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Discover how to hit more line drives using swing bat path mechanics science to hitting on the plane of the pitch like Joey Votto.

How To Hit More Line Drives Swing Bat Path Mechanics Science To Hitting On Plane Like Joey Votto

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Discover how to hit more line drives using swing bat path mechanics science to hitting on the plane of the pitch like Joey Votto.

Baseball Swing Slow Motion Analysis Of Joey Votto

 

 

This is Part-2 of a 3-part baseball swing slow motion analysis video series coming straight out of the Pitch-Plane Dominator online video mini-course…

Hitting Training - Pitch-Plane Dominator

Sick of struggling to reduce your hitters ground balls, swing and miss strikeouts, and non-productive weak fly balls?  This simple 4-Step online video mini-course (7-modules total) will help hitters weighing less than 100-pounds, barrel the ball more consistently.  Dramatically decrease ground balls, strikeouts, and weak fly balls (no matter the pitch location or speed) by applying human movement rules validated by science.

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

Get Access to The Pitch Plane Dominator Online Video Mini-Course

“If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.” – Tony Robbins

I received the following reader question:

“If you could only teach one swing, whose would you teach?”

And what follows in this baseball swing slow motion analysis of Joey Votto video, is my answer, as it relates to getting the barrel on, and staying on the plane of the pitch for as long as possible.

We’ll discuss Joey Votto’s:

  • Pitch-Plane consistency metrics,
  • 2015 ESPN’s HitTracker spray chart, and
  • Mechanics as they apply to Pitch Plane Domination.

Let’s build Joey Votto’s case as the best to copy for Pitch-Plane Domination…

 

Joey Votto Pitch-Plane Consistency Metrics

According to Baseball-Reference.com, Joey Votto’s 162-game averages (over 9 years in the League) are as follows:

Baseball Swing Slow Motion Analysis: Joey Votto Metrics

Look at the “yellow” highlighted line…

Here are the Joey Votto Metrics to pay particular attention to (definitions are according to FanGraphs.com):

  • On-Base% (OBP) – measures the most important thing a batter can do at the plate: not make an out…Joey Votto: .423, League Average is: .320
  • Isolated Slugging% (ISO) – measure of a hitter’s raw power and tells you how often a player hits for extra bases…Joey Votto: .223, League Average is: .140
  • OBP + SLG (OPS) – the sum of a player’s on-base percentage and their slugging percentage…Joey Votto: .957, League Average is: .710
  • OPS+ – This statistic normalizes a player’s OPS — it adjusts for small variables that might affect OPS scores (e.g. park effects) and puts the statistic on an easy-to-understand scale…Joey Votto: 156, League Average: 100

As you can see, Joey Votto is well above average in “not making an out”,  and “raw power”.  What’s also interesting is Joey Votto’s strikeout and walk percentages (averaged over his career):

  • Strikeout% – Joey Votto: 18.6%, League Average: 18.5%, and
  • Walk% – Joey Votto: 15.9%, League Average: 8.5%.

Joey Votto 2015 ESPN’s HitTracker Spray Chart

Check out the HitTrackerOnline.com spray chart of Joey Votto’s 29 homers in 2015 (keep in mind he’s a left handed hitter):

Baseball Swing Slow Motion Analysis: Joey Votto spray chart

Joey Votto 2015 spray chart courtesy: HitTrackerOnline.com

CLICK HERE for a FanGraph.com article titled, “Joey Votto on Hitting”. It goes into how:

  • Cerebral a hitter he is about his mechanics,
  • He purposely tools his swing to limit defensive shifts, and
  • He’s given up some power (dingers in particular) to cover the Pitch-Plane more effectively.

The aforementioned link is a GREAT read.  From the above spray chart and metrics, I’d say he “NAILED IT!!”

 

Joey Votto Mechanics as They Relate to Pitch-Plane Domination

In the above 17:23-minute baseball swing slow motion analysis video of Joey Votto’s swing, we go into more detail about the following FIVE human movements rules for Pitch-Plane Domination:

  1. Front Knee bend before swing initiation, and during the Final Turn,
  2. Back Knee bend during the Final Turn,
  3. Back foot skip during the Final Turn,
  4. Barrel matching the plane of the pitch early, and
  5. Barrel ‘chasing the ball’ passed impact getting to ‘Power-V’ after impact.

As Tony Robbins said,

“If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.” 

Joey Votto is your hitter to dominate the Pitch-Plane when looking at baseball swing slow motion analysis.

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

Flat 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

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Discover flat swing bat path trainer drills to square up a baseball or softball and learn how to hit more line drives instead of swinging under fly balls and hitting top half chopping grounders.

Hitting Tips To Boost Barrel Time On Pitch Plane

Ryan Braun early on pitch-plane

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.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Hitting Tips from the Collective Few…

Ryan Braun Hitting Tips: staying long on the plane of the pitch

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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Rope Bat Review: Swing Training Aid To Fix Youth Bat Drag In Baseball Softball Hitters

Rope Bat Review: Swing Training Aid To Fix Youth Bat Drag In Baseball Softball Hitters | Modern Hitting Mechanics Video Guide Breakdown

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

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

 

 

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

Baseball Swing Drills Ropebat: Reaction Time Mastery

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

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

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

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

SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:

Improve your hitting strategy dramatically by applying human movement principles.

Learn not only how and what to train but also the science behind the methods.

Right Course For You? Take Quiz Now

Baseball Swing Drills RopeBat Benefits to ‘Bat Lag’

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

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

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

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

And they’re WRONG.  Dead wrong!!

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

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

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

Forward Momentum using Rope Bat

Baseball Swing Drills Ropebat: Mickey Mantle Shifting Foot Pressure

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Top-Hand Finger Pressure Bat Lag Drill using RopeBat

Baseball Swing Drills Ropebat: Finger Pressure

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

Nothing banishes Bat Drag like top hand finger pressure…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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