’s a healthy range for that, you don’t want it too short or too long. I’m not going to get into why here, maybe in another post.
To explain the dramatic increase of the barrel’s upward trajectory in ‘Showing Numbers’, I may have been getting more of a downward shoulder angle at landing.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/aaron-judge-showing-numbers.jpg295700Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-10-20 09:00:262023-09-16 05:29:03Teach Kid To Hit For Power By Hitting Baseball Or Softball Better, Farther, & Harder With Catapult Loading System
Ryan Braun early on pitch-plane. Photo courtesy: JTA.org
I often get caught up in my own ways of doing things that I sometimes lose sight of better hitting tips others are using for the same outcomes. I’m not perfect. And I’ll readily admit that I don’t know all the answers. This my wife will surely echo 😉
But I do take pride in submitting and standing on the shoulders of giants. This quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson changed my life:
“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”
Think of methods as “the drills.” This post is for you hitting instructors or coaches who’re applying human movement principles, and successfully selecting your own methods. I want to pick your brain, and hear your thoughts below.
But first, here’s the gist of the hitting tips assignment…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Ryan Braun staying long on the plane of the pitch. Photo courtesy: SportsWorldNews.com
I want to focus on efficiently increasing barrel time on the plane of the pitch using the Conservation of Angular Momentum. By the way, it doesn’t matter if you come from baseball or softball. So drawing from your teaching experience, what are your thoughts on the following (PLEASE leave your pearls of wisdom in the hitting tips comment section below):
Your go-to hitting drill for boosting barrel time on the pitch plane (pics or vids are welcome),
The best sticky coaching cue (or cues) that you use with young hitters, and/or
Any kind of underground (i.e. DIY) hitting aids that help with boosting barrel time on the pitch plane.
Keep in mind, inefficiencies such as arm barring, bat drag (racing back elbow), rolling over, and staying “attached” through the finish are issues you can address. After a week, I’m going to have my readers vote on the best approach, and we’ll announce a winner. Please share your thoughts in the “Leave a Reply” section below…
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/ryan-braun-pitch-plane-e1419284176917.png207600Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-10-18 09:30:182022-10-19 05:08:42Flat Swing Bat Path Trainer Drills To Square Up Baseball Or Softball & Hit More Line Drives Instead Of Swinging Under Fly Balls And Hitting Top Half Chopping Grounders
This post takes a deep dive into how to fix hitting too many ground balls in baseball and softball. We discuss which part of the ball to hit if a right handed hitter is grounding out to shortstop too much (second baseman for a lefty), swinging over the top of the ball, rolling over, or has too much wrist roll. Ultimately, you’ll discover how to hit more line drives.
The UGLY Truth About Hitting Ground-Balls
(WARNING: this baseball hitting drills for kids post is a 4,500+ word beast, but your hitters will be grateful you took the time, believe me. Don’t worry, you can thank me later)
PLEASE NOTE: even though I refer to the keywords “baseball hitting drills for kids” in this post quite a bit, it’s not going to give you concrete drills to do. The objective of this post is to be a guide for coaches to more effectively pick drills to help kids hit more line drives. Although, CLICK HERE for one of my favorite posts to help hitters who have higher than average fly ball and ground balls rates to hit more line drives, it’s called ‘paradoxical intention’.
Before getting started, let me preface a couple other points:
Getting the ball in the air is off the table in situational hitting scenarios, such as “hit-and-runs” or “move’em-overs” (but please realize, situational hitting only makes up less than 10-15% of game At-Bats).
Getting the ball in the air doesn’t mean soft – or in some cases medium – fly-balls (we don’t teach hitters to hit soft fly-balls, just like you don’t teach hitters to hit soft ground-balls).
Getting the ball in the air isn’t an extreme uppercut, nor is it an extreme chopping motion (our goal is to match the downward plane of the incoming pitch with the barrel – and YES, even softballs travel down).
Remember, all line drives are “balls in the air”(I know duh, but you wouldn’t believe how many coaches try to outrun their common sense).
Fast-pitch softball coaches, you aren’t off the hook either (the reasons WHY will become more clear as you work through this post).
Without further adieu, the RANT…
Right off the bat (pun intended), I’m going to pick a fight with the following statement, getting the panties of some coaches in a bunch, as we talk about baseball hitting drills for kids – so here goes. Drum roll please…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Teaching Baseball Hitting Drills For Kids To Primarily Hit Ground Balls Is Dumb
This baseball hitting drills for kids RANT has been brewing in me for some time now, and it came to a boil when I promoted the BackSpin batting tee swing experiment blog post on Facebook, titled “Baseball Batting Cage Drills: A Quick Way To Hit Less Ground-balls“…
You can CLICK HERE to read all the “classic” Facebook comments posted to the BackSpin Tee promo. A flood of baseball hitting drills for kids Facebook comments came in, mostly from coaches…
High School to College…
Baseball to softball…
All chiming in about how lovely it is to teach their hitters to hit the ball on the ground. And claiming how terrible of an idea the Backspin Tee is promoting more productive batted balls in the air. And like I mentioned in the preface above, a line drive is a ball in the air! They had MANY objections:
How many games they’ve won with grounders,
How fielding percentage is way lower than fly-balls,
That it’s much easier to catch a fly ball,
How great outfielders track fly balls,
How more can go wrong with the defense keeping the ball on the ground,
If their team hit more grounders, then they’d score more runs,
How some of the most winningest coaches in college baseball history, Gordie Gillespie and Augie Garrido as examples, stress keeping the ball on the ground to their hitters,
How you HAVE TO TEACH a 5’6″, 135-pound High School hitter to hit the ball on the ground because his batted ball distance maxes out at 250-feet! And,
How even pro coaches and “great hitting instructors” never promote hitting fly-balls.
Does that about cover ALL the objections for WHY hitting a ground-ball is far superior than putting a ball in the air?
On Path, Bottom Half image courtesy: Backspintee.com
Before I get to addressing the above objections with my infamous (more than famous) Bruce Lee one-inch punch, I wanted bring this to your attention first…
You Don’t Put Backspin on a Ball by Swinging Down
Some, not all, of these Facebook comments shared how to put consistent backspin on the ball by swinging down on it.
The keyword in question here is “consistent” backspin. And we’re talking hardball and fast-pitch here, NOT slow pitch. By the way, did you know hitters can put too much backspin on the ball? It’s called a popup! We want the right amount.
These knucklehead coaches even go so far as to believe that young hitters HAVE TO swing down on the ball to get backspin because they’re not “strong enough” to put backspin on it like Major League hitters!!
Watch the 2014 MLB All-Star home-run derby highlights, and notewhich part of the ball these guys are hitting(top half or bottom half?)…
As the Backspin Tee guys say, “on-path bottom-half” is the answer. NEWS FLASH! This is just as true for young small hitters, as it is for MLB hitters. It’s written into the rules of Physics. Can’t break those rules if you’re on earth, sorry. And if YOU STILL don’t believe me, read this MLB article titled, “Jon Lester Shows Importance Of Launch Angle”. The article goes into to say how Lester ranks second among Major League hitting pitchers with an average Ball Exit Speed of 92.5-mph.
