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How To Improve Your Bat Speed & Power Hitting Mechanics with Francisco Lindor's Swing Breakdown

Faster Bat Speed Drills To Improve Youth Power Hitting For Baseball & Softball Mechanics | Francisco Lindor Swing Breakdown

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Discover faster bat speed drills to improve youth power hitting for baseball and softball mechanics.  Learn how in this Francisco Lindor swing breakdown…

Francisco Lindor Swing Breakdown

 

 

Hey, what’s going on? It’s Joey Myers from the Hitting Performance Lab.  In this Francisco Lindor swing breakdown video, we’re going to go over three different things…

  • The first thing we’re going to do is are going to look at his metrics according to fan graphs,
  • The next thing is the big three in the Catapult Loading System, and
  • And then the last thing we’re going to look at is when the wrist snap happens…

 

Francisco Lindor Swing Breakdown: the Metrics

Now, let’s take a look at some of the stats and give a little context to this Francisco Lindor swing breakdown. You can see he is a smaller hitter, smaller slugger, 5-foot, 11-inches, 190-pounds. He switch hits.

You can see down here in 2019, putting his power in perspective… He’s hit 32 homers in the last years prior, 38, 33. That was 2017. And the video analysis swings we’ll look at in this video are from 2017.  He’s hit about 40 doubles or so in those last three years or the last four years. 30 doubles in 2016, and hits about .284.

And if we look at his batted ball totals as in line drive percentage, ground ball percentage and fly ball percentage…line drive percentage in 2019 was just about average – 20 percent is league average – ground-ball rate is average, league average is 43%. Fly ball percentage is just slightly below average at 36.6%. Average is about 37%, but pretty close to league averages there.

The one thing that is above well above league average is his homerun to fly ball percentage, which is 17.4%. And you can see the prior year 17.3, then 14.0, then 9.9, and 13.0 are all well above average on the 9 or 9.5% of homerun to fly ball ratios as the major league average.

So let’s start with the big three in the Catapult Loading System in this Francisco Lindor swing breakdown. You have the lefty at bat over here and the righty at bat over here. Let’s give a little context to these pitches in the at bats. This is the second one over here.

We’re going to look at the pitch speed, 88-mph. Some kind of breaking ball, maybe a slider, and this one he hit for home run into the right field bleachers or right center field bleachers, over here on the right his righty at bat.

He’s a little bit out in front. We have a 79-mph, probably a slider here. That he pulls in the five and a half hole.

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The Big-3: Catapult Loading System

OK, so what I referred to as the big three and the Catapult Loading System is the build more consistent power in a swing. There are three buckets. Two, our systems, the different systems we teach, that’s one of them.

The second one is the pitch plane domination system. And that’s all about how to hit more line drives and the reaction time mastery system, which is all about footwork, vision, tracking and timing.

This Francisco Lindor swing breakdown video, we’re going to be going over the first system, the power systems, the Catapult Loading System. I refer to the big three as “showing numbers”, “downward shoulder angle”, and “hiding the hands”.

What you’re going to see here, I have both of these swings synced up, on the left, the homer, on the right, the ball that he was a little bit out in front he pulled into the five and a half hole for a ground ball base hit.

“Showing Numbers”

You can see that if we rewind to the beginning. And just so you know, the camera angle in center field is slightly off center towards the left or left center. It’s in center, but slightly towards left. And that is going to show any kind of right-handed batter as showing their numbers more than the left. So just understand that this isn’t a complete apple to apples comparison, but you’ll still see the difference in their starting positions and their landing positions.

You can see here, you can’t see Francisco Lindor’s number really on the left, and you can start to make it out a little bit here on the right. Again, probably because of off centered camera in center field.

As the pitcher starts to get into the windup, gets ready to release the ball, you can start to see over here on the right … again, with our camera angle, you can see that #12, pretty clear as day at this point.

