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

Overload Underload Increase Bat Speed Training For Baseball & Softball | Heavy Light Wood Trainer For Sale

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Discover overload and underload how to increase bat speed training for baseball and softball players in this Perry Husband from Effective Velocity interview.  Check out these heavy bat and light bat wood trainers for sale at TheStartingLineupStore.com…

Overload Bat Training: Hitter Has To Work Butt Off To Resist “Casting”

 

 

Here’s the Hitting Jam Session Interview Collection with Perry Husband:

  1. Why You Should Not Teach Hitters To Hit Homers?
  2. What’s The Biggest Mistake Coaches Make In Boosting Ball Exit Speeds
  3. How To Make Teaching Proper Weight Shift In Swing More Understandable To Hitter
  4. Teach: How To STOP Hitting Excess Of Ground-balls & Fly-balls
  5. 5,000 Swing Experiments Validate Locked Lead Arm Is Superior To Bent
  6. [YOU ARE HERE] Overload Bat Training: Hitter Has To Work Butt Off To Resist “Casting”

Here’s what we discuss in this episode:

  • WHY a hanging FB (located down/away) is more likely to get hit harder than hanging off speed or breaker,
  • How every Major League hitter locks lead arm, may not talk about it, may not practice it, but when they hit their hardest “bolt” – they’re doing it,
  • Overload training: WHY Heavier weight is better, especially end loaded, hitter has to work their butt off with end loaded to keep from “casting”,
  • How changing length of bat and weight helps hitter learn how to adjust timing – training body to be more sensitive to timing,
  • And much more!

Without further adieu, here’s Hitting Jam Session #6…

SCIENCE-BASED TRAINING:

