case study Archives

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

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

(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.

Quarantine lab work. @hitperformlab @PocketRadar @FlatgroundApp @joshkarr16 pic.twitter.com/swa0tJmyt9

— Josh Karr Baseball (@BaseballKarr) April 2, 2020

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 interview

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:

Email – jmkarr at SBCGlobal dot net (formatted this way, so Josh doesn’t get a lot of SPAM)
Phone – 661-889-5543
MaxPreps page
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…

April 6, 2020/0 Comments/by Joey Myers

Khris Davis Swing Analysis

Build More Power, Case Studies

Ball Exit Speed & Launch Angle Hacking With Khris Davis [Part-2]

Khris Davis swing analysis, and not to be confused with “Chris” Davis, the 1st baseman for the Baltimore Orioles! …they’re having two COMPLETELY different years 😛 lol

Khris Davis swing analysis stride landing position photo courtesy: MLB.com

This Khris Davis swing analysis is Part-2 to our series looking at one my 9yo online lessons, Ethan. In case you missed it, here you go:

Ethan case study The Feedback Lab online hit training video,
Khris Davis swing analysis video [YOU ARE HERE],
How to drills to fix (COMING SOON).

In the above Khris Davis swing analysis video, we’re going to look at:

Khris Davis stat analysis comparing 2015 & 2016 seasons to 2018,
Khris Davis swing analysis comparing 2015 & 2018 swings (when things seemed to have changed), and
Human movement principles 9yo Ethan is working on that Khris Davis does well.

Khris Davis Stat Analysis Comparing 2015 & 2016 seasons to 2018

I wanted to share a recent and insightful Beyond The Box Score post on Khris Davis’s 2018 season titled: “Khris Davis is swimming against the current: As home runs continue to decline this season, Davis has counteracted the trend”

From the article, and since 2016, Khris Davis has improved tremendously, and here are just a few highlights:

2016 avg. Launch Angle = 12.9 degrees…2018 avg. Launch Angle = 17.7 degrees, and
2016 avg. Ball Exit Speed = 91.7-mph…2018 avg. Ball Exit Speed = 92.7-mph.

I think everyone understands how important hitting the ball hard is, but a lot out there are rejecting Launch Angles! They matter, check out this “Parabolic motion – range of a projectile” video (thanks Lee!)…

Optimized is key! Goldilocks golden rule, not too high, not to low…just right!

Furthermore,

Khris Davis is someone who has been good at hitting despite, as some will say, being poorly built for it – he’s 5-foot, 10-inches, 195-pounds. Compare him to Aaron Judge who’s 6-foot, 7-inches, and 282-pounds.

What’s also telling, according to Fangraphs.com, Khris Davis has steadily moved away from hitting ground-balls, pulling the ball less, and built a more frequent opposite field hitting approach. Compare 2015 to 2018 (stats experiencing most significant impact):

2015: GB% = 42.5%,
2018: GB% = 36.1%
2015: Pull% = 41.4%
2018: Pull% = 36.1%
2015: Oppo% = 20.1%
2018: Oppo% = 24.5%

Khris Davis Swing Analysis Comparing 2015 & 2018 Swings (when things seemed to have changed)

PLEASE NOTE: very similar pitch type, speed, location, and swing timing in above video:

2015 (w/ Brewers): 96-mph middle/middle, and
2018 (w/ A’s): 94-mph middle/middle-slightly in.

Mechanically speaking, here are a couple things I noticed:

Seems to be “stepping out”, slightly opening hips more at stride landing, while keeping shoulders “blocked”,
Slight difference in back foot behavior (could be a timing thing),
Back knee angle (about 10-degree difference),
Head in circle just after impact, could be direct result of change in back knee angle, and
Getting shorter from start to the turn (camera angle could be slightly different).

Human Movement Principles 9yo Ethan is Working on Khris Davis does well

If you remember in the Ethan case study The Feedback Lab online hit training video, his hitting homework was to work on the following positions at stride landing:

Showing numbers, and
Slight downhill shoulder angle…

In the above Khris Davis swing analysis video, we covered:

Khris Davis stat analysis comparing 2015, 2016 seasons to 2018,
Khris Davis swing analysis comparing 2015 & 2018 swings (when things seemed to changed), and
Human movement principles 9yo Ethan is working on that Khris Davis does well.