So, what’s the problem? Quoted from the article:
“…(He ended up with four hits on the season in 71 plate appearances, a .065/.108/.065 line.) Part of it is that, like many pitchers, contact was an issue — Lester’s 42.3 percent strikeout rate was above the 37.7 percent average for pitchers.”
How could Lester hit the ball so hard without finding much hitting success? Again, quoted from the article:
“…it’s because 19 of Lester’s 24 tracked batted balls failed to get above 7 degrees of launch angle. Sixteen of those 19 failed to even achieve positive launch angle, which is to say that he pounded the ball into the ground constantly.”
In other words, to get the ball in the air, the hitter MUST have a positive launch angle. 10+ degrees as a matter of fact. According to Rob Arthur, author from FiveThirtyEight:
“The effect of speed [running] starts to fade only when launch angles exceed 10-degrees, as exit velocity starts to take over as the biggest determinant of a batted ball’s fate.”
Did you catch that? Some coaches out there will teach their faster hitters to put the ball on the ground. Why? So they can beat out more ground-balls to infielders, they reason. Why not teach faster hitters optimized launch angles, to turn singles into doubles, doubles into triples, and triples into inside-the-park homers?
Another valuable thing about optimizing launch angles, and lack of running speed, I was working with a 14-year-old young man, and he ran like he was pulling a tractor tire. In the beginning, he was behind in Ball Exit Speed for his age (double negative!!), so guess what we worked on? RIGHT-O!! Optimizing his launch angles. It was a quick fix that got him immediate results, until we got his Ball Exit Speeds caught up…and that they eventually did.
One last thing about baseball hitting drills for kids, Aaron Miles, who played 12 years of professional baseball (9 years in the Big Leagues with White Sox, Cardinals, Rockies, and Dodgers), told me these downward swing path hitters got weeded out by AA-ball. By the way, Aaron Miles is 5’7″, 180-lbs, which is impressive that with his size he competed for 9 Major Leagues seasons and did quite well. You don’t play that long in the Big Leagues, with his size, UNLESS you’re doing something right. Success leaves clues right?!
Am I making myself clear on this ‘down swinging’ backspin issue? Negative launch angles equate to negative playing time on the field. Before I karate chop the baseball hitting drills for kids coaching objections above, I wanted to get something else off my hairy chest first…
Hitting Ground-balls have their Place
…in situational hitting, which depending on the game, can make up less than 10-15% of a team’s at-bats. Of course, we don’t want to put a ball in the air on a hit-and-run or with a slap hit. That’s dumb. Even I know that.
Launch angle diagram comparing ground-balls to balls-in-the-air. Baseball hitting drills for kids infographic courtesy of the Colorado Rockies and the guys from BackSpinTee.com.
What I have a baseball hitting drills for kids beef with are coaches teaching hitters to hit the ball on the ground…ALL THE TIME!
As I mentioned before, DID YOU KNOW…line drives are balls in the air? I said it again!! Doesn’t take a physics professor to see that.
And if you forget every word in this Ground-ball Rant, then PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE remember the following words that are coming from my brain to fingers to keyboard…
Pitchers Want Hitters Hitting the Ball on the Ground!
What vertical part of the zone do pitching coaches teach their pitchers to primarily use? “Keep the ball down!”…is what they say. Now, what part of the ball are pitchers HOPING hitters hit by keeping the ball down?
That’s right! The top half of the ball. Because, as the Backspin Tee ‘On Path Bottom Half’ graphic shows, hitting the top half of the ball induces top spin, driving the ball into the ground.
In other words, PITCHERS WANT HITTERS TO HIT THE BALL ON THE GROUND!!!
It’s all about seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. Pitchers know that they don’t get hurt (as much) with a ground-ball than with a ball-in-the-air. Look at the Sabermetrics, launch angles increase up in the zone, while they decrease down in the zone. This is FACT. So WHY the heck are hitting coaches teaching their hitters to primarily hit ground-balls?!
I seriously don’t know the answer…I’m as some would say, confused. Or is this some LARGE conspiracy of pitching instructors undermining our hitters? Let me give you another bit of baseball hitting drills for kids advice…don’t listen to pitching coaches teach hitting. Unless they’re aware of the strange duality between pitching and hitting strategy.
You see, they’ve been conditioned to induce ground-balls, so whether they’re conscious about it or not, to hitters, they’re promoting the VERY THING they use to get hitters out. Most of the pitching instructors in my area, who also teach hitting, instruct their hitters to swing down on the ball. Coincidence?
CLICK HERE for a link to a Beyond the Boxscore article titled, “Scooter Gennett and ground balls”. The sub-title says it all, “Scooter Gennett’s offense has declined every year since he broke into Major League Baseball, are ground balls the reason?”
Okay, moving on…
Before getting into Jean Claude Van Damme round-house kicking those ground-ball teaching batting coach arguments included at the beginning of this post, I want you to answer the following question…
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AVG = Batting Average, ISO = “Isolated Slugging%” or Raw Power, & wOBA = weighted On-Base AVG. Baseball hitting drills for kids graph compliments of FanGraphs.com
What’s obvious in the results for each type of ball in play, is the value of the Line Drive (highlighted in yellow). I think even “Pro-Ground-ballers” agree that the line drive is the way to go.
But if given a choice to pick the lesser of two evils, the Pro-Ground-ball coach will unanimously pick the ground-ball.
But look at the difference in productivity between the Ground-ball and Fly-ball…
A 32-point increase in Batting Average with Ground-ball over a Fly-ball, however
A 358-point INCREASE in ISO (or raw power) with Fly-balls over Ground-balls…AND
A 115-point INCREASE in weighted On-Base Average with Fly-Balls over Ground-balls, which according to FanGraphs.com,
“Weighted On-Base Average combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value. While batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage fall short in accuracy and scope, wOBA measures and captures offensive value more accurately and comprehensively.”
Well Fly-balls, it’s unanimous…2 out of 3 will get you in the Hall Of Fame 😛 lol
Also, since we’re on the subject, check out this Launch Angle infographic of Bryce Harper that was posted by @PinkmanBaseball:
Key in on Bryce Harper’s offensive productivity from 10 to 30-degrees of Launch Angle! Did you pick up on the KEY message? Killed two birds with one stone there…
Key Message #1: This shows hitters aren’t productive unless they’re swinging UP to the ball (not down)…
Key Message #2: And if a 9-degree Launch Angle, or less (see ‘Backspin’ image #2 above), is a ground-ball, WATCH how B. Harper’s average AND power numbers skyrocket once he gets to over a 10-degree Launch Angle.
Situational hitting aside, remind me again WHY we’re teaching baseball hitting drills for kids that promote grounders? So far, I hope this has helped the ‘fence-sitters’ see the light. Now, let’s zero in on those not even close to the fence. You know who you are. I may not get you over to the ‘Light Side’ reading this whole post…
BUT,
The information will fester in a Fixed Mindset brain, like an open wound, and with time, I’m confident you’ll make your way to the Lighter Side of effective hitting. Don’t worry, I’ll be a patient grasshopper. I don’t care what level of play you coach.
