Posts

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

How To Increase Hitting Power Stats Like Jose Altuve Swing With Fundamental Baseball & Softball Drills In 2022

, , ,

Jose Altuve Hitting Analysis Reveals A Pathway To Repeatable Power

 

Jose Altuve Hitting Analysis

Look at Jose Altuve’s ‘bat lag’ and weight off the back foot. Photo courtesy: Melissa Phillip / Houston Chronicle

Learn how to increase hitting power stats like Jose Altuve swing with fundamental baseball and softball drills in 2022.

In doing Jose Altuve hitting analysis, here’s what I hear…

“Well, he’s a big hitter, that’s why he can hit for power”…

…Is the EXCUSE from coaches who’re removing any responsibility to help their smaller hitters hit the ball farther and harder.

Or, oftentimes I hear this about a hitter like Dustin Pedroia (5’9″, 175-lbs – these numbers are fudged “up” btw):

“He’s just gifted.”

Wa?!!

ALL Major Leaguers are GIFTED!!! lol

Tell me one physical advantage that Dustin Pedroia has over most…??!

Don’t say eye hand coordination or vision because that’s another common rebuttal.

There are countless other MLB hitters with the same superior eye-hand coordination and vision.

The reality is, smaller sluggers MUST be MORE effective, in order to compete with sluggers bigger than them.

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

Now, this Jose Altuve hitting analysis post isn’t about the ‘laser show’…however,

Standing in at 5’6″,

…and weighing in at a soaking wet 165-pounds, we’ll look at Jose Altuve (his height and weight numbers are a little closer to reality I think).

Although,

I do think Jose Altuve has one thing over the ‘laser show’, and that’s dancing (parental guidance is recommended 😉:

In this Jose Altuve hitting analysis video, we’ll go over:

  • Jose Altuve stats,
  • Presents of Forward Momentum (FoMo)?
  • How well he dominates the plane of the pitch,
  • Where his power comes from, and
  • Does he practice Pitch Recognition?

FYI: the pitch Jose Altuve is hitting in the video analysis looks like an 87-mph FB straight down broadway, and it does look like he’s on-time.

Without further adieu, here are the notes for the…

 

Jose Altuve Hitting Analysis Stats (the averages of averages)

CLICK HERE for the FanGraphs.com post  I pulled the following stats from*:

  • ISO = +20 points
  • BABIP = +34 points
  • GB% = +4%
  • LD% = +1%
  • FB% = -6%
  • HR/FB% = -3.5%

(*a (+) denotes how many points OR percentage points or above league average, and a (-) denotes below league average.)

 

Presents of Forward Momentum (FoMo)?

  • Is FoMo present?
  • Shifting foot pressure (mentioned landing with closed front foot), and
  • Moving Center of Gravity (COG).

 

How Well he Dominates the Plane of the Pitch

  • Knee Action – ‘getting shorter’ and ‘staying shorter’
  • Barrel Plane – keeping barrel on plane for as long as possible

 

Where his Power Comes from…

  • Showing numbers,
  • Hiding hands from the pitcher,
  • Hunch – Posterior Pelvic Tilt (PPT), and
  • Down shoulders? (not so much here).

 

Does he Practice Pitch Recognition?

My friend Aaron Miles, who was small (5’8″, 180-lbs), and played 9 years in the Bigs, talks about how his High School coach was forward thinking…in that he did Pitch Recognition training with his troops, and Aaron’s coach said he had the best PR on the team.

My hypothesis in this Jose Altuve hitting analysis is that he does some sort of PR training, OR has a God given early pitch recognition ability that allows him to hit the ball so hard, so often.

Sure, according to this Jose Altuve hitting analysis,

…Altuve may not hit over 30 homers per year, but he sure will hit a boat load of doubles, which is just as good to contributing to team wins…just look at his above average (average) ISO and BABIP scores above!

by
Josh Karr

ATTN: College Coaches, COVID19 Risk Hiding In Your Recruiting Process?

To Coaches That Want To Fill A 2021 Roster Spot Despite COVID19

https://audioboom.com/posts/7568586

(CLICK HERE for the full transcription of the interview)

UPDATED: Josh has currently found a home at a JC, but I’m sure he’d welcome any other interests.