Stay tuned for Part-3, where we discuss drills…

September 18, 2018/7 Comments/by Joey Myers

Ropebat VIDEO: How To Take The Headache Out Of Barrel Path (A Case Study)

Case Studies, Hit More Line Drives, Hitting Aid Reviews

Ropebat Answers Your Most Burning Questions About Getting A “Nike Swoosh” Barrel Path

There are 10-days between these two videos.

(If you have a legit “down swinger”, then this Ropebat post will benefit them!)

Here’s what I have for you…

I was recently working on smoothing out the barrel path of one of my 15 year old local hitters Liam…

He had what I’ve heard called a Verizon check mark barrel path BEFORE. We worked on smoothing out the check mark into more of a curved Nike Swoosh barrel path.

What’s amazing about Liam’s transformation was that:

It only took ten days,
It took two total 30-minute sessions (beginning of session three was when the AFTER video was taken), and
Liam only had access to the Ropebat during our sessions. After session number-three, his mom went ahead and purchased one for home use.*

*Results aren’t typical. Liam has a primary “feel” learning style, so the Ropebat worked well for him – and not to mention quickly with minimal use.

In the above video, we go over:

Question a High School coach had for me at 2017 ABCA conference about changing barrel path,
The Verizon check mark versus Nike Swoosh barrel path, and
The RopeBat cues I use in conjunction with the “feel” of the Ropebat.

CLICK HERE for the original full Ropebat post I did awhile back that shows the swing drill we used. Or you can get it at our store here. The Ropebat is my favorite hitting aid for helping hitters learn a solid middle away and middle down barrel path. Great for hitting line drives to the opposite field!

February 2, 2017/0 Comments/by Joey Myers

Jose Altuve Hitting Analysis Reveals A Pathway To Repeatable Power

Build More Power, Case Studies, Get On-Time, Hit More Line Drives

Like Jose Altuve, You Can Compete With BIG Sluggers…

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

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.

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!

July 2, 2016/9 Comments/by Joey Myers

Baseball Hitting Instruction To Stop Rear Racing Elbow Bat Drag

Case Studies, Hit More Line Drives

Okay, I’ll admit it…

Baseball Hitting Instruction: Zack Racing Rear Elbow

It took 30-mins to clean up my Sophomore in High School, Zack May’s, Rear Racing Elbow using Reactive Neuromuscular Training (RNT)…

The one hitting fault that is a bugger to fix is,

Rear Racing Elbow.

Unfortunately: I find that a baseball hitting instruction fix for one player with this challenge, may not work for another.

Fortunately: I do see symptoms that tend to haunt specific Rear Racing Elbow bat drag hitters.

Unfortunately: I also find that the same combination of symptoms may not be present for every hitter.

Fortunately: For this baseball hitting instruction drill to work, the symptoms must be present.

In this post:

We’ll define Rear Racing Elbow,
Look at the symptoms of this particular case study,
Front knee action at landing: slightly bent or straight? and
How we fixed the issue in one 30-min session, using RNT…

What is Rear Racing Elbow?

It’s when the rear elbow “races” passed the hands towards the middle of the body (see “BEFORE” image up and to the right).

It can cause the hitter to:

Dump the barrel prematurely, which leads to flares OR misses completely to the opposite field, OR
Roll over or get jammed on inside pitches.

It’s a nasty bug to fix with conventional baseball hitting instruction, and one my readers sounded off on at the following two HPL posts:

Symptoms of Rear Racing Elbow Bat Drag

In this particular baseball hitting instruction case study, one of my local hitters Zack May, a Sophomore in High School, over the past year, has been haunted by these three things…NOT getting the:

Front leg to straight at or passed impact,
Back knee to 90-105 degrees during the turn, and
Downhill shoulder angle before landing.

Front Knee Action at Landing: Slight Bend or Straight?

19 Aug 2001: Mark McGwire #25 of the St. Louis Cardinals gets a single against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri. DIGITAL IMAGE. Mandatory Credit: Elsa/ALLSPORT

Mark McGwire front knee bend at impact. Photo courtesy: Elsa/ALLSPORT

This is a major baseball hitting instruction debate among instructors I respect. They teach their hitters to keep a slight bend in the front knee at or passed impact.

They point to big sluggers like Mark McGwire (pictured to the right) and Mark Teixeira, among others, as examples.

The amount of bend in the front knee up to impact will depend on the amount of forward momentum (FoMo) the hitter uses.

The more FoMo a hitter uses, the more Ground Reaction Forces (GRF) are needed to transfer planes of motion from the Frontal/Coronal* (sideways) to the Transverse* (twisting). In which case, a straightening of the front knee would be highly recommended. Hitters like Jose Bautista and Josh Donaldson come to mind.