And what I want you to do is, again, with that skew with the camera, watch the pinstripe. If we put a dot in these spots, as you’ll see Lindor pull in more with the pelvis almost similar to the Javier Baez swing analysis that I did a few weeks ago, you saw Baez extremely turn that pelvis in. And my argument is that we don’t have to do that…

See here that that pinstripe you can’t see any more on the right side, but on the left side you can still see it. Again, we get a skewed camera angle, but it didn’t move quite as much on the left as it did on the right. So, this is something that Lindor actually doesn’t have to do and might be closing himself off just slightly. But nonetheless, you can see you can pretty much make out almost the full one in the two.

I used to teach showing numbers as showing both numbers are showing at least a number and a half, evolved it more to where we want to create neck pressure. If we create neck pressure, then the hitter should be showing their numbers. It’s more of an objective measure of showing numbers because every hitter is different. Their mobility in their neck is different.

In this Francisco Lindor swing breakdown, you can see his head really anchoring down for it in a tracking position and he’s moving his shoulder underneath his chin as far as he can, creating a wringing towel effect between his head and his shoulders. And he’s creating this neck pressure at the T1/C7 vertebrae in the spine, just like wringing a towel out. And he’s creating that neck pressure, which as a result will show his numbers.

And also, could be on the right side since he possibly is inward turning his pelvis a little bit more. It could be why he’s shown his numbers a little bit more besides the camera angle. So that is the first of the big three, showing numbers or creating neck pressure.

“Downhill Shoulders”

The second of the big three is the downhill or downward shoulder angle. It’s the hitter dipping their front shoulder down, creating this downhill shoulder angle that you can see with this back elbow in this Francisco Lindor swing breakdown. You can see his back elbow, if you create this line, not quite as much over here on the right, he doesn’t raise that elbow quite as much as on the left.

And granted, too… If you look at his at bats in fan graphs, he has a lot more at bats, probably 60 plus percent more on the left than he does on the right because he’s seeing probably more righties than he is lefty pitchers. So, you can see he’s probably little bit more grooved on the left anyway. And his power numbers show it. He’s got plenty of more homers on the left than he does on the right. But again, that reflects the amount of plate appearances as well.

He has this downward shoulder angle on the right. He’s not using his back elbow as much. We do use back elbow with the hitters to steer the shoulders down, but not all hitters will click with that. We’ll just tell those hitters that they seem to for telling him to raise the back shoulder at landing. Then what tends to happen is their hands start to balloon up and rise up. We don’t want the hands to get up past a certain height. We want to make sure that their hands are in it in a decent, more comfortable position around the shoulder height – back shoulder height to be able to launch from.

So, if the hitter is having a hard time by bringing that back elbow up, like you see Francisco Lindor over here on the left, then what we’ll tell the hitter to do is just lower the front shoulder.

He’s creating neck pressure, which is showing the number, this is a protraction of the front scapula for you movement nerds out there, you kinesiology nerds out there, and he is creating this downward shoulder angle so that his shoulders can actually flip.

You’ll see the front shoulder pop up in the back shoulder that’s up will go down as he gets to the swing here. You see a complete reversal of that. And we should see in the follow through, we should see a complete reversal again back to almost where his right shoulder on the left over here.

So this front one ends up, starts down, pops up, and then should end up back down again over the other shoulder. And the reverse is true. Over here on the right, we see the left shoulder start down, pops up, and then it should end up back down again, which you see here. That is a proper deceleration of the spinal engine.

“Hiding Hands”

The last piece of the big three is hiding the hands from the pitcher. So you can see the hands here from the left. You can see slightly the bottom hand on the right. And then you’re going to see those hands disappear. You’ll see them reappear back behind his head, on the right, on the left, not quite so much. You see them disappear behind his head. But again, we’re talking about a different camera angle here.

And some call this the scapula row or a rear scalp retraction for the kinesiology nerds back there.  We should see both a protraction of the front scapula, which is showing the numbers/neck pressure.

And we should also see a retraction of the rear scapula. We see both. We do not, especially in hitters like Lindor, who are 5’11”, 190 pounds. We do not see the ones that hit for power anyway. We do not see them only retracting the rear scapula and not showing their numbers, or not using neck pressure. We see both.

It is very hard for a hitter the size of Francisco Lindor to hit 30 homers a year for the last three or four years, without showing numbers and just doing the rear scapula retraction.