YOU WILL BE MINE Ferris Bueller!
Onwards…
The ground-balls are gross hitting coach will go on and on about…
How many games they’ve won with grounders
This is a subjective statement, and an exaggeration at BEST. First of all, show me the numbers on how many games were won with a seeing-eye single versus a double, triple, or dinger. Give me 5-years of MLB data. Better yet, how many “go-ahead runs” were by single or extra base hit? I’d love to see the REAL numbers. What is FACT, in the 2017 World Series, the Astros WOULD NOT HAVE WON by hitting a bunch of singles.
Seriously though, of all the baseball and softball games being played on the planet, how many late inning heroic game winners are being hit on the ground? AND, of those game winning ground-balls, how many of those WERE INTENDED to be on the ground by the hitter and/or coach?
Let’s get personal with you coaches who obsessively LOVE GAME WINNING SINGLES ON THE GROUND, here’s what I want you to do…track your game winning hits, and report back. Don’t cheat though, and fudge the numbers to save face. My hypothesis is, ground-balls WILL NOT be the number one game winning or “go-ahead run” vehicle. I’ve seen too many game winning balls-in-the-air (line drives and fly-balls), in my playing career, to accept that ground-balls get the job done better.
The ground-ball obsessed coaches, go on and on about…
How ground-ball fielding percentage is way lower than with fly-balls
This statement proves a statistically flawed argument. Here’s the information that we need to put it to the test:
The New York Mets infield plays a defensive shift against Carlos Gonzalez of the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 16, 2013 in Denver, Colorado. (Baseball hitting drills for kids photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
Total number of ground-balls hit in latest MLB season, and
Total number of fly-balls hit in latest MLB season.
I’m willing to bet, there were WAY more ground-balls hit than fly-balls. More statistical data points translate to lower overall averages. And the reverse is typically true of less statistical information.
Riddle me this,
…if fielding percentages for outfielders are higher, then WHY don’t we teach our pitchers to pitch to the top of zone, than the bottom? Doesn’t that sound logical?…“Hey, if our outfielders are the better fielders, then get hitters to hit more balls to them.”
Here’s what I thought up ALL BY MYSELF, there are FIVE fielding infielders (including the pitcher), and only THREE outfielders. There’s more space in the outfield and less fielders…WHY don’t we hit it out there? Even my four year old can see the superiority in that baseball hitting drills for kids strategy.
One of my readers Brian Ingram, shared this:
“Just read the article about the flawed ground ball approach and wanted to say I completely agree. also wanted to add on to the idea of 5 infielders vs 3 outfielders, (which I thought of too as soon as I read the title and was happy you touched on it) was that those 5 infielders have less total area to cover on ground balls than the 3 outfielders do on balls in the air.
And the space where ground balls get through is far smaller than the area where balls in the air go for hits. Also, like you showed in the article, ground balls are either hard or soft. Balls in the air though can be shallow line drives, deep line drives, deep fly balls, and bloop hits.
In addition, higher chance of getting on base from things like bad reads, ball getting lost in the sun or lights, wind issues, knuckling line drives, etc.
Also outfielders have a limit of the outfield fence on how far they can go back to catch a ball. Infielders don’t have to deal with those issues, which also count as hits not errors leading to the discrepancy in fielding percentage. All of those things taken into consideration leads to the conclusion that odds of reaching base safely is much high hitting the ball in the air than on the ground. All in all I loved the article and couldn’t agree more.”
Thanks for sharing that Brian (who’s applying to be in the Kinesiology Department at Fresno State in the Fall). Also worth noting is the fact MLB teams are giving up in an infielder to the outfield to concede the ground-ball…WHY??! Because they’re taking the easy risk ground-balls don’t do damage like an extra base hit. Heck, you don’t have to work for NASA to figure this stuff out.
Here’s another thought to consider about this shifted infielder into the outfield…in using a defensive shift, WHY would we put an extra infielder into the outfield, if the outfielders – statistically speaking – were better at fielding? After all, they don’t NEED anymore help, right?!
Because according to you, outfielders HAVE TO BE BETTER fielders than infielders right? That’s what the stats tell us!!!
Yoda (The Force) photo courtesy: BusinessInsider.com
Or how about this, since we shifted the infielder positionally into the outfield, does he/she instantaneously inherit the stellar fielding percentage of playing on the luscious outfield grass? Sounds like “the Force” in Star Wars 😀 lol
Statistically speaking, comparing an infielders fielding percentage to an outfielders is comparing apples to oranges. Are we done here? Good.
The ground-ball obsessed coaches, go on and on about…
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
Click button below to access FREE video that has been downloaded over 20K times!
Hey look! One less step! You may be onto something here…but are you? I played the outfield from my sophomore year in High School through all 4-years at Fresno State, so I know how easy AND difficult it is. Again, you’re one of three fielders in the biggest part of a baseball or softball field.
Ask Jose Canseco how easy it is to catch this “fly ball”:
Also, ask an infielder going back to catch a fly-ball in the shallow outfield, with a converging outfielder coming towards them, how easy catching that fly-ball is.
At Fresno State, legendary Coach Bob Bennett constantly had us working on this type of drill called “Pop-fly Priorities”. We were drilled to the point of throwing up, AND even still, occasionally the ball dropped into ‘no-man’s land’ in games.
I’d love to take the “ground-ball obsessed coach” out and hit them fly-balls, and have them track it down. They’re much harder to track than you think. And things move A LOT faster in the outfield, most of the time you’re on a dead sprint to get from point A to B.
And, when an outfielder makes a mistake, runners advance at least one extra base. If infielders bobble a ball, typically, they still have time to recover and get the out. In other words, an outfielder’s mistake is magnified.
Besides, my friends who’ve played in the Big Leagues say the outfield is where misfit infielders go, which brings the quality of overall outfield play down at the highest level. Ask any converted outfielder how challenging it is to track a ball effectively off a bat 😉
Which leads me to,
The “Ground-ball obsessed coaches”, go on and on about…
How great outfielders track fly balls
But you’re thinking, well, MLB and college outfielders (both baseball and softball) are great athletes, and they track and catch everything in the air. This simply isn’t true. They don’t. Not even ‘cans-of-corn’ are off limits to being dropped. Don’t believe me? Go to YouTube and type in “mlb dropped fly ball”, and count how many, what you think are ‘cans-of-corns’, are dropped…
And for you college coaches who still don’t agree…this season, track how many balls are dropped by your outfielders this year…AND the run scoring result of that action. Then track how many ground-balls are dropped by your infielders this year…AND the run scoring result of that action.
My point is, NOT ALL fly-balls to outfielders are caught, and when they aren’t, extra bases are taken. Heck, extra bases are taken if an outfielder takes a bit too long fielding a line drive/ground-ball in front of them! I know because I took plenty of extra bases on them in my time. If an infielder drops a ball, most of the time, it’s no big deal, at least if the runner isn’t fleet of foot. All is forgiven, minimal damage done.