On the contrary though, like a lot of big sluggers, the less forward momentum (wide to little striders), there doesn’t seem to be a need to straighten the front knee during impact.

Think of a wide receiver running a 10-yard 90-degree cut route. He uses GRF and FoMo just like a hitter, but he’s transferring from Sagittal* (front) to the Frontal/Coronal* (sideways) plane of motion. In this case, he’s reaching a maximum forward running speed (FoMo), then has to cut very quickly, so you’ll see his plant leg go from bent to straight as he uses Ground Reaction Forces. Evidenced by him dropping down (or getting shorter) before making the cut.

My hitter Zack is both tall (6’4″), and uses quite a bit FoMo. So, for him, when that front knee doesn’t get to straight, that’s a problem. Coupled with the issue of not getting sufficient bend in his back knee during the turn causes the pelvis to not fully rotate. And as a result, his back shoulder and arm feel like they have to do extra work. And Rear Racing Back elbow is born!

*CLICK HERE for a more in-depth overview of planes of motion on Wikipedia.

Baseball Hitting Instruction: How We Fixed Zack’s Bat Drag in 30-Mins…

To get you up to speed, check out this Dustin Pedroia & how to fix stepping in the bucket post I did that will explain the use of Reactive Neuromuscular Training, or RNT.

Baseball hitting instruction and RNT drill we used with Zack,

We used two long resistance bands positioned as close to his pelvis as possible (high up the thigh without damaging “the goods”),
Both resistance bands pull in opposite directions (feeding the mistakes – front knee wants to stay bent, and back knee wants to straighten during the turn), and
We worked on getting him to “resist the resistance” during the turn.

One thing we also used that seemed to be the permanent fix was finger pressure (see below…)

Baseball Hitting Instruction SAFETY Issue: Please be careful with this drill. The person facilitating the front band is in the way of a swinging bat!!! To be done with adults who know better, not teammates. Please watch video above for clarification on this.

August 13, 2015/6 Comments/by Joey Myers

You Too Can Build a Heavy Bag in a Weekend with $10

Case Studies, Sticky Coaching

Dr. Stanley’s homemade heavy bag.

Where was this post when I was younger!

Soon you’ll get to see how Dr. Stanley Beekman took his son from virtually zero follow through in a game swing…

To crystal clear follow through using a heavy bag. A homemade heavy bag, you’ll learn how to put together over a weekend, for only $10.

One simple NOTE: in the last hitting drill under “A Drill That Will Help the Hips”, make sure your hitters are showing their numbers to the pitcher, and keep the hips in neutral, or parallel to the plate before powering into the heavy bag.

Take it away Dr. Stanley…

—

In this post, I will discuss:

Swing benefits of using a heavy bag,
How to make one for $10 (step-by-step), and
How we used the heavy bag to better my son’s swing in 2 weeks…
A drill that will help the hips

Swing Benefits of Using a Heavy Bag

BEFORE

In the following video watch the bat slow down when the bat contacts the ball. This results in a lack of follow through:

When asked about it, he said, he didn’t follow through because the ball stopped the bat. One of the reasons for this is a lack of eccentric strength in the wrists and forearms.

AFTER

Right after this, he started hitting the heavy bag. (Starting with 5 sets of 10 repetitions and over time progressing to 10 sets of 10 repetitions). He felt the change in two weeks. He said, “Dad, it felt like a hot knife through butter”. We continued through the off season…

How to Make a Heavy Bag for $10 (STEP-BY-STEP)

Materials:

3- Used tires of the same diameter (Free from any tire store)
12-1″ -2″ screws
12- nuts to fit the machine screws
24-washers
3-1/4″ eye bolts ($3.54)
1-Large eye bolt with 2 washers and nut or a Large Screw eye bolt
Parachute cord ($3.98)

Tools:

Drill
Drill bits

Instructions:

1. Find a location under a joist or beam.

2. If you are attaching the heavy bag to a beam, drill a hole through it and use the large eye bolt, 2 washers and a nut to attach the eye bolt to the beam.

If you are attaching the heavy bag to a joist, screw the Screw Eye Bolt to the joist.

3. Place a stool/bench on the floor where you want to put the Heavy bag. The height should be equal to your son’s knee.

4. Place on tire on top of the stool, and the second tire on top of the first.

5. Drill 4 holes at 90 degrees through the sidewall of the top tire and through the bottom tire at the area where the side walls touch.