Not going to happen.

So those are the big three as it is to the Catapult Loading System, showing numbers, downhill shoulder angle, and hiding the hands. Now let’s check out the wrist snap…

 

Wrist Snap

A lot of young hitters, what they tend to do and there’s quite a few hitting instructors out there that are teaching this deep barrel dump and to “chicken wing” with the front elbow, 90-degree bend as it comes through impact.

The problem is, and this is what I’m seeing with both the hitting instructors and the hitters of the hitting instructors, and even in some of my hitters, as we train this out of their swing is, they create a lot of space between their front arm and their chest as they’re coming through.

You can see this was the pitch that was middle in that Francisco Lindor hit a homerun on to right. You can see how tight he keeps this barrel, and we talk about the belly button catcher’s glove…

Imagine a catcher’s glove in line with the hitter’s belly button and a catcher’s glove in line with the hitters back foot. This is important when it comes to pitches middle in and middle up because we want to be knocking off those catcher’s gloves and not knocking off the real catcher’s glove was back here.

But you can see in this Francisco swing breakdown. You can see him, his barrel entering the attack zone at the back-foot catcher’s glove, he’s actually a little bit late here, he ends up speeding it up with his wrist snap.

But what you’re going to see is almost like there is a wall happening here… And he’s going to get to this wall… And his hands are going to stop moving forward.

What we see with young hitters is we’ll see these hands continue forward and they end up way out over here, chicken winging with the elbow and their arm, front arm drifting far away from their chest, which we don’t want to do if we want a proper transfer of body to barrel to ball force.

We’re going to see the best hitters will stop, their hands will stop moving forward at a certain point, which you see is right here. It’s like the hands hit a wall and we have a wall drill for this, a wall turn or a phone booth drill that we use to help the hitter out with this, plus a wrist snap position.

You see, as he releases into the back foot catcher’s glove, you’re going to see him pivot. Imagine a red laser coming out of the knob and you get a green laser coming out of the barrel of the bat. And we see at a point where he’ll flip it, he’ll flip the red laser for the green. But you see this wrist snapping. Some may call pronation.

As he gets through this ball and you’re going to see post impact … both arms get extended, full extension. Both arms. Power V. This isn’t the power V that was taught about a couple of decades ago to happen at impact, that’s not what we’re trying to do.

This is the power V that happens after impact, and with a proper transfer from body to barrel to ball we should see this passed impact.  But it uses a combination of the big three of the Catapult Loading System and the wrist snap. At one point, the knob has to stop moving forward linearly and has to let the wrist snap and pronate with the top hand.

Make sure that we’re swinging smarter by moving better … Like this video … Subscribe to our YouTube channel … and before I let you go…

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Increase Bat Speed Hitting Power And Exit Velocity Program For Youth Baseball & Softball Swing

Discover how to increase bat speed, power, and exit velocity with our hitting programs for the youth baseball and softball swing.

Don’t Buy Into The Fear Of Not Having Enough Playing Or Coaching Experience

 

 

”Fear” is said to be an acronym that stand for “False Expectations Appearing Real”…or, if you prefer, “Forget Everything And RUN!” One thing is for certain: when it comes to applying human movement principles validated by Science to hitting a ball, you absolutely must have realistic expectations…and forget about running. You’re in this fight for the duration. You’re going to make it.

A key factor in increasing your kiddo’s bat speed and exit velocity is ditching an irrational fear of not having enough playing or coaching experience.

Marianne Williamson once wrote,

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

When it comes to applying human movement principles validated by Science to hitting a ball, I truly believe that this fear is in the way of experiencing your personal power – your ability to identify your hitter’s swing problems, predictably fix them, and experience being recognized and respected by peers.

Currently, coaches nowadays just want to win games and aren’t focusing on the processes that help them do that. Combine this with the fact that Forbes reported on a recent study from ESPN and the Aspen Institute indicating that most kids stop playing baseball and softball by age 11. I think buying into this fear is partially to blame, along with bad advice on hitting blogs, YouTube channels, and unproven hitting gadget advertisements — sources that often support this myth and fan the flames of misinformation.  FAKE hitting news!!