I’m doing something a little different in this post…

I want to help college coaches.  But most importantly, I want to help support one of my High School Seniors that got stuck in this COVID-19 season ending cyclone.  What follows is an interview to help coaches fill a 2021 roster spot with a solid student athlete…

The NCAA has allowed a 5th year for seniors in college impacted by COVID-19 season shutdown.  I agree with this.  It was a good move.  However, what about High School seniors who only got to play 15-20 games in 2020, without the opportunity to commit?

I’ve interviewed one of those seniors, Josh Karr.

FULL DISCLAIMER: I’ve worked with Josh in the past, and his dad reinforces our system with him as well.  I wanted to conduct an interview as if I was a college coach recruiting Josh.

 

Quick stats and highlights from the interviewJosh Karr

  • 6-foot, 2-inches, 215-pounds. From: Wills Point, Texas. Goes to: Wills Point High School.
  • 96-mph ball exit speed off tee using PocketRadar app. Hit 100-mph on LIVE pitching but didn’t record that.
  • Infield corner position player: 1B/3B, has played outfield before (RF).
  • .960 to .970 Fielding%
  • 60-yard time: 7.2
  • Pop-time: 1.99
  • 3.62 grade point average.  1040 SAT.
  • Loves Math.  Wants to major in Biology, end up in the medical field.  Possibly wants to be an NPA.
  • 2019 stats (Junior year): .329 BA, .451 SLG%, .537 OBP%. 27 hits, 4 homers, 5 doubles. 26 RBI’s.
  • Named “player-to-watch” for his region.  Out of roughly 540-550 players of the whole region. Josh was one of top 40 they picked for it.
  • His main focus hitting right now is line drives

If you want to reach out and contact Josh, you can at the following spots:

  1. Email – jmkarr at SBCGlobal dot net (formatted this way, so Josh doesn’t get a lot of SPAM)
  2. Phone – 661-889-5543
  3. MaxPreps page
  4. On the socials – His personal page on Twitter is: @JoshKarr16 … and his baseball page is: @BaseballKarr …you can DM him there as well.

Final thoughts: yes, I’m a little biased in Josh’s case. And no, I don’t do this that often.  But I’m going to vouch for this graduating High School Senior.  Josh comes from a solid family.  They’re hard workers.  Highly disciplined.  And focused on what they set their mind to.  Josh is a fantastic student.  And since I’ve known him, he does what he needs to to compete at the next level.  He needed to cut weight, so he cut 10% body fat and dropped 10-15 pounds last fall.  His weakness is pitches down in the zone.  He’s currently working on driving those pitches on a line.  The point is, this is a coachable student athlete that is looking to compete for you.  Please reach out…

 

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

Softball Hitting Tips Video: Bat Speed Killer!

In This Softball Hitting Tips Video,

 

Softball Hitting Tips Video: Bat Speed Killer!

These softball hitting tips work for baseball too.

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

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

This video compares a…

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

 

Clarification on the front arm barring out…

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

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

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

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

 

How-to Fix:

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

 

Resources:

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

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

Baseball Hitting Video Trick For Long Drives

,

In This Baseball Hitting Video Trick For Longer Drives,

 

Baseball Hitting Video Trick For Longer Drives…I analyze one of my young hitters Jarred, comparing his most recent swing to another about six months prior:

  • We analyze how consistent he’s being with his Float, Fall, and Fight Position (Landing),
  • How his spinal alignment got better, and
  • What baseball hitting drill he needs to be working on to clean up his Fight Position.

In the beginning, Jarred was one of those hitters who came in turning and burning on every pitch.  Head flying out.  Shoulders doing the same.  Very inconsistent with his power.  Once I got him to realize the swing isn’t all about muscle activation, but about using the forces of gravity to give him a “head-start”, he started seeing the ball rocket off his barrel.

You see, it’s all about technique.  Not athleticism.  Sure the latter helps.  But it doesn’t mean a small hitter can’t out-slug a bigger one…just look at how Andrew McCutchen (5’10”, 190lbs*) beat out Paul Goldschmidt (6’3″, 245lbs*) for the 2013 NL MVP.

(*Baseball-Reference.com)

For more baseball hitting video trick information, CLICK HERE to watch a four-minute video where Dr. Kelly Starrett reveals a simple Spine Integrity Test you can do with your players right away.

Also, I’d be forever grateful if you SHARE THIS POST to Facebook or Twitter.  The more people we can help educate the BETTER!  You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel HitPerformLab above.  And of course, if you have any questions or comments on this post, please direct them below…thanks for watching!

by