Not outfielders, no-no. The “ground-ball obsessed coaches”, go on and on about…
How more can go wrong with the defense keeping the ball on the ground
My good friend Taylor Gardner, and owner of the BackSpin batting tee, shared a CLASSIC baseball hitting drills for kids response to the aforementioned statement on Facebook (and one I echoed earlier in this post). He said:
“Groundball supporters…why do pitchers try and keep the ball down in the zone? ……………..They WANT you to hit a groundball. If you don’t believe that, then start telling your pitchers to live about chest high in the zone and see how many pop ups you can get in the game. Ha ha…you should bring your center fielder into the infield and play with an extra infielder because you seem to be so scared of the groundballs (which are better right)?”
This is a common argument amongst Little League coaches…
“Hit the ball on the ground because the other team can’t play catch!”
But what happens when they meet a team that can play catch? What then? Let me give a clue…they get beat. And IF they get a runner on base, then they’re another ground-ball away from a double play!!! If the other team can play catch, no more getting runners on base because of errors…no more auto-runs to second after a walk. NOTHING. Your team is SHUT DOWN. Did you miss that? Let me repeat, your misled offensive strategy is SHUT DOWN.
This is WHY, when and if my 4yo son plays baseball, his team will be the most disciplined group of young men at playing catch. If I come across YOUR ground-ball hitting team, we will CRUSH YOU. You better have quality pitching, because YOU WILL LOSE! And you won’t know how it happened…why it happened…or what happened.
Worst of all, your troops won’t be able to recover because you’ve taught them baseball hitting drills for kids that primarily focus on hitting the ball on the ground. Have you ever been in a hopeless situation like that? It’s only a matter of time, if you keep doing what you’re doing. The sad part is if your ground-ball hitting team is lucky enough to make it to the championship game, guess what, most likely the other team will be REAL GOOD at playing catch. What do you think will happen then?
What’s more,
Guess what happens to ground-ball fielding difficulty after graduating to the BIG field…?
Infielders are deeper – increasing their fielding range,
Athletes get more athletic – enabling them a farther “reach”,
Players get better at playing catch (naturally course of skill acquisition), and
With 90-foot bases (instead of 60 to 70-foot), fielders have more time to field, gather, and throw. In other words, more can go wrong with fielding a ground-ball, and the defense still recording a putout because they have more time.
But you “ground-ball obsessed” Little League coaches don’t care anyway, it’ll be the next coaches problem when they get into Middle School, right? Fastpitch softball is a little different…the young ladies will grow into the “smaller” field. However, points ONE through THREE above still hold true.
One last baseball hitting drills for kids point I want to make on this, comes from a Beyond The Box Score article titled, “Do Hard Hit Ground Balls Produce More Errors?”The data from the above post analysis suggests errors don’t start consistently climbing until Ball Exit Speeds (the speed of the ball coming off the bat) reaches around 95-mph. This data comes from Major League players, by the way.
It goes to show that you have to hit the ball pretty dang hard to force the defense to make an error. To put a 95-mph BES into perspective, this ball has the ability to travel 380-feet with an optimal ball launch angle (1-mph of BES = 4-feet of distance). Are your High School hitters hitting even 85 to 90-mph Ball Exit Speeds in games? If not, then maybe you should re-work your ground ball hitting strategy.
The other thing I’ve heard from ground-ball obsessed coaches is, “Well, you can’t get a bad hop in the air.” Really!? So you’re banking winning versus losing on something out of your control? In other words, you’re “hoping” and “praying” for the ground-balls your hitters hit to take a bad hop?! That’s laughable. Errors are a gift, not something you should expect. And at the higher levels, there are less “gifts”. The best coaches (and players) don’t focus baseball hitting drills for kids on the uncontrollable. Adapt or die.
The “ground-ball obsessed coaches”, go on and on about…
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How some of the most winningest coaches in college baseball history, Gordie Gillespie and Augie Garrido stress keeping the ball on the ground to their hitters
MANHATTAN, KS – APRIL 26: Head coach Augie Garrido of the Texas Longhorns looks out onto the field from the dugout during a game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Tointon Stadium April 26, 2008 in Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas State defeated Texas 4-1. (Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images)
This is where I really get fired up because this kind of baseball hitting drills for kids statement is:
A “That Guy” type of comment,
Dumb.
It’s a great example of making a blanket statement WITHOUT knowing who you’re talking to. What’s interesting to note is after this person said this, and I responded with the following, they never responded back.
Now, I can’t speak for Coach Gordie Gillespie, but here’s my connection to Coach Augie Garrido…Coach Garrido played for Fresno State (my alma matar) back when Coach Pete Beiden was the head coach. I believe, Coach Garrido also played with Coach Bob Bennett (but I could be wrong there), who was my coach the first three years I played at Fresno State.
Whether he played with Bennett or not, Coach Garrido learned from Beiden, just as Bennett did. So having never played for Garrido, I have a pretty good idea that Coach Beiden rubbed off on Garrido as he did on Bennett.
And Coach Bennett, NEVER told us, in the three years I played for him (and even me – a smaller hitter), to ever hit the ball on the ground…UNLESS I was popping up to much, which is adjustment advice. OR for situational hitting.
So my baseball hitting drills for kids hypothesis with Coach Garrido would echo the same Bennett-Beiden philosophy. I don’t think Coach Garrido compiled a collegiate record of 1950-919-9, and has taken his teams to 15 College World Series primarily by instructing his hitters to hit the ball on the ground.
Somebody close to Coach Garrido, ask him, and get back to me…PLEASE! I’m dying to be proven wrong. Besides, head coaches in the college and professional ranks are generalist. Let me clarify this, they typically don’t meddle in hitting or pitching aspects with a fine tooth comb. They have assistant coaches whose job it is to do that. In 3-years, I can count on one hand how many times Coach Bennett gave me hitting advice.
Head coaches should be like the CEO of a corporation…their concern is with big picture strategies, not on how TPS Reports are suppose to be written. Well, I commend you for making it this far! Either you’re:
NOT one of the “ground-ball obsessed coaches” anymore, OR
You’re ONE for a beating! lol
I assure you this rant is almost over, just a few more Karate chops I need to issue…the “ground-ball obsessed coaches”, go on and on about…
How you HAVE TO TEACH a 5’6″, 135-pound High School hitter to hit the ball on the ground because his batted ball distance maxes out at 250-feet!
Text from dad after 11yo son Orin hit a 300-foot bomb, weighing in at 98-pounds.
I’d LOVE to see the look on the face of the High School coach that said this, after I told him on Facebook that I have multiple 11yo hitters that hit the ball consistently over 300-feet, and get this, they did it while weighing less than 100-pounds…AND not just once, but multiple times!!