This has a hefty price tag: it can harm you by focusing on the wrong things.

I remember when I first paid that price. I first noticed it when I trusted MLB players (some Hall of Famers) and seemingly prestigious coaches telling me to do it this way because they said so.

It hurt my progress considerably by following through blind faith. Fortunately, I overcame it by doing my own research, connecting the dots, and forming my own conclusions. You can, too.

I spent the past 18 years working on a fearless approach to applying human movement principles validated by Science to hitting a ball and helping friends and colleagues do the same. They were struggling to increase their kiddo’s bat speed and exit velocity too, and more often than not, this fear is one of the reasons they struggle.

Now, it’s true: what’s right for me and other successful hitting enthusiasts may not be right for you. However, if you’ve bought into the fear of not having enough playing or coaching experience, you may want to consider rethinking things.

Hope this helps!

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Increase Baseball Softball Bat Speed, Improve Ball Exit Velocity, Whip, & Power | Miguel Cabrera Hitting Breakdown: Teach Little League 8 Year Old Kid To Swing Faster

Increase Baseball Softball Bat Speed, Improve Ball Exit Velocity, Whip, & Power | Miguel Cabrera Hitting Breakdown: Teach Little League 8 Year Old Kid To Swing Faster

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Discover how to increase baseball and softball bat speed (slow pitch too!), improve ball exit velocity, whip, and power.  Learn in this Miguel Cabrera hitting breakdown how to teach even a little league 8 year old kid to swing the bat faster…

Miguel Cabrera REVEALS Timing Of Torque

 

 

The third installment to the Hitting Backwards: 4 Common Mistakes Hitters Make video series, stars 8-time All-Star & 2-Time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera.  I’ll show you how hitting instructors get torque timing wrong, causing reciprocal inhibition to occur in reverse.

In this Miguel Cabrera video, we’ll look at:

  • Why walking mechanics hold the key to repeatable power,
  • Whether we should land front foot closed or open?  And
  • Why the timing of torque is important.

Thanks to Bob Hall from Canada for the subject of this video blog article.

SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:

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Walking Mechanics: Key to Repeatable Power?

The following “compression signal” sequence is according to Dr. Serge Gracovetsky’s spine engine mechanics:

  1. Left front leg heel strike – compression signal travels up the leg into the pelvis telling it to open to the right,
  2. The signal continues up the spine into the shoulders, telling them to counter-rotate (left), and
  3. This is why your opposite arm and leg come forward at the same time.
Walking Mechanics

Photo courtesy: WalkezStore.com

Land Front Foot Closed OR Open?

Ryan Braun Front Toe Open

Photo courtesy: OnMilwaukee.com

Big guys like Barry Bonds and Miguel Cabrera land closed (less than 45-degrees). Small guys such as Ryan Braun and Jose Bautista tend to land open (more than 45-degrees).  Which way is the right way?

4 reasons to keep the front toe open (minimum of 45-degree angle):

  1. Joint Connection – Toe closed? So is knee and pelvis.  The compression signal travels fast after heel strike, so pelvis must be in neutral (or parallel to the plate) in order to open without friction,
  2. NO Separation – If toe, knee, and pelvis are closed after compression signal, then front shoulder has to compensate by flying open the same time as the pelvis.  This doesn’t engage our elastic energy systems.
  3. Compensation is Inevitable – We find the closed toe in hitters like Barry Bonds and Miguel Cabrera just end up peeling or jumping open anyway at or shortly after contact.  So why not get the toe out of the way to begin with?
  4. Pitchers Land Open – And also if you look at Olympic Throwers and Shot Putters, they all land open before they throw or “put” their objects.

 

Why the Timing of Torque is IMPORTANT

Jose Bautista Front Toe Open

Photo courtesy: OttawaLife.com

Torque timing in the swing, also known as shoulder-pelvis separation, is often cued wrong.  Instructors often yell, “Fire the Hips!”  In high level swing mechanics, we find the hips (or pelvis) does fire first.  But, the timing coaches cue on is all wrong.  Shoulder-pelvis separation occurs before the front heel touches down, NOT after.