6. Affix the tires using 4 screws, 8 washers and 4 nuts.

7. Stack the third tire on top of the other two.

8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 on the two top tires

9. Drill 3 holes through the sidewall of the top tire at 120 degrees to each other.

10. Push the small eye bolts through these holes and affix with the washers and nuts.

11. Tie a knot attaching the parachute cord to one small eye bolt.

12. Run the parachute cord through the large eye bolt and then to another small eye bolt.

13. Tie a knot.

14. Repeat steps 11-13 on the adjacent small eye bolt

.

15. Repeat steps 11-13 on the eye bolts that only have one strand going to it.

16. Remove the stool/bench

17. Hit the bag with a bat

How We Used the Heavy Bag to Better my Son’s Swing in 2-Weeks

Here’s what we did to achieve the AFTER swing from above :

A Drill That Will Help the Hips

In addition to hitting the bag to develop eccentric wrist and arm strength, we can train technique. In the video below, the hips are trained to rotate fully.

There are more drills that can be performed, but they can be duplicated with a tee. The advantage to using a heavy bag, is that the feedback is more accurate, as it is not dependent on how exact the ball is hit.

March 19, 2015/4 Comments/by Dr. Stanley Beekman

Derek Jeter VIDEO: These Exercises Accelerate Swing Efficiency

Case Studies, Hit More Line Drives, Move Better, Sticky Coaching

Derek Jeter: Exercises Proven To Increase Batted Ball Distance

Derek Jeter: These Exercises Accelerate Swing Efficiency

Danilo Collins, 16yo, from FL

I was recently introduced to Danilo Collins (pronounced Duh-nee-lo). A 16-year-old baseball player in Florida. Over email, he sent impact and follow through pictures (and video) of his swing, saying:

“Hey Joey, I have had this exact problem ever since I started filming my swing. During my final turn, at or near contact I find that my upper body tenses up. My shoulders shrug up, my face tenses up and tilts awkwardly, and my back arches in a weird, unnatural way.”

In this video blog, I want to address Danilo’s swing concerns using Derek Jeter as a model. We’ll answer these three questions:

What does an efficient impact & follow through position look like?
What can impact & follow through tell us about movement dysfunction?
What exercises can a hitter do to correct this?

If we can get a hitter moving better, they’ll perform better. Movement dysfunction puts performance on the back burner. Let’s see how Derek Jeter’s swing compares…

What Does an Efficient Impact & Follow Through Position Look Like?

Last week, I posted this to my Facebook fan-page using Danilo and Derek Jeter’s impact pictures, and received great feedback:

[fb_embed_post href=”https://www.facebook.com/HittingPerformanceLab/posts/571869122942886/” width=”400″/]

Here’s the jist of the Facebook feedback, in comparing Danilo to Derek Jeter:

Batting tee is set too far back for true point of contact,
Detachment of front arm from rib cage – no extension, and
Too much focus on turning faster. By extending front arm at contact, then back arm after contact Danilo will increase his inertial force (CLICK HERE to see another blog post on this).

Those great Facebook comments aside, I want to focus on something else that most don’t…

What Can Impact & Follow Through Tell Us About Movement Dysfunction?

I feel fixing movement dysfunction is just as important as efficient swing mechanics. Without correction, the body loses the ability to move efficiently. This dramatically decreases batted ball distance. Here’s what to key in on at impact and follow through using Derek Jeter as a reference point:

Maintaining strict alignment of head and spine (core stability), AND
Staying low on the pitch plane using back leg (core stability & glute activation).

If we compare Danilo to Derek Jeter, we can see a huge difference in the back leg angle, and how well the head, rib cage, and pelvis stack on top of each other.

What Exercises Can a Hitter Do to Correct This?

Derek Jeter photo courtesy: ChrisOLeary.com

I mentioned Core Stability & Glute Activation. I want you to do something for me:

Stand up with your feet under your shoulders,
Squeeze your butt cheeks together as hard as you can (notice your pelvis change position?), and
Now, tighten your abs as hard as you can like you’re doing a standing crunch (did this bring your rib-cage down?)

Danilo is arching his back and extending his back leg, resulting in his lower back taking on sheer forces. In the middle, taking a vacation, are his glutes. To look like Derek Jeter in the Impact and Follow Through photo to the right, Danilo will have to do these TWO corrective exercises 1-2 times daily:

Super Plank (core stability) – week one: 1 set X 45 secs hold, week two: 1 set X 60 secs hold, week three: 2 sets X 45 secs hold, and week four: 2 sets X 60 secs hold.
Single Leg Floor Bridge (glue activation) – week one: 1 set X 12 reps each leg, week two: 1 set X 15 reps each leg, week three: 2 sets X 12 reps each leg, and week four: 2 sets X 15 reps each leg.