I’m sure the look was precious. Obviously, this coach isn’t teaching effective baseball hitting drills for kids, and doesn’t know any better. You don’t know what you don’t know, right? There are certain things, mechanically speaking, that directly influence consistent power, hitting more line drives, and being on-time more often. Success leaves clues, and we can train it all.
I don’t care the size of the hitter, I’m going to teach them all how to drive the ball. It’s another tool for their tool belt. Besides, Physicist Dr. Alan Nathan told me in a phone conversation that bat speed is a better indicator of batted ball distance than body mass.
Yes, a smaller hitter’s role on the team may require them to be better at putting down a sacrifice bunt, hit-and-run, and/or slap hit (especially if they’re faster, or left handed), but ALL hitters MUST know how to drive the ball. Driving the ball SHOULD BE the default, NOT hitting the ball on the ground.
Look, there are thousands of ways to teach baseball hitting drills for kids. Just like you can eat soup with a spoon, fork, or knife, but only one tool is more effective. Teaching hitters is the same. Stick to applying human movement principles validated by REAL science, NOT because-I-said-so “bro-science”, to hitting a ball, and your hitters will get predictably positive results.
And last, but certainly not least…the “ground-ball obsessed coaches”, go on and on about…
How even pro coaches and “great hitting instructors” never promote hitting fly-balls
This statement is also subjective. Please define “great hitting instructors”. Does what Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols say about hitting make them a great hitting instructor? Did Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn do a COMPLETE job of analyzing in retrospect, how they did what they did? Ted Williams came close, but still was quite far from filling in between the lines.
How about Dusty Baker in his hitting book. Mike Schmidt? Charlie Lau? Look, I’m not putting down any of these legendary people, but we have to have a higher standard than just somebody’s hitting “philosophy” or “bro-science”. We have to teach human movement principles that are validated by REAL science, to hitting a ball.
Simple as that.
So, my first baseball hitting drills for kids question to you is, if you believe the above statement, then whose kool-aid are you drinking? Who do you consider a “great hitting instructor”? And last time I checked on FanGraphs, Ted Williams, Pujols, A-Rod, Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, Bautista, and Donaldson ARE NOT trying to hit the ball on the ground. Don’t believe me? Look at their ground-ball, line drive, fly ball, and home-run to fly-ball ratios. I guarantee you’ll see ALL of them being below average in their ground-balls rates, while being above average in the others.
Please check…I’ll wait. Oftentimes, what Major League hitters say they’re doing is not what we see them do on slow motion analysis. What’s real and what’s feel are two totally different things. I GUARANTEE, most of the effective hitting gurus online, are telling their hitters to drive the ball IN THE AIR with AUTHORITY. Again, that includes line drives.
Wayne Gretzky image courtesy: http://forum.mmatd.com/
So you can keep telling yourself these baseball hitting drills for kids stories (i.e. the “ground-ball obsessed coaching” statements above), and get mediocre results with your hitters…
Or you can follow what Hockey great Wayne Gretzky says,
“A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”
Teaching baseball hitting drills for kids to primarily hit ground-balls is ‘where the puck is.” Teaching them to hit the ball in the air is ‘where the puck is going to be’.
Think it’s impossible for young hitters to learn? You’re wrong. You may not know how to teach baseball hitting drills for kids to optimize launch angles. And that’s okay! Get educated. Don’t be an armchair quarterback. Opinions are NOT facts.
Don’t be afraid of setting young hitters up for failure in teaching them to hit more line drives. Shoot for the stars to land in the clouds. Have a higher standard for your hitters. In Pre-Kindergarten, my 5-year-old son’s teachers are getting him ready for Kindergarten. THE NEXT LEVEL! Coaches MUST do the same! Stretching requires some pain, but it’s how we grow.
And if you’re not growing, you’re dying. Swallow your pride, and come over to the Light Side!
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/wayne-gretzky-e1454003142351.jpg441400Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-10-14 09:00:262022-11-28 05:16:14How To Fix Hitting Too Many Ground Balls In Baseball & Softball | Which Part Of Ball To Hit If Grounding Out To Shortstop (or Second Base), Swinging Over Top, Rolling Over, Or Too Much Wrist Roll? | Hit More Line Drives REVEALED!
Discover whether the baseball or softball batting weight donut (not to be confused with a doughnut!) is or IS NOT a benefit to the Little League swing? Weighted donut Amazon reviews: Easton, Power Wrap, and Varo.
Using Batting Weight On-Deck May Dangerous To Bat & Ball Exit Speed?
This post may blow the minds of those that didn’t get the memo…
You can read the article in full by clicking the previous link, but I wanted to include important bullet points from the article and Sports Science video above:
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
“Studies conducted over several decades have concluded that the ritual popular among professionals and emulated by amateurs doesn’t increase bat speed. It may actually slow it down…’the best is your own bat'”
According to the Zepp app, average professional bat speeds range from 75 to 90-mph, average High School and College bat speeds range from 65 to 80-mph, and average youth bat speeds range from 40 to 70-mph.
PLEASE NOTE: there are other batting weight studies with small sample sizes (ranging from 7 to 60 players) comparing High School, College, and recreational hitters in laboratory settings (not LIVE batting practice). Adrenaline or others batter’s routines could have influenced performance in these. Basically the variable wasn’t properly isolated…that being said, a study with 20 college baseball players found “their performance was statistically unchanged.”
Dr. DeRenne, found using a 28-ounce batting weight changed the balance point of the bat and slowed down bat speed.
In Sports Science video above, a college hitter in 2008 hit 10 machine pitched balls WITHOUT using a batting weight before, and had an average bat speed of 69-mph, and routinely connected with the sweet spot. After using the batting weight, then taking another 10 swings off the same pitching machine, his average bat speed dropped to 68.3-mph, and on each swing he missed the bat’s sweet spot by several inches.
The above video talked about how because the hitter swings the bat at a slower pace using a batting weight, more red slow twitch endurance muscle fibers get recruited, thereby decreasing the amount of white fast twitch muscle fibers which fire two to three times faster. Warming up with batting weight in on-deck circle is actually priming the wrong muscles before stepping in the box.
The experience of a single batter can’t be generalized to others, but the results resembled other studies.
“People are always looking for an edge,” Dr. Szymanski said, “but just because a professional athlete does something doesn’t mean it’s good or helpful or right.”
The Bottom Line?
Now, a 0.7-mph drop in average bat speed doesn’t seem like a lot, but as you saw, it makes a BIG difference in barreling the ball. As retired Physicist Dr. Alan Nathan says:
If ball hits bat 1-inch off sweet spot = then 1 to 2-mph DECREASE in Ball Exit Speed (that’s 4 to 8-feet less distance!)
If ball hits bat 2-inch off sweet spot = then 2 to 3-mph DECREASE in Ball Exit Speed (that’s 8 to 12-feet less distance!)
If ball hits bat 3-inch off sweet spot = then 3 to 4-mph DECREASE in Ball Exit Speed (that’s 12 to 16-feet less distance!)