If you missed the following parts to the Hitting Backwards: 4 Common Mistakes Hitters Make video series:

  • CLICK HERE for Common Mistake #1 featuring Ryan Braun
  • CLICK HERE for Common Mistake #2 featuring Adrian Gonzalez

Stay tuned for Common Mistake #4, where we debunk whether the friction-free swing is pushing or pulling the backside through…

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

Best Power Hitting Drills To Hit Baseball Or Softball Farther & Increase Bat Speed Every Time For Beginners | Vladdy Jr Swing Breakdown, Leg Drive, & Batting Stance Works for Slow Pitch Homeruns Too!

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Discover the best power hitting drills to hit a baseball or softball farther every time and increase bat speed, even for beginners.  Learn how in this Vladdy Jr swing analysis breakdown, and how using these batting stance swing principles work for hitting slow pitch softball homeruns too!

Vlad Guerrero Jr Swing Breakdown

 

 

In this Vlad Guerrero Swing Breakdown video, we cover how to build more consistent power using the principles found in the Catapult Loading System…

We talk a lot about the principles of the Catapult Loading System.  Once you know what they are, the next question is when do we load up?  Great question. In this post Tom Myers explains about the 4 factors of springy fascia.  Think of fascia like the net bags that hold tangerines at the grocery store, and the bones, muscles, and organs are the tangerines in the netting.

When it comes to answering the question of “When?”, tip #4 in that post highlights what we call the “bounce”.  We want the hitter pre-loading the torso (Catapult Loading System), when the hitter makes their positive move towards the pitcher.  Before making the move, I tell my hitters to imagine a flashlight installed in their front shoulder.  The light shining out front of them.  I say to keep the beam shining out front until they start their positive move.  It is at that point that they initiate the pre-loading, so this timing allows them to “bounce” into the turn.

You will learn the ‘Showing Numbers’ part of the Catapult Loading System equation by clicking the following…

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Is Increasing Bat Speed And Creating Whip Rotational OR To Use Legs More In Baseball Softball Swing? | At Home Youth Hitting Drills For Loading & Power

Is Increasing Bat Speed And Creating Whip Rotational OR To Use Legs More In Baseball Softball Swing? | At Home Youth Hitting Drills For Loading & Power

Discover if increasing bat speed and creating bat whip is more rotational OR to use the legs more in the baseball or fastpitch softball swing?  Discover these at home youth hitting drills for loading and power…

Does Swing Start From The Ground & Move Up?

 

 

Start above video at about the 5:00-minute mark.  I briefly viewed a hitting instructional video on YouTube the other day that one of my readers sent me (Thanks Joe).  I won’t share who did the video, so as not to cause any embarrassment.  Like what was being illustrated in the video, I would say a majority of hitting instructors both online and off swear that the swing starts from the ground up.

This IS NOT what the current research shows as validated by human movement science.  Yes, Gravitational and Gravitational Reaction Forces do have their place (and we’ll get to that)…my point is, ALL human movement DOES NOT start from the ground, and work it’s way up the Kinetic Chain.

Consider this Tweet from one of my readers…

And I added the following comment…

What I have for you above, is a snippet of video about 5-minutes long, explaining where the swing starts as explained by Dr. Serge Gracovetsky, Physicist, Electrical Engineer, and founder of The Spinal Engine.

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Here are some talking points that Dr. Gracovetsky mentions in the video (please WATCH video at the 2:00 minute mark to about the 7:00 minute mark):

  • There’s a lack of agreement in literature at what the function of the spine is.
  • Spine is generally believed to be a supporting column linking shoulders to pelvis…as we walk the trunk is thought to be carried passively by the legs.  Problem with this: WHY is shape of spine in form of an “S” instead of being straight? – straight column would support compressive loads better than a curved one right?
  • Consider 20-year-old male subject who has reduced arms and no legs…moves on his Ischium.
  • If it was true that legs are necessary for human locomotion, then a person with such an anatomy would not be able to walk.
  • With the bottom of the screen hidden [while the subject “walks” across the floor], it is impossible to tell that this man has no legs.
  • Locomotion was first achieved by movement of the spine, and the legs came after as an improvement, not a substitute.
  • When providing a lateral bend to a curved spine (lordosis), an axial torque is induced. The rotation of the pelvis and shoulders is driven by the spine.

