Drills

FiveFrameSwing said:

I thought it went without saying, but based on some recent posts I’m not so sure ... so let's state the obvious. The ‘red’ line depicted below does not reflect the path of a “riseball traveling through the strike zone” … the words that John used as he traced the path of the three balls with his left hand.

The profile shown here does not come anywhere remotely close to the profile of a real riseball traveling through the strike zone. It's an old belief that has been largely dispelled. If you are teaching hitters to hit balls having a flight similar to that depicted by the 'red' line above, then consider applying the Hanson Principle to pitching and reconsider the notion.

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What I find interesting is that there are coaches out there who actually teach this swing for any pitch--bat path straight down to the point of contact, then through the ball. Of course, I believe this type of swing is pure nonsense. However, to each his/her own.

I'm not disagreeing with you guys here. I saw the post, just heard Bill Edwards speak, and shared the info...

Doug Romrell said:

I struggle with the wording, "actually see a 'rising' ball." While a riseball, like all other pitches, will be on an upward trajectory as it's released from the hand, it isn't going to still be on an upward trajectory as it goes through the strike zone. If it is still on an upward trajectory, it will be above the strike zone and the batter should lay off of it. As I see it, a riseball that ends up being a strike will end up higher in the zone and will not have fallen as much as the other pitches that are thrown on a similar initial trajectory, but with non-riseball spins. I guess that's why it's so important for the batter to recognize the rotation of the ball. That's how I see it.

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A knee high fastball/dropball is going to be on an upward trajectory? If it does it has to only be for a few feet right?

At what point does the rise flatten? Like how far into the pitch?

Doug Romrell said:

I struggle with the wording, "actually see a 'rising' ball." While a riseball, like all other pitches, will be on an upward trajectory as it's released from the hand, it isn't going to still be on an upward trajectory as it goes through the strike zone. If it is still on an upward trajectory, it will be above the strike zone and the batter should lay off of it. As I see it, a riseball that ends up being a strike will end up higher in the zone and will not have fallen as much as the other pitches that are thrown on a similar initial trajectory, but with non-riseball spins. I guess that's why it's so important for the batter to recognize the rotation of the ball. That's how I see it.

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When John described the riseball as traveling through the strike zone as he did in the video, he indicated that his drill had no connection to reality. It simply failed the Hanson Principle. He then proceeded to recommend a bat path that conformed to a distorted view of reality, which also resulted in the bat path failing the Hanson Principle. Despite being a classy guy, what he termed one of his best drills is in reality a drill that would be stamped “rejected” by the Hanson Principle.

Spartans21 said:

A knee high fastball/dropball is going to be on an upward trajectory? If it does it has to only be for a few feet right?

At what point does the rise flatten? Like how far into the pitch?

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As soon as a riseball is released it begins to flatten. It's upward trajectory will be greatest at release, and lowest as it enters the strike zone ..... virtually the opposite of what was depicted in John's video.

I agree FFS. Are you a believer of matching your swing plane to the plane of the pitch? Also since it flattens are you treating a rise that is a strike pretty much like a high fastball? A flat swing.

The drill works guys..... Now why does it work?????

Spartans21 said:

I agree FFS. Are you a believer of matching your swing plane to the plane of the pitch? Also since it flattens are you treating a rise that is a strike pretty much like a high fastball? A flat swing.

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Probably not the answer you want to hear, but IMO some people overdo the notion of matching the swing plane to the plane of the pitch. If the swing is properly performed then the barrel will align so as to create a lever-type system that assists in the application of force. In other words ... there is more than one alignment taking place ... and overdoing the alignment to the 'ball', at the expense of using a broken lever-type system, should not be the goal. The alignment should be more a 'result' of good mechanics and not something to be overly worried about. That said, the bat path is important ... very important ... and if that is in bad shape, which would be the case if you took this particular drill to heart, then you'd need to modify your mechanics to obtain a proper bat path.

TDS said:

The drill works guys..... Now why does it work?????

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Please post some clips of hitters swinging with that bat path, at a riseball, and it working.

How would this swing work on a rise ball?