So, not only are hitters losing bat speed using a batting weight on the on-deck circle, but by barreling up the ball LESS OFTEN, they’re losing batted ball distance as well. Aside from swinging the hitter’s own bat, I’d say swinging a lighter bat – faster – would help the body recruit more of those white fast twitch muscle fibers before stepping in the box.
Your thoughts?
Grab 'Finger Pressure' Video
Frustrated with fixing BAT DRAG? Beat it!
Swing Study reveals how majority of hitters are correcting 'racing back elbow' bat drag within 1-2 weeks WITHOUT overhauling swing mechanics OR buying fancy and expensive hitting aids.
Click button below to access FREE video that has been downloaded over 20K times!
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!!
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
The Definitive Guide To Measuring, Tracking, & Boosting 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:
Did the hitter beat a personal record (PR), and/or
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.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
“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 errors, at the Major League level, until Ball Exit Speeds reach and go beyond 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.
“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:
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…
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/How-To-Increase-Baseball-Softball-Hitting-Power-Bat-Speed-And-Exit-Velocity-Formula-Drills.png423800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-08 09:45:222022-08-15 05:07:09How To Increase Hitting Power: Bat Speed And Exit Velocity Exercise Formula For Baseball, Softball, & Slow Pitch Drills | What Is Good Off Tee By Age & Average High School Program
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’ 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.
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),
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.
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
‘NOT Showing Numbers’ Day 1 & 2 side by side comparison…
‘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’ 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!
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/How-To-Increase-Youth-Baseball-Hitting-Power-And-Hit-Softball-Better-And-Farther-e1659989937478.png280800Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-08 09:00:412023-09-16 05:23:25Increase Youth Baseball Hitting Power Teach | How To Hit Fastpitch Or Slowpitch Softball Better, Farther, & In Certain Direction | Homerun Batting Tips!
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…
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:
Real v. Feel – How to get the ball up…Swing down to get the ball up…swing down for “line to line”
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?
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.
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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,
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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 Baseballsaid 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 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.
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/a-rod-hitting-video-perry-husband-joey-myers-interview.png279500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-08-01 09:30:442022-08-02 02:56:09Is Hitting Hard Line Drives Using Swinging Up Or Down Drills? Getting On Top Of Baseball Or Softball? | How To Stop Chopping Ground Balls & Square Ball Up!
Debating the intricacies of hitting a baseball (or softball) can be as bad as discussing religion or politics. This is why we look to proven human movement science first. Hitting a baseball NOT easy, but we can make it easier. It has a lot of failure built into the fabric. The objective of every coach, instructor, or parent should be to build as many “fail-safes” into the system as possible.
We’re going to explore the following, as they relate to impact:
Perry Husband & Effective Velocity,
90-Degree Angle to the Spine Rule NOT True?
University of Miami Study: The Biomechanics of the Baseball Swing
Conclusion…
First I want to start by setting the table…
Perry Husband & Effective Velocity
“Pluses” take-away from hitter’s reaction time, “minuses” add to hitter’s reaction time (images are pitcher’s POV). Photos courtesy: HittingIsAGuess.com
The one thing I like about Perry Husband’s contribution to hitting a baseball is he goes by “data, not feelings”.
He’s made a science out of a hitter’s reaction time. Perry Husband has accumulated, “Over 10 years of study and testing of amateur hitters and two years of intense study of major league at bats in a 4 million plus pitch database”. At his site Effective Velocity, Perry Husband explains his Effective Velocity system for pitchers:
“The Downright Filthy Pitching Series is a very in depth study of speed as it relates to the hitter’s reaction time. Initial velocity is the speed of the ball as the radar gun sees it, perceived velocity is the speed of the ball as the mind’s eye sees it and Effective Velocity is the speed it actually is. Effective Velocity (EV) is the initial velocity plus the location effects of the pitch due to different locations having different reaction times…A 90 MPH pitch can and does equal many different speeds, depending on where the pitch is located. “
His data (photo above) suggests that a hitter has to be quicker to pitches up in the zone, and in. And pitches down in the zone and away, give a hitter more time to adjust. Perry Husband reports from his findings:
“Did you know that the highest exit velocities off Major League hitters’ bats come off the pitches in the lowest part of the strike zone? How about that the most homeruns hit are off pitches at the very bottom of the strike zone as well?”
Over the past year, I’ve softened to some of Perry’s hitting a baseball mechanics. His information is vital to understanding if…
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
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90-Degree Barrel Angle to the Spine Rule NOT True?
Giancarlo Stanton: 90-degree barrel to spine rule. Note: outside pitch slightly up in zone. Photo courtesy: MLB.com
CLICK HERE for the post that explains this Rule. The preceding post link refers to the barrel, not the front arm to spine angle. There are FOUR ways a hitter gets to pitches at the top/bottom of the strike-zone, and/or inside/outside of the plate…
Tilting at the waist with the upper body (the lower the pitch, the more the tilt),
Another reader got upset saying that I’m teaching two different swings. And enlightened me about his extensive study into the brain, and that taking a bent arm from the initiation of the swing and changing the shape to straight is impossible for the brain to do. Click Here for a conversation Perry and I had on the arm bar.
Remember, Perry Husband said that the highest ball exit speeds and home-runs were off of lower pitches? Do you think it could be because the front arm was able to extend at impact? Creating a longer lever and allowing for a smooth transfer of bat speed (angular velocity) into ball exit speed (inertial force). These are fundamental rules in the Conservation of Angular Momentum.
Look, if our goal as coaches is to get hitters 100% on-time, 100% swing effective, then we must take a serious look at the front arm bar. High exit velocity is key to batted ball distance, and without it Launch Angles alone won’t score more runs. Besides, how many commercial and/or passenger airplanes get off the ground without high horizontal velocity? CLICK HERE for an interview we did with Perry Husband about his system.
One last thing to look into hitting a baseball…
University of Miami Study: The Biomechanics of the Baseball Swing
Josh Donaldson game winning dinger high inside pitch. Photo courtesy: MLB.com
Major shout out to one of my readers and local lesson parents, Nieszka, for bringing this to my attention. This study was done by Dr. David Fortenbaugh at the University of Miami (CLICK HERE if you want to download the 200+ page pdf). Here’s the gist of how the study was put together:
Study Objective: to compare swings against pitches thrown to different locations and at different speeds.
AA-level Minor League Baseball players (n=43) took extended rounds of batting practice in an indoor laboratory against a pitcher throwing a mixture of fastballs and changeups.
An eight camera motion analysis system and two force plates recording at 300 Hz captured the biomechanical
data.
The swing was divided into six phases (stance, stride, coiling, swing initiation, swing acceleration, and follow-through) by five key events (lead foot off, lead foot down, weight shift commitment, maximum front foot vertical ground reaction force, and bat ball contact).
Twenty-eight kinematic measurements and six ground reaction force measurements were computed based on the marker and force plate data, and all were assessed throughout the phases.
The findings?
