Alabama and the "Power Slap"

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Was watching the Alabama vs. Ole Miss game this weekend and power hitter Amanda Locke was at bat. With 2 strikes, she went into a "power slap" stance where she would lean forward and present her bat across the plate during the pitcher's wind-up and pull it back right before the pitch to swing away. She ended up hitting a home run during the at-bat, but my questions are as follows:

1) why would you want one of your strongest hitters to be off-balance in the "power slap" stance during the wind-up and not in their normal batting stance?

2) if this "power slap" technique is superior to taking your normal batting stance, why not use it on every pitch, every at-bat?

If someone has video of this sequence, please post. Thanks.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Around here we call that a "slash" instead of power slap.

I don't see an advantage in stance technique, only advantage is to mess with pitcher. But maybe it "messed" enough the pitcher threw a gut ball?

 

[Greenmonsters]

Didn't see this particular example, but it sounds like a 2-strike approach that some use in order to increase chances of contact at the expense of power (i.e., a contact-oriented swing). Sometimes trying to not kill the ball is the best way to kill the ball.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

[video=youtube_share;YQQ_cGhIueY]http://youtu.be/YQQ_cGhIueY[/video]

Not 100% what we call a "slash", but you'll get an idea.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Just to be clear, this was not a fake bunt situation. She had 2 strikes on her and is the biggest powerhitter on the team.

If as GM states, power slapping is done to increase the chance of contact, than why not have the batter pre-load her hands and shorten her stride to just make contact? There would be no need to start with the bat out over the plate and have to pull it back to the loaded position and then swing. Just seems like a lot of wasted movement and would not be nearly as effective as taking your regular stance to protect with two strikes.

 

[GOINGDEEP]

Just to be clear, this was not a fake bunt situation. She had 2 strikes on her and is the biggest powerhitter on the team.

If as GM states, power slapping is done to increase the chance of contact, than why not have the batter pre-load her hands and shorten her stride to just make contact? There would be no need to start with the bat out over the plate and have to pull it back to the loaded position and then swing. Just seems like a lot of wasted movement and would not be nearly as effective as taking your regular stance to protect with two strikes.

That video was the only thing I could find. I know exactly what you are talking about even without seeing the game your post is on.

The "slash" doesn't go into a fake bunt. ( like in my examlple, but that's all I got ) The bat is only extended over the plate and drawn back in. I can't find any video examples..........anywhere.

 

[2bucketdad]

Some hitters do what you are talking about when they are ahead of the pitch, sometimes called choke and poke, or tripple threat and many other names...

 

[Cannonball]

Actually, I like this action. Often, a hitter is stagnant in their "load" and so, really has eliminated effective load. With this action, it really turns in to a "running start" that incorporates load. That load not only involves hips and leg action but also involves effective loading of the hands (arms, shoulders and wrist)

 

[ArmWhip]

I was at a clinic several years ago and D3 coach was talking about how her team's average and power stats went from next to last to first in 2 years. One of the things they used was a short, tight swing with 2 strikes, they even hit home runs with it. They got the idea from one Epstein's torque drills. You go to a contact position, then freeze the lower body with the bat over the plate. At the right time you rotate the shoulders and bat back, against the lower body and then release into the ball.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

I was at a clinic several years ago and D3 coach was talking about how her team's average and power stats went from next to last to first in 2 years. One of the things they used was a short, tight swing with 2 strikes, they even hit home runs with it. They got the idea from one Epstein's torque drills. You go to a contact position, then freeze the lower body with the bat over the plate. At the right time you rotate the shoulders and bat back, against the lower body and then release into the ball.

If the approach was so good, then why didn't they make this their default swing instead of waiting for two strikes?