- Feb 3, 2013
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Do you believe the bat speed, or lack of bat speed, is associated with whether or not the hitter effectively applies stretch-and-fire mechanics?
Stretch & Fire Success!
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Do you believe the bat speed, or lack of bat speed, is associated with whether or not the hitter effectively applies stretch-and-fire mechanics?
OK, Chris - this guy is your model hitter. Any idea why his back leg moves like it does? Why even though it straightens it is IRing the whole time? Why didn't you just teach this to Torres?
Well, there is nothing new in his back leg. Do you think we teach some static leg? And what about that bat angle straight back at the catcher at hip connection (not up or down plane)? Driving his hands just in front of the hip, and keeping that arm frame the whole time? Looks like a waist high inside pitch where everything stays close to the body. His extension appears to be complete pointing at left center field. My guess is that he hit it about 50 feet inside the left field foul pole, unless it hooked. But then again, you never hit the inside edge of the ball (not sure how you change the angle of the direction of the hit ball?). Pujols holds his hands away from the body enough to get his hands inside any speed on the inner corner. That is one thing that drives me crazy about some coaches. I think even Sue Enquist teaches to keep your hands close to the back shoulder (pitcher's view). Pujols' are a little far away for me, because this will make him a less able to drive it to RF (for example a smaller guy). But maybe he makes adjustments and pulls his hands in.
His coil is minor really. Little bat wrap, front shoulder stays fairly square. This is more of a Kevin Long type swing.
- Feb 3, 2013
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His coil is quite significant.
Given that he accomplishes this with what some would term a no-stride approach, and given that this is a softball forum where many at some point in their softball career consider a no-stride approach, his lower body mechanics should be widely studied and understood.
No! Not as much as you will hope I would say. I played SS almost all of my 25 years in fastpitch. 1.5 years in CF in the beginning, 3 years at 2B and 3B the last two years. I had a quick first step. I dove a lot. But I was average at best in base-running speed. Why is that? I did sprint drills to get that good. Some kids are wired differently. I can see who has the bat speed, just like looking at a recruiting video and watching two swings. It doesn't take any longer than that. Do you have to look at Brooke's video for 10 swings to know? I don't believe in SnF as a foundation. I do believe it can serve two good things just from looking at it. I teach coil when I can. It isn't an ideology. But if you have read what I say about hitting to RF, then you will know that I say the swing starts back further. That being the case, the drill can facilitate that feel of firing behind the leg. The bat head is not going to be pointed back at the catcher at release, but between the catcher and dugout. So I see that benefit. The other is showing how your body can be used. Most kids have a very weak understanding of how to transfer the body's energy from the legs and core into bat energy. This isn't new. I said this all along about SnF.
I can't believe I did that! I didn't see you had posted "his coil is quite significant". His only coil I see is in his back leg. Yes, there is resistance there, but his shoulders and bat wrap are non-existent. So no, I don't agree. He gets away with it when Jose Bautista could not! However, the rest of your post I agree with 100%.
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- Feb 3, 2013
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Steve, it is my opinion that you don't understand Stretch-and-Fire mechanics. There is no faster approach to deliver a barrel from launch to contact.
- Feb 3, 2013
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Pujols is using one of the most efficient and powerful coiling mechanisms. I honestly recommend that you take the time to understand it in great detail.
Shows up even more in post #58
Yes, he has more coil than Pujols.
Yes I have. I wasn't trying to ignore you, but was trying to find examples. But I will just post my thoughts. Model Swings? I posted before that I think there are few model swings. A model swing implies initial good mechanics, guessing pitch speed and contact point correctly, without any adjustmental breakdowns. There are a few in each game, and half of them at least miss the contact point, but they look good moving air. So many of these swings are due to experience and talent, making those adjustments, and making decent or good contact. I saw a girl in a HS game this week stick her bat out and hit a home run. The pitcher was too fast for her normally, and she just threw her bat head out and hit a grand slam, down 3 runs with two outs, bottom 7th. Luck! Not a model swing. In truth, I see every variant imaginable in those gifs.