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Show Notes

  • At about the 2-minute mark, Perry and I discuss putting together a subscription based coaching program for coaches which would have access to our courses and have weekly coaching calls to mentor coaches, Twitter bantar…pitching philosophy used to be 70% fastballs, mixed up/down & inside/outside, then moved to away/away and down/down because hitting was hard to lift far away, then hitters started lifting those pitches – Moneyball & analytics, hitters focus now on swinging up and everyone on the field can go oppo bomb, teams will start elevating fastballs which will set in motion more stuff, odds of “up swings” getting to high heat will be more challenging, is the idea of throwing fastballs down “stupid”?  Perry did micro study…MLB – RHP v. RHH: FB up/in = 84.6-mph BES, SL down/away = 82.2-mph BES, CB down/away = 80.1-mph BES, & CH down/in = 86.5-mph BES (chose pitches that would be in that FB tunnel), a hanging FB (located down/away) is more likely to get hit harder than any other hanging off speed or breaker because every hitter is focused on the FB.
  • At about 12-minute mark, Perry study comparing middle three, upper three, and above three part of the zone with off speed and breaking (hanging stuff) versus the bottom three parts of the zone with fastballs…he counted number of hitters that averaged 90-mph BES…12 to 1 hitters favoring fastball down versus changeup up (12X more likely to avg. 90-mph BES), not a fair study, just a ballpark, today more likely to hit a fastball down than a hanging changeup up,
  • At about 14-minute mark, locked lead arm follow up, reader saying not many hitters using locked lead arm…Williams and Choo both lock lead arm and pull the ball – can locked lead arm help going to opposite field, every Major League hitter locks lead arm, may not talk about it, may not practice it, but when they hit their hardest bolt – they’re doing it, Perry talks about one of elite Fastpitch Softball hitters in the country Todd Budke locked lead arm (YouTube video of him hitting oppo dinger) – facing guys that made Randy Johnson look like a thumber 80-86-mph velo from 46-feet, bent front arm results in more balls fouled back, evidence of what happens when guys hit up/in pitch – they’re doing it with bent lead arm, can we do better than that with locked lead arm?  What happens when all fastballs go away EXCEPT the up/in fastball?  The “adjustable” hitting mindset isn’t going to work anymore when pitchers get more EV efficient
  • At about 23-minute mark, do young hitters from High School on down learn how to “hunt” pitches or wait till pitchers get better? Thank God pitchers still make mistakes, but what pitchers are being taught right now is to stay down with fastballs, sliders, etc.  It’s predictable.  When pitchers TRY to be EV efficient, things will be troublesome for hitters, the basic hitting approach of today is like a 2-strike approach (the “adjustable” swing), the adjustment will be much harder for hitters when EV tunnels are enforced, will happen at Big League level first, Greinke example using certain pitches to take hitter’s attention away from where hitter’s strength is, creating shiny objects, get swing down right, then figure out how to apply it,
  • At about 33-minute mark, I ask Perry his advice on how to teach 6-8yo to get more on time, Inner Game of Tennis book drills – 100% on-time 100% effective with swing mechanics (not about swinging as hard as you can), take and control “A” swing – best swing, being on-time to that pitch,
  • At about 38-minute, 30-sec mark, Perry talks about over under load training, we talk about Axe Bat and DriveLine 20% over/under $600 system, Perry asked Gray Cook’s advice about over/under load training in 1992, Babe Ruth did overload training, end loaded is key, does Axe bat’s 20% over/under go far enough? No.  Is it effective? Yes, but it doesn’t go far enough, would you get stronger with light weight in gym?  Heavier weight is better, especially end loaded, hitter has to work their butt off with end loaded +10 and control line drives, hitters will “cast” with an end loaded bat – but hitter MUST keep that from happening, Perry over/under load study +10 and -10 results were astounding looking at video of players and data – consistency numbers went up and recruitment of lower half, fastpitch softball Frosh case study 6-weeks no change in mechanics went from 55-mph to 62 or 63-mph BES, Reactive Neuromuscular Training (RNT) – this is what overload training is doing, feeding the “mistake”, Cook bands, TheStartingLineupStore.com Anchor Bat +4 to +6 and -5 wood bats over/under load system, locked lead arm, end loaded bat, and releasing barrel into “belly button” catcher’s glove,
  • At about 58-minute mark, Perry’s effective velocity timing sticks, change length of bat and weight – hitter is learning to adjust timing, training body to be more sensitive to timing, using different size, color, weight balls, “Riiiiight Now” Drill for 6-8yos to train timing, keep conscious mind busy, so unconscious mind can get to work,
  • You can find Perry Husband at EffectiveVelocity.com, use EV25 coupon code for any of the online courses.  @EVPerryHusband on Twitter, and @PerryHusband on Facebook.
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Faster Bat Speed Hitting Training Drills For Youth Baseball & Softball Power | Ted Williams & Matt Kemp Swing Analysis Breakdown

Faster Bat Speed Hitting Training Drills For Youth Baseball & Softball Power | Ted Williams & Matt Kemp Swing Analysis Breakdown

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Learn how to get faster bat speed with these hitting training drills for more youth baseball and softball power.  Discover the increase bat speed secret in this Ted Williams and Matt Kemp swing analysis breakdown.

Matt Kemp: Unique Ted Williams Power Secret

 

 

Imagine if I asked you to take a ride in my 2-year-old son’s favorite sports car and ultimate luxury vehicle, the Lamborghini Aventador…cherry red.

Costs about $400K, has 720 horse-power, and goes zero to sixty-mph in 2.8 seconds.  I’m drooling just thinking about it.  What if I also told you it had no brakes.  The manufacturer just “forgot” to install them.  If you know I have a lead foot, then would you still want a ride?

I tell my hitters that someone like Matt Kemp or Ted Williams are using both rotational and anti-rotational systems during the swing.

Think of them as acceleration and braking systems, and both are important to a friction-free swing.  Our focus today will be optimizing these systems during the stroke.  We’re going to highlight:

  • The science of accelerating & braking systems,
  • Matt Kemp & Ted Williams (who has the more efficient braking system?)
  • How to tune-up your acceleration & braking system.