According to the Study:
“A large number of biomechanical differences were seen among the swings against various pitch locations. More fully rotated positions, particularly of the pelvis and bat were critical to the batters’ successes on inside pitches while less rotated positions keyed successes against outside pitches. The trail and lead arms worked together as part of a closed chain to drive the hand path. Successful swings had the trail elbow extended more for HIGH IN and flexed more for LOW OUT, though batters often struggled to execute this movement properly. A distinct pattern among successful swings against fastballs, successful swings against changeups, and unsuccessful swings against changeups was witnessed; namely a progressive delay in which the batter prematurely initiated the events of the kinetic chain, especially when unsuccessful in hitting a changeup.”
Hitting a Baseball Conclusion
So, let’s tie up everything we talked about in hitting a baseball…
On pitches low and/or away, the hitter has more reaction time (Perry Husband research), so tilting at the waist (on lower pitches) and extending the front elbow to impact is key (90-degree barrel spine rule). And because the outside and lower pitches will be hit slightly deeper than inside and higher pitches, the trailing elbow will have more bend in it at impact (Miami Study).
There can be a harmonious relationship between an arm bar, and consistency getting to pitches up and in the zone. CLICK HERE for this post that gets into the different “catcher’s gloves” on how to do this. HINT: it has to do with the “belly button” catcher’s glove.
Readers, I want to hear your thoughts on hitting a baseball in the Comments below…
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/hitting-a-baseball-robinson-cano.jpg415525Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-07-11 09:15:432024-10-24 16:49:40How To Swing Bat And Hit Baseball Softball Faster, Farther, & Harder Every Time | Beginner Practice At Home Hitting To Increase Bat Speed, Power, Exit Velocity & In Certain Direction
Discover how to spot disconnected front arm swing drills and learn how to STOP hitting inside out, casting, bat drag, and looping baseball or softball swings. Perry Husband (EffectiveVelocity.com) and I will discuss bat lag drills for power validated by science.
5,000 Swing Experiments Validate Locked Out Lead Arm Is Superior To Bent
Here’s the Hitting Jam Session Interview Collection with Perry Husband:
At about the 2-minute mark, disclaimers…I was a skeptic on the locked lead arm since about 2 years ago, some out there cannot subscribe to a locked lead arm BECAUSE of what they teach – the “deep barrel dump” on every pitch depth, instructors are confusing what “casting” is and is not, it’s not a locked lead arm, it is a deep barrel dump regardless of pitch depth, nobody is 100% right or wrong, if stay in Science, then most will come to the same conclusions (on macros – maybe not micros),
At about 5-minute mark, what is and is not working for Mike Trout – bent lead up arm v. locked lead arm, fastballs up and in 80.8-mph avg. BES in 2018 (bent lead arm), and down and away 101.8-mph avg. BES (locked lead arm), what if the only fastball he gets is what produces the 80.8-mph avg. BES would that change Mike Trout’s offensive stats? Trout is hitting in a target rich environment where pitchers are throwing fastballs DOWN and off speed and breaking stuff UP, which puts timing that sequence VERY similar – easier to hit, pitchers are STUPID to keep fastballs down to him, Perry’s categories for pitches: #1’s – fastest version of the fastball – 96+ mph, #2’s – slowest version of the FB and fastest version of off speed (splitter/cutter/slider up in the zone), #3’s – slower versions of splitter/cutter/slider down in the zone, and #4’s – curveballs, Trout killed 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s, Perry referenced the SBNation article about Trout on Effective Velocity, article had wide reach and pitchers started pounding Trout up – and he adjusted to an up/in approach, changed his attention of where he focused and hunted, can only cover so much as a hitter when it comes to hitting 1, 2, 3, and 4’s,
At about 14-minute, 30-secs mark, hitter using bent lead arm comes at a cost, in Trout’s case 80-mph avg. BES v. 101-mph BES, split A/B testing metaphor on Facebook ad changing only 1 thing – see what ad wins out over being shown randomly to an audience, split A/B test locked lead arm versus keeping it bent, what if all FB’s down/away disappear to Trout? What would happen to his numbers? What happens when an EV minded pitcher like DeGrom, Scherzer, Verlander, Bauer face Trout or Miggy? What about bettering reaction time? What happens to policeman when you take away time? Ugly stuff – they have less time to make a decision (Perry referenced the book Blink), give extra time, see pitches easier, slow down fast stuff and speed up slow stuff…allows Trout to cover A LOT of pitches with same timing, as a pitcher you’re more likely to get away with hanging off speed or breaking stuff up in the zone than a fastball down and/or away,
At about 27-minute, 30-secs mark, Perry talks about how Jacob DeGrom ONLY mixed in a higher percentage of fastballs up in the zone (61% of the time – avg. postseason team was 44%) one year and cut his ERA in half! Debunking the “deep barrel dump” – great for pitches on the outer 1/3 of plate or lower in the strike zone, but is TERRIBLE barrel path for inner 1/3 to inner half part of plate, some confuse “long swing” with locked lead arm, but it’s because of casting or deep barrel dump, Perry talks about the ball bungee attached with surgical tubing experiment: found bigger the stretch, the faster and less time it takes ball to hit wall, connection to hitting is taking slack out of the system (more elastic energy built up!), fence drill – can do drill with locked lead arm if hold angle of bat close to following shoulder, keep 90-degree wrist angle tension w/ locked lead arm versus bent,
At about 36-minute, 30-sec mark, Stanton, Donaldson – when they hit 114-mph BES they’re in a closer to lead arm lock out position, why not find out how to figure out how to get hitters doing it versus explaining it away, multiple 100-mph BES younger hitters hitting balls off the tee, how many 100-mph BES players are being cheated by inferior mechanics, locked lead arm doesn’t just increase power but it also improves consistency of sweet spot to ball, Perry’s done 5,000 swing experiments on locked out front arm(Jay Bell was most known), in golf if golfers could hit it farther with a bent lead arm, then driving ranges across the world would be using bent lead arm, goal is still the same in baseball as in golf – hit it at max
At about 42-minute, 30-sec mark, locked lead arm being longer…it’s not a question of locked lead arm causes long or casting swing – it’s about when the hitter “releases” the barrel from the rear shoulder that causes the long or casting swing, the stubborn “deep barrel dump” barrel path being taught will become extinct when pitchers get more EV efficient and begin using hard stuff up in the zone, even if pitchers miss their mark by a foot they’ll still be effective – execute one in three pitches, you’ll be a super star just as long as you understand what your misses are doing, hitters must apply 100/100 all the time – 100% on-time, 100% effective, pitchers like Scherzer will be the norm and not the exception, dumping barrels on all pitches WILL NOT work, can lock at load or at start of the turn – objective is to take slack out before the turn,
At about 56-minute mark, pitcher and hitter adjustments over the decades: Bob Gibson days attacking up, hitters adjust and get good at driving up, then in 70’s and 80’s pitchers attacked down in the zone, now pitchers are beginning to adjust back up again, Perry says we’ll see one more drop with hitting, which will force hitters to rock bottom, buy a little more time swinging with bent front arm but at what costs, going to be really hard when hitter sees 100-mph up, then followed up with curveball that looks the same in the tunnel and drops, how longer arms effects contact points, all data right now is based on control of bent front arm, JUST TEST IT! CLICK HERE for testing protocol Perry and I have talked about in these Jam Sessions, any change you make MUST positively affect ball exit speed AND frequency of line drives, message to those who are anti-tee, bent lead arm ball exit will be close to the same off tee and LIVE
You can find Perry Husband at EffectiveVelocity.com, use EV25 coupon code for any of the online courses. @EVPerryHusband on Twitter, and @PerryHusband on Facebook
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 Alpha: https://www.truthaboutexplosiverotationalpower.com/pl/60039
'Add 40-Feet' To Batted Ball Distance
Swing Study reveals how tens of thousands of hitters are adding 40-feet to batted ball distance by using one simple strategy.
