Ding, ding, ding....we have our winner...thank you all for playing...time to move on now to..."direction", before TTB or no?In my opinion, "launch angle" is another red herring created by gurus and then picked up by sports casters who continue it. It has always been prominent in the game. Ted Williams described it in The Science of Hitting. The discussions have always been whether hitters actually swing down on the ball. Are they able to hit one specific part of a 90+ mph baseball to impart spin on purpose? Do they match a swing plane exactly? What are the role of the hands in the swing? Suddenly, you have analysis on the MLB station breaking this stuff down and suggesting that this concept is new. Break down Bond's swing and you'll see it. Do the same with Pujols. Remember when Manny Rameriz's swing was the soup de jour? Take a look at his game swings. Do the same with all of the great hitters in the past including the Babe. Watch the shoulder action and see that the shoulders have never been level in the HL swing. Even on the pitch up, the shoulders are not level. Note the various launch angles below and notice the avatar of my kid.
...time to move on now to..."direction", before TTB or no?
julray, just curious, but instead of instructing your DD to have a "level swing"...why not just instruct her to get the barrel "behind" the ball...which doesn't worry about up, down, level, or whatnot...it simply gets (attempts to get) the barrel "behind and through" the ball regardless of where it's pitched. Wouldn't that also automatically cover your "adjustability" criteria that "level" won't always do on certain pitches? Just sayin'....When I say level swing.. I don't mean it has to be so level that you can balance a marble on a plane from back shoulder to front shoulder. It's a cue I use for my DD that helps her from swinging under a pitch. Her swing is still slightly uphill. IMO, in the pic you posted below the green line exhibits a level swing.
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Agreed. Not sure where the "vertical path" was ever derived from, but that's not what I ever read or understood TTB to mean...that could have just been me though. [shrugs]Julray, I think your level first approach has merit at the top of the zone.. Thinking vertical path first to match all pitches in the zone doesn't work. There needs to be multiple paths of get the barrel behind the ball.
julray, just curious, but instead of instructing your DD to have a "level swing"...why not just instruct her to get the barrel "behind" the ball...which doesn't worry about up, down, level, or whatnot...it simply gets (attempts to get) the barrel "behind and through" the ball regardless of where it's pitched. Wouldn't that also automatically cover your "adjustability" criteria that "level" won't always do on certain pitches? Just sayin'....
julray, just curious, but instead of instructing your DD to have a "level swing"...why not just instruct her to get the barrel "behind" the ball...which doesn't worry about up, down, level, or whatnot...it simply gets (attempts to get) the barrel "behind and through" the ball regardless of where it's pitched. Wouldn't that also automatically cover your "adjustability" criteria that "level" won't always do on certain pitches? Just sayin'....