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

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The Science of Accelerating & Braking Systems

Thomas Myers in his book Anatomy Trains talks about 9 different fascial lines found throughout the body that inter-weave and inter-relate during human movement.  We’ll be highlighting one in particular called the Functional Lines (pictured right).  CLICK HERE for a brief background on springy fascia.

Thomas Myers says that Functional Lines mainly come into play in the following athletic events:

  • Shot Put, Javelin, Discus, and Hammer Throws,
  • Tennis,
  • Golf, and of course
  • For hitters like Matt Kemp & Ted Williams

Thomas Myers says,

“These lines enable us to give extra power and precision to the movements of the limbs by lengthening their lever arm through linking them across the body to the opposite limb in the other girdle.”

Imagine a big “X” painted on your chest and back, connecting the right shoulder to the left hip, and vice versa.  Thomas Myers refers to them as Front Functional Lines (FFL) & Back Functional Lines (BFL).  He uses a couple different examples to illustrate the braking system in action:

“Pitching a baseball or bowling a cricket are perfect ways to engage these lines: the wind-up involves a shortening of the BFL and a stretching of the FFL, while the pitch itself reverses that process, shortening the FFL and stretching the BFL.  In the final act, the BFL acts as a brake to keep the strong contraction along the FFL and the momentum of the arm from going too far and damaging joints involved in the movement.”

You still following me?  It’s okay if not.  We’ll simplify in the next section…

 

Matt Kemp & Ted Williams (who has the more effective braking system?)

I want to compare Matt Kemp to Ted Williams because they have similar body types, according to Baseball-Reference.com:

Simplifying the acceleration/braking systems, we can just follow the front shoulder to see who is being more efficient with their Functional Lines.  Consider Ted Williams:

Ted Williams front shoulder path

Follow yellow arrows tracking Ted Williams’s front (right) shoulder path…photo left to right: 1) Down, 2) Up, and 3) Down again.

Now, check out the difference with Matt Kemp:

Matt Kemp front shoulder path

Follow yellow arrows tracking Matt Kemp’s front (left) shoulder path…photo left to right: 1) Slightly Down, 2) Up, and 3) Up again.

That’s right, Matt Kemp finishes with his left shoulder up!  Not convinced?   Check out the photo of his finish at the beginning of this post.  He’s not being very efficient with his braking system.  Matt Kemp is leaving repeatable power on the table (which is scary!)…to polish, he’d have to:

  • Get more downhill shoulder angle before landing,
  • Show more of his numbers to the pitcher, and
  • Focus on finishing “barrel down” with his top hand release.

 

 How-to Tune-Up Your Acceleration & Braking Systems

There are a couple quick exercises and stretches that Thomas Myers recommends to tune-up both Functional Lines:

  1. Engage BFL (Alternating Supermans) – 2 sets X 12 reps each side.  Focus on moving the body as a whole.  Arm and leg are to be lifted at exactly same time.  Head stays in line with spine.  Don’t arch head back like in video.
  2. Engage FFL (Alternating Supermans) – same as #1, but do Alternating Supermans on your back.
  3. Stretch BFL (Triangle Yoga Pose) – Hold position on each side for a deep breath count of 5-10.
  4. Stretch FFL (1/2 Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch w/ Rotation) – hold position on each side for about 60-seconds.  Keep the abs and “down knee” glute contracted during stretch.

Do the above four 1-2 times daily for 3-weeks.

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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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How To Increase Bat Speed Power: Buster Posey Swing Experiment Breakdown

Increase Bat Speed Power By Hitting Ball Better, Farther, & Harder Using This Baseball Or Softball Drill | Buster Posey Swing Breakdown Analysis

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Learn how to increase bat speed and power by hitting the ball better, farther, and harder using this baseball or softball drill.  Discover how in this Buster Posey swing experiment, breakdown, and analysis.

Buster Posey Swing Breakdown Experiment: ADD 6-mph To Bat Speed Not ALL In The Hips?