The reps and time can change for younger hitters. Be sure to let the hips down slowly (4-secs) for each repetition for #2. After 4-weeks on #1, turn up the heat by doing a Super Plank-Pushup. Make sure to practice the same rules from the Super Plank. The key is NO rotation of the pelvis. You should be able to set a drink of water on the back of the pelvis when doing the movement, without spilling.

FINAL NOTE on Derek Jeter’s swing: we want head-spine alignment, but with a slight angle up and back over the catcher for more repeatable power. Derek Jeter is more vertical like Tony Gwynn.

October 9, 2014/4 Comments/by Joey Myers

Softball Hitting Tips Video: Bat Speed Killer!

Build More Power

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:

Break the swing apart into two steps: 1) To the Fight Position (Landing), 2) Go into the Final Turn.
NO extra movement with the hands going back is allowed before hitter proceeds to step-two above.
Once they get to the Fight Position, tell the hitter to move the upper body as “one piece” to get into the Final Turn.
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.

January 29, 2014/0 Comments/by Joey Myers

Baseball Hitting Mechanics Video: Snapping Towel

Case Studies, Hit More Line Drives

In This Baseball Hitting Mechanics Video,

…I analyze one of my eighth graders Zack, and we uncover the #1 simple tip can overcome bad hitting technique:

“How to make your everyday stance your fight stance, and your fight stance your everyday stance” – Musashi, a famous Japanese Samurai swordsman
The Snapping Towel Effect: getting the body moving,
The Snapping Towel Effect: the snap back, and
How Zack can improve…

CLICK HERE for an MLB case study YouTube video I did on David Ortiz looking into how Big Papi used the same Snapping Towel Metaphor in the 2013 Playoffs.

I’ll be doing a lot of baseball hitting mechanics video case studies of my own hitting students. Some where I do before and afters of their own swing. And other times, comparing their swing to a small-bopper I think is relevant to them. I think these case studies help coaches and instructors eliminate the excuse of how young hitters can’t develop high level mechanics.

The main objective of the Hitting Performance Lab is to show we’re not arguing about linear versus rotational mechanics. It’s that we’re discussing human movement. It doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female. Young or mature. Baseball or softball. We’re talking about how the human body is designed to efficiently move.

December 4, 2013/5 Comments/by Joey Myers

Baseball Hitting Drill Video: Effortless Power

Build More Power, Case Studies, Get On-Time

In This Baseball Hitting Drill Video,

…We discuss the #1 way to hitting for consistent power by analyzing one of my younger hitters Braden:

Before and after swing,
The Un-Weighting Principal, and
What baseball hitting drill to work on next.

Before & After Swing

It’s so fun to see young men – like Braden – begin to build in human movement principals like Un-Weighting and notice an instant jolt in force at contact. I ask all my students, if you wanted to live, would you rather get hit by a train going thirty miles-per-hour, or a motorcycle going sixty?

Of course the motorcycle! You see, the motorcycle swing is very handsy, fast like a bike but no weight. The train swing uses heavy mass and the slower rotational speed of the torso to pack a wallop at impact. Forward movement and Un-Weighting are only the beginning…

The Un-Weighting Principal

I’m working with Braden on throwing his body mass at the ball. Much like a projectile missile. This helps to make the bat feel lighter to the hitter. And be able to turn harder with less muscle involvement. The swing is a transfer of energy. We’re taking the potential energy contained in the hitter’s body, and getting it moving to transfer into the barrel. Then effectively shift this moving energy into the incoming baseball.

CLICK HERE for a YouTube baseball hitting drill video I put together that demonstrates the power of the Un-Weighting Principal.

What Baseball Hitting Drill to Work on Next?

Braden is coming along nicely with his footwork – with the exception of making sure his lower half is mostly open at the Fight Position (landing). We’ll be getting him to tap into the natural springy effect of his torso. I call it the Catapult Loading System. How the swing is loaded is a difficult concept for most to understand because their focus is on the wrong things:

Not every great MLB hitter walks away from their hands.
And not every great MLB hitter is swinging as effectively as they can.
We tend to study the wrong hitters.
And the camera view matters.

If you have any questions on this, then please post them below…

November 22, 2013/1 Comment/by Joey Myers

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