Click the button below to access the FREE video that's been downloaded over 30K times!!
https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/perry-husband-joey-myers-hitting-jam-session-5-blog.png282500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-06-07 09:00:482023-09-14 18:21:18Disconnected Front Arm Swing Drills: STOP Hitting Inside Out, Casting, Bat Drag, & Looping For Baseball Or Softball Batting
Longest Home Run Ever “Principles” May SURPRISE You…
Is the 700 foot home run the longest ever? And how hit it? Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, or Aaron Judge? The answer will shock you. What about the longest MLB home run in 2021? Or in the World Series? What is the optimal home run launch angle and exit velocity formula? And how do you get it? Interesting swing experiment…
Longest 2021: Miguel Sanó, MIN: 495 feet (Watch it)
But before analyzing the longest home run ever ‘principles’, I want to share a few important resources…
Some of you may remember first reading Physics Professor Robert Adair’s book The Physics Of Baseball. Think of the above video as the “engineering” of baseball – ahem, hitting specifically. Many of you know our motto here at Hitting Performance Lab and HOW our hitting approach is different than most out there …
We apply human movement principles that are validated by Science, to hitting a ball … (unlike the willfully ignorant ‘bro-science’ approach to hitting).
SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:
Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.
Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.
Another good longest home run ever engineering principles book resource is The Golfing Machine authored by Homer Kelley, who was an aeronautical engineer that worked for Boeing during the Great Depression. He fell in love with golf and applied engineering principles to the golf swing, which were meticulously described in the book.
A fantastic post on the topic of longest home run ever comes from Dr. Alan Nathan over at PopularMechanics.com titled, “What’s The Longest Possible Home Run”. Alan Nathan is a professor emeritus of physics at the University of Illinois who has spent a career tracking physics, especially as it relates to baseball. He says two primary factors guide how far a ball is going to fly: exit velocity and launch angle. Click the PopularMechanics.com link to read more.
The SmarterEveryDay YouTube channel is a MUST subscribe. They’re a bunch of engineering geeks that put together fascinating experiments and tests that challenge things like the longest home run ever (above) to the backwards brain bicycle. Their videos are very entertaining, funny, and extremely informative.
What I have for you below are time marked bullet points I found interesting in the above longest home run ever SmarterEveryDay video. Big THANK YOU to the golfing sensei, and my good friend, Lee Comeaux for the share…
At 1-min, 25-sec mark, he acknowledge the “Launch Angle” craze, their focus is to “…point at the fence and swing a bat as fast as we can.”
Safety first kids!! These guys took many many safety precautions when running this experiment defending against batted balls (200+ mph!), broken flying wood and metal bats, or even broken shards of machine.
At 2-min mark, they discuss how they setup the scenario for higher probability of moving ball hitting moving bat
At 2-min, 45-sec mark, talked about who these guys are and 3-phase power, “…dads who love to build things.”
At 4-min, 40-sec mark, discussed how wood bat broke during first phase of experiment, “tension” break
At 5-min, 45-sec mark, 2nd phase of experiment, metal bat broke off at plastic knob (slo mo at 6:40), and flew 581-feet!!
At 7-min, 45-sec mark, interesting to note the imbalance of the “Mad Batter Machine” when one of two metal bats break off…think about a hitter that isn’t counter-balancing their body when swinging(e.g. breaking one-joint rule – rear ear closing in on rear shoulder during turn, OR shifting weight during stride, then continuing to go forward during turn – lunging).
At 10-min, 15-sec mark, fantastic frame-by-frame of bat ball collisions – ground-ball, high fly-ball, hit too early … as power was turned up, they started breaking bats … crazy how much fun these guys were having doing this. I’m so envious!
At 11-min- 35-sec mark, talked about fastest ball exit speed being Giancarlo Stanton (123.9-mph), one hop double play grounder to second baseman, their pitching machine was throwing balls at 50-mph, while their high speed bat was hitting batted balls at 240-mph! This goes to show pitching velocity isn’t the best predictor of batted ball distance (1-mph of added pitching velocity only adds 1-mph to ball exit speeds) … bat speed is (1-mph of added bat speed adds 4-mph to ball exit speeds).
Thought experiment … imagine if these guys angled the Mad Batter Machine in an extreme downward or upwards plane – what would happen? I think this experiment would take them months, not days. Think about it, a couple engineering guys, didn’t care about the ‘Launch Angle’ craze, and just angled it to where it’d hit the majority of balls … hmmmm, let that sink in 😉
At 12-min, 10-sec mark, history of longest home run ever tape measure shots: Mickey Mantle – 565-feet, Babe Ruth – 575-feet, and Joey Meyer – 582-feet (no immediate relation :-P)
At 12-min, 45-sec mark, they show the longest home run ever… (full power!!!)
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https://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/longest-home-run-ever-e1577912907178.png257500Joey Myershttps://hittingperformancelab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/hitting-performance-labs_c90c0362088ef1d3d528f3078f4f8ac1-300x75.pngJoey Myers2022-05-31 09:45:542022-06-01 05:00:33700 Foot Longest Home Run Ever? Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Or Aaron Judge? | MLB In 2021 And World Series? Optimal HR Launch Angle & Exit Velocity Formula Experiment
, by Thomas Myers, and
, by Thomas Myers, and
, by Dr. Serge Gracovetsky.
to measure the Ball Exit Speeds of my hitters, off the tee, before and after each session.
and/or a 
, 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.
(Thomas Myers), 
(Dr. Serge Gracovetsky), and from my past swing experiment, I expect to see similar results…maybe even slightly lower numbers favoring ‘Showing Numbers’.
(to measure Ball Exit Speed, or BES),
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,
), give extra time, see pitches easier, slow down fast stuff and speed up slow stuff…allows Trout to cover A LOT of pitches with same timing, as a pitcher you’re more likely to get away with hanging off speed or breaking stuff up in the zone than a fastball down and/or away,
. Think of the above video as the “engineering” of baseball – ahem, hitting specifically. Many of you know our motto here at Hitting Performance Lab and HOW our hitting approach is different than most out there … 
authored by Homer Kelley, who was an aeronautical engineer that worked for Boeing during the Great Depression. He fell in love with golf and applied engineering principles to the golf swing, which were meticulously described in the book.
