Hitting video Hall of Shame

Eric F said:

I made a comment on this video a little while back, and her response seemed to indicate that she was revising her approach to the swing plane, but this video and her website still promote the same flawed approach.

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Eric F said:

I made a comment on this video a little while back, and her response seemed to indicate that she was revising her approach to the swing plane, but this video and her website still promote the same flawed approach.

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CoachYoYo said:

I saw your comment and added one myself. That video is now private, so hopefully she is revising her approach. I really hope so because Jen Shro linked to one of Chez's throwing articles which will give her a lot of more exposure, and that kind of instruction will NOT help.

Rob.

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Eric F said:

I was tempted to comment on Jen's FB post with a link to Wasserman's recent post