 

 

Buster Posey VIDEO: Not ALL In The Hips [Experiment]

Buster Posey showing his numbers photo courtesy: MLB.com

Question: Is Increased Bat Speed ALL in the Hips?

Using the Zepp (Labs) Baseball app, I wanted to use the Scientific Method to analyze whether Buster Posey’s hips OR spinal mechanics is what increases bat speed.

Background Research

Most elite hitting instructors, pros, and Hall of Famers think it’s ALL in the hips.  The “it” is a mystery even to them.  It shouldn’t be this way.  When we look at proven human movement science, we find that just firing the hips isn’t good enough.  My question to those people is, what about the piece of hardware above the pelvis, attaching it to the shoulders – the spine?

Before getting into the experiment and analyzing Buster Posey’s swing, we need to lay ground work first.  Watch this THREE videos first:

  1. Miguel Cabrera and the timing of torque.
  2. Josh Donaldson v. Jose Bautista: how spine engine mechanics are amplified by Gravitational Forces, and
  3. Adrian Gonzalez: how-to naturally spring load the body.

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Hypothesis

Albert Pujols showing numbers similar to Buster Posey

Albert Pujols NOT showing his numbers like he could. Definite hip hinge (tilt) towards the plate. Photo courtesy: MLB.com

Based primarily on my research and study of Dr. Serge Gracovetsky’s book The Spinal Engine, and Thomas Myers’s book Anatomy Trains, I believe a hitter like Buster Posey, that shows the pitcher their numbers – while keeping the hips in neutral – creates the separation (or spinal torque) needed before landing to produce natural friction-free repeatable power.

Rather than just focusing on the hips to go first, and the front shoulder to stay on the pitcher.  In the experiment, for the sake of brevity, I’ll differentiate between the two with “showing numbers” or “NOT showing numbers”.

Buster Posey: Not ALL in the Hips Experiment

Equipment Used:

  • Zepp Baseball app,
  • ATEC Tuffy Batting Tee,
  • Rawlings Official NCAA Baseballs,
  • Two yellow dimple baseballs (feedback markers),
  • Flip Video Camera and Tripod, and
  • 33 inch, 30 ounce Pinnacle Bamboo bat.

Setup:

  • Yellow dimple ball feedback markers = my bat length, plus two baseballs
  • Distance from plate = end of the bat touching inside corner of plate, and knob of bat touching my mid-thigh
  • Tee was set one baseball’s length behind the front feedback marker, and tee height was about mid-thigh
  • Forward momentum was eliminated in this experiment, and I hit from a 1-2 second pause at landing
  • First 100 baseballs hit was “NOT showing numbers”, focusing on hips first, and front shoulder pointing at the pitcher at landing
  • Second 100 baseballs hit was “showing numbers”, focusing on showing numbers, slight down shoulder angle, and hiding the hands
  • There was about 30-45 minute break between both Buster Posey Experiments

Data Collected (Zepp Baseball App):

Buster Posey Experiment: Zepp Baseball App comparison

Difference after 100 swings…

 

Data Analysis & Conclusion

  • Average bat speed for NOT showing numbers at landing: 73-mph
  • Average bat speed for showing numbers at landing: 79-mph (+6-mph)
  • Highest bat speed for NOT showing numbers at landing: 82-mph
  • Highest bat speed for showing numbers at landing: 88-mph (+6-mph)
  • Hand speed max for NOT showing numbers was: 27-mph
  • Hand speed max for showing numbers was: 29-mph (+2-mph)

As you can clearly see, “NOT showing numbers” puts a hitter at a clear repeatable power DISADVANTAGE.

 

Notes

Andrew McCutchen showing his numbers like Buster Posey

Andrew McCutchen: showing numbers, slight down shoulder angle, hiding hands, hip hinge (tilt) towards the plate. 2013 NL MVP. 3rd in MLB OPS in 2014. All 5’10”, 190 pounds of him! Photo courtesy of MLB.com.