And this is the basis for my The Catapult Loading System book on sale at Amazon.

So does the swing, or any human movement for that matter, start from the ground up?  In other words, are Gravitational Forces a necessity to move the Spinal Engine or merely an enhancement?

In an email conversation I had with Dr. Serge Gracovetsky a few years back, he said this about the relationship between gravity and spine engine mechanics:

“The coupled motion has nothing to do with gravity. It works in space as well. It is a property of the spine or any flexible rod for that matter.  But the interaction with gravity makes interesting results which are exploited by every sport.”

Okay, since we’ve determined human movement DOES NOT start from the ground and go up the Kinetic Chain, I want to share a couple snippets from Dr. Gracovetsky about what role Gravitational Forces do play in dynamic movement…

Here’s a note about the importance of the heel strike in locomotion from Dr. Serge Gracovetsky in his book, The Spinal Engine (p. 168):

“…the compressive pulse generated at heel-strike is essential to the locomotion process.  The shape of this pulse must be very specific if maximum energy is to be transferred from the earth’s gravitational field to the rotating pelvis.”

According to Dr. Gracovetsky, while running, our heel hits the ground creating a compressive force that is equaled to NINE-times our body weight.  Gravity pulls our body down, and at heel strike, the ground pushes back in a compressive force.

This is why it has been demonstrated by Speed Coach Barry Ross that runners who dead-lift heavy weights with a low time under tension, get faster!  They’re able to push into the ground with more force, which in turn, the ground pushes back with equal and opposite force.

It’s also worth noting about the Spinal Engine while walking on sand versus solid ground…

Dr. Serge Gracovetsky offers this example in his book (pgs. 168-169),

“Running or walking on soft sand is not easy and is very tiring,  In this particular case, the energy leaks into the sand, the impact force is reduced, and the compressive pulse through the spine is attenuated [disabled] as the total energy recovered is reduced.”

The compressive force is softened by the sand, which doesn’t allow the pelvis to turn using efficient spine engine mechanics.  To maneuver, the brain has to recruit big muscles to do the work.  This is why you get a workout walking on sand…it’s powerless effort, rather than effortless power.

Does current research, that’s validated by science, say human movement starts from the ground, and travel up the Kinetic Chain?

No.

The trunk isn’t just a passive structure that is carried by the legs.  Legs are not a necessity to human movement – evidenced by the legless subject in the video – they’re an enhancement.  The Spinal Engine can work in space!  I say the legs and arms amplify the movement of the Spinal Engine.

Do Gravitational Forces play a role in human movement?

Yes!

Like Dr. Gracovetsky says, “…the interaction with gravity makes interesting results which are exploited by every sport.”

That my friends is a human movement principle that is validated by science.  Not philosophy or theory.  This is why my new book The Catapult Loading System is so powerful to hundreds of coaches and tens of thousands of hitters across the US… (just check the reviews 😉

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

How 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

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Hitting A Baseball: Discover The Secret Of Impact

Robinson Cano hitting a baseball post-contact. Photo courtesy: TheNYPost.com

Learn how to swing a bat and hit a baseball or softball faster, farther, and harder EVERY TIME.  Discover beginner practice at home hitting to increase bat speed, power, exit velocity, and how to hit the ball in a certain direction.

Hitting A Baseball: Discover The Secret Of Impact

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

Hitting a Baseball: Perry Husband Effective Velocity Pitching System

“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:

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

90-Degree Barrel Angle to the Spine Rule NOT True?

Hitting a Baseball: Giancarlco Stanton 90-degree Barrel to Spine Rule

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…

  1. Tilting at the waist with the upper body (the lower the pitch, the more the tilt),
  2. Back knee bend,
  3. Front knee bend, AND
  4. Barrel path.

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

Hitting a Baseball: Josh Donaldson just past impact

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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