  • I don’t go out and take 200 swings in a given day, so I was getting fatigued by the time I got to the last hundred swings (“showing numbers”) part of the experiment.  Goes to show this isn’t about muscles, but connective tissue.
  • Remember, I purposely eliminated forward momentum from the Buster Posey Experiment because I wanted to reveal how “showing the numbers” can effect a hitter’s bat speed.  CLICK HERE to see the results of a Forward Momentum Experiment I did using the Zepp Baseball App.
  • “Showing the numbers” IS NOT adding more rotational ground to make up during the Final Turn.  It’s a natural way of super-charging connective tissue over muscles.
  • A slight bend at the waist (hip hinge) towards the plate – before landing – improves efficiency, not detracts from it.  Just look at Posey, McCutchen, and Pujols pictured hitting home-runs in this post.  This is how an athlete takes the slack out of the posterior chain (calves, hamstrings, butt, and back).  ALL shapes and sizes use it.
  • During NOT showing the numbers, I felt like I had to guide my hands more.  It took more effort to extend through the ball instead of rotating off (rolling over), than with showing the numbers.
  • Make sure when “showing the numbers”, the hitter isn’t losing sight of the incoming pitch with the back eye.
  • Also, make sure when using a slight down shoulder angle that the head stays in-line with the spine.  The angle is slight, about five to ten-degrees.

 

The Bottom Line?

When we analyze hitters like Buster Posey, we NEED to hold our analysis to a higher standard.  Proven human movement science.  We have to go away from mechanical fixes based on “feelings”.  The “Oh, I’ve been working on this and it seems to work”, isn’t good enough.  Neither is, “Ted Williams said so!”  Or, “I watch 25-hours of high level hitting footage in a day, so listen to me.”  That stuff DOES NOT matter.  Science does.  I want to see the data, NOT listen to feelings.  The heavy lifting has been done for us.  It’s up to us to apply it.

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Juan Soto Swing Breakdown

Juan Soto Swing Breakdown: Online Directional Place Hitting Power Tips How To Hit A Baseball Or Softball Farther And Harder Every Time

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Discover in this Juan Soto swing breakdown: online directional place hitting power tips on how to hit a baseball or softball farther and harder almost every time…

Juan Soto Swing Analysis

 

 

In this Juan Soto swing analysis, we’ll discuss:

  • Juan Soto swing analysis quick stats,
  • Lower half sets directional force,
  • Hitting it back through tube, and
  • Catapult Loading System…

As Matt Nokes has said, it takes 8,000-pounds per square inch of force, in one direction, to hit a ball 400-feet.  The swing is both linear and rotational.  Not either or.  When I say lower half sets the directional force, it’s just that. Lower half should rotate the list of all major segments.  Why?

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.

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Every human movement revolves around three parts to the spine.  The lower half coordinates with the lower back.  The vertebrae in the Lumbar, which by the way isn’t made the rotate.  The Lumbar is only made to flex and extend.  The rotation we see is because of the muscles and ligaments surrounding the vertebrae in the Lumbar.  Between 7-12 degrees of rotation are allowed.

The ability to rotate is much different when talking about the middle portion of the spine, the Thoracic.  The 12 vertebra in the Thoracic IS made the rotate, flex, and extend.  It is allowed 40-degrees of rotation in each direction.  What’s my point?

Let the section of the spine fulfill their natural roles.  Lumbar and lower half of the body rotates the least, and sets directional force.  Middle part of the spine rotates the most, and will optimize whip.  And when talking Catapult Loading System principles … we’re talking about what the middle is doing…

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Adrian Gonzalez Swing Breakdown: Power Hitting Drills Helping Hit Bombs Farther

Best Baseball, Softball, & Slow Pitch Power Batting Drills To Increase Hitting Bombs Farther And Improve Keeping Front Shoulder In

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Discover the best baseball, fast-pitch, and slow pitch softball power batting drills to increase hitting bombs farther and improve keeping the front shoulder in.  Also, where is Adrian Gonzalez now? He announced his retirement February of 2022.

Adrian Gonzalez: Power Secret You Are Missing?

 

 

Adrian Gonzalez: Power Secret You Are Missing?

Photo credit: MLB.com

In the second installment to the Hitting Backwards: 4 Common Mistakes Hitters Make video series, starring Adrian Gonzalez, we discuss why “walking away from the hands” doesn’t make sense.  A-Gon is a bigger hitter (*6’2″, 225lbs) who uses human movement science correctly to generate explosive rotational power.

*(According to Baseball-Reference.com)

We’ll use Adrian Gonzalez’s swing to talk about:

  • The simple science of loading,
  • How big hitters get away with ineffective mechanics, and
  • The power secret you are missing.

Contrary to popular belief, “walking away from the hands” is NOT how we load properly.  It decreases turning speed by arm barring.  In the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, if controversial gold medal winning ice skater Adelina Sotnikova could turn faster by barring an arm out, then don’t you think you’d see her do that?

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

The Simple Science of Loading

Cotton Candy Fascia

Photo credit: Thomas Myers

According to the book Anatomy Trains by Thomas Myers, the human body is loaded by connective tissue called Fascia, which is:

  • A cotton candy-like material,
  • To the body, like steel is to the building industry,
  • Connective tissue your bones and muscles float in,
  • Gives muscles their shape, and
  • At a constant battle to balance compression and tension forces within the body…Thomas Myers calls this Tensegrity (Tension-Integrity)

 

Big Hitters Get Away with Ineffective Mechanics

We’re studying the wrong hitters.  Pujols.  Hamilton.  Griffey Jr.  Paul Goldschmidt.

Ken Griffey Jr. was the perfect example of “walking away from the hands”.  People don’t realize, he succeeded despite ineffective mechanics, not because of them.  Here are some other notable athletes getting away with ineffective mechanics:

  • Kevin Durant, NBA’s leading scorer, succeeds despite flawed shooting mechanics.  His knees crash in, which is called Knee Valgus.
  • Tiger Woods succeeded despite being ineffective mechanically, later in his career (4 knee surgeries, in addition to numerous Achilles and back issues). CLICK HERE to read this “Muscle Power Golf, Not!” post about this.
  • Numerous pitchers throw 95+mph despite career shortening flawed mechanics (Kerry Wood and Mark Prior just to name two)

Spend more time analyzing hitters like: Braun, Cano, David Wright, Jose Bautista, McCutchen, Hank Aaron, and Sadaharu Oh (Japan’s career home run leader).  These small-sluggers have to move friction-free (or nearly) to compete.  Big-sluggers with friction-free swings include: Miguel Cabrera, Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, and Chris “Crush” Davis.

 

Power Secret You Are Missing

Of the nine fascial lines mentioned in Thomas Myers’ book Anatomy Trains, the Spiral Fascial Line (SPL) is very important to hitting…according to Thomas Myers:

Science of Loading the Body

Photo credit: Thomas Myers

“The overall movement function of the SPL is to create and mediate spirals and rotations in the body, and, in eccentric and isometric contraction, to steady the trunk and leg to keep it from folding into rotational collapse.”

I call this the ‘Springy X Pattern’.  Imagine an ‘X’ on the front and back of the torso.  When one leg of the ‘X’ shortens, then the other stretches.  Golf training expert Jason Glass of Jason Glass Performance calls these Rotational Power Slings.

Adrian Gonzalez “spring loads” his swing using what I call the Catapult Loading System (CLS).  It takes the Stability ‘X’ Pattern or Rotational Power Sling concepts and applies them to hitting.

Here are a few other world-class spring loaded athletes who’s movements are very similar to a hitter’s:

  1. Golfers,
  2. Olympic Shot Putters
  3. Olympic Throwers – Javelin, Discus, and Hammer
  4. Lacrosse

CLICK HERE in case you missed Part-1 to the Hitting Backwards: 4 Common Mistakes Hitter’s Make video series.  And CLICK HERE for Common Mistake #3, where we look into why a friction-free hitter SHOULD NOT land with the front toe closed…

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Hitting Training: How to Teach Power and Quick Hands Swing Baseball

Teach Kid Hitting Drills To Hit Baseball Or Softball Farther With Quick Hands For Increased Power | Loading Works In College Too!

Discover to teach kids hitting drills on how to hit a baseball or softball farther with quick hands for increased consistent power.  The loading technique works from 4 years old up to college too!

How to Teach Power and Quick Hands Baseball Swing Hitting Training

 

FREE baseball hitting training drill video provided by Hitting Performance Lab on how to teach a kid to hit a baseball or softball harder with power with a step-by-step online video batting training system…Hitting Training: How to Teach Power and Quick Hands Swing Baseball

For parents, team coaches, and hitting instructors looking to brush up on their baseball and softball hitting training expertise, HittingPerformanceLab.com is offering a free video training session. The video training will be held online and will take 13-minutes.

For full details on how to access the free video training, interested parties are encouraged to visit the following webpage:

https://gohpl.com/freevideo

Areas of baseball hitting training that will be covered include:

  • How to teach a kid to hit a baseball with power – Discover how to teach 100-pound hitters to consistently drive the ball 300-feet. Best online baseball hitting training program on how to teach a kid to hit a baseball with power.
  • Learn how to teach a batter to hit a baseball or softball harder with power – discover how to teach a kid to hit a baseball or softball harder with power using the step-by-step online video batting training system.
  • Step by step fundamental quick hands power strategy – at home baseball or softball hitting drills step-by-step with popular fundamental quick hands power strategy instructional video.

When asked about the reasons behind the decision to provide free training on such an in-demand topic, Joey Myers, Founder of HittingPerformanceLab.com said,

“Coaches and instructors are making how to teach hitters too hard. The answer is applying human movement principles validated by science to hitting a ball. The science shouldn’t be scary. Even the most minimal hitting knowledge dads or moms can learn and implement the drills. This is one of the first how to teach a kid to hit for more power strategies used at Hitting Performance Lab to build more consistent power in hitters. Watch the video. Try it out. It works.”

Parents, team coaches, and hitting instructors can find out how to access the free hitting training video at:

https://gohpl.com/freevideo

Customers who have specific questions about the training itself may contact HittingPerformanceLab.com via their website.

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

How To Hit A Homerun? Teach Beginning Baseball And Softball Kids To Increase Power By Hitting Ball Better, Farther, & Harder

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ANSWERED: How to hit a home-run?  Learn how to teach beginning baseball and softball kids to increase power by hitting the ball better, farther, and harder guaranteed – even for smaller hitters!

14-Year-Old Blaze Jordan Hits TWO 500-Foot Moonshots, But…Did You Catch  Small Slugger That Beat Him In Home Run Derby?

 

Some of you saw this video on the socials of this baseball hitting training Blaze Jordan video where he hit a couple 500-foot monster shots out of the Texas Rangers Arlington Stadium during Brian Domenico’s 2016 14u/15u home-run derby National Power Showcase:

Well, did you hear about the small-bopper who gave Blaze Jordan a run for his money?

By the way, Blaze Jordan stands in at 6-Foot tall, and 217-Pounds.  And the preceding Blaze Jordan profile link may be a year or two old!

I received this email from Marty, Hudson White’s father, earlier this week:

“Hello, i just wanted you to know that i have followed you for years and teach your principles to my 14u son who just came in second place at the 15u power showcase in Arlington Texas ahead of the world champion Blaze Jordan . he also broke the world record for most consecutive home-runs in a row at 11. he was a year younger and 50-100lbs smaller than all the other contestants who were made up of the best hitters in the country. It was the most amazing thing that anyone had ever seen . i wanted to share the video with you and hopefully you can help make it go viral. all the hype is about Blaze Jordan for hitting a 503 ft home run, but for a smaller younger kid to go out and break the world record for most consecutive and beat blaze in the final round to come in 2nd place is a major feat. my son is a lead off hitter. so all hit hits were 395ft line drives. this is your student. this is the result of your teachings. i am very grateful!”

Hitting Training Blaze Jordan: Got beat by Hudson "The Hawk" White

You can see Hudson “The Hawk” White is exemplifying hitting training in the Catapult Loading System: ‘showing numbers’, ‘down shoulder angle’, & ‘hiding hands’. Photo courtesy: Hudson’s father Marty.

Here are baseball hitting training summary notes about Hudson “The Hawk” White’s 2016 home-run derby performance via his dad:

  • Came In 2nd place.
  • Beat Blaze Jordan.
  • Broke world record with 11 consecutive home runs in a row .
  • High school fences set up.
  • Left park 6 times.
  • Hit 390-ft average.
  • Just turned 14.
  • 5-foot, 7-inches, 130-pounds.
  • Normally a lead off 1,2 hole on nationally ranked teams.
  • Didn’t think he could hang with all the 6’2″ 180 lb 15 year old 4-hole hitters there.

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

Speaking of baseball hitting training, can Hudson do this in a game?  Here’s a 380-390 foot triple:

What’s even more amazing?!

I didn’t work with Hudson White…his dad did…using Hitting Performance Lab’s proprietary baseball hitting training.

Why is this HUGE?!

Marty is just one of the hundreds of coaches getting the same results, if not better, than I am with my own hitters – using the same hitting training process!!

So, it’s not just me, or that maybe I’m “Tony Robbins” special.

Also, if you believe this was done with a “doctored”, “hot”, or “bouncy” bat,

Here’s a comment from Kevin Freeman on Facebook:

“I know this kid personally. if all put the work in that he does it wouldn’t be so many whiny baby parents saying his bat is altered. I’ve personally watched him hit several balls over 400 ft with an old hickory Wood bat. All excuse making parents need to let their kid follow this kids work ethic and maybe they will get the recognition he does. if he hitting a -5 that is what he is supposed to be hitting at that age.”

Also, the following MLB.com video is President of the Power Showcase, Brian Domenico, talking about the contest, and around the 5:00 video mark, he talks about the bats and balls used:

Please do Hudson, Marty, and HPL a favor and PLEASE SHARE THIS baseball hitting training post on your favorite social media networks…Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, etc.

This stuff works folks.  We’re producing hitters that are consistently tripling their body-weight in batted ball distance.

— Joey drops the mic —

UPDATE from June 26, 2018 email from dad…

“…This year he was a freshman on varsity at Byron Nelson High School. He was starting 2nd and 3 hole. He led all north Texas in hits most of the season and finished 7th overall with 45.  He was hitting the ball hard somewhere!  Hudson was named District 5-6A Unanimous Newcomer Of The Year and All – Area Newcomer of the year finishing 7th in area with 45 hits, 25 RBI, 21 runs , 16 SB.

https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/high-school/high-schools/2018/06/21/sportsdayhs-2018-area-baseball-teams-postseason-awards

He also just got back from the Wilson Midwest wood bat championship where he was named MVP for hitting two home runs. He went 9-18 and only 1 single. The rest were doubles, triples and dingers!  Here’s his mvp interview:

He has been on a tear hitting 6 home runs in the last 3 weeks with either wood or an old rusty metal bbcor bat.  Just an FYI update to all the haters and naysayers😂 its the Indian not the arrow.  I appreciate your help and instruction. The proof is in the pudding.”

 

UPDATE #2 from May 4, 2019 email from dad…

“He finished regular season number 8 in texas in hits, number 6 in extra base hits , and number 1 in doubles. Thats 4a,5a,6a. He’s number 2 in extra base hits in 6a and number 1 in doubles. And thats in arguably one of the top 5 toughest districts in the nation with 2 state champions from last year. The 6a champ and last years 5a champ moved up to 6a. Those coaches of the 5a state team go on an on about what a huge difference in competition in 6a where every team has 4 dudes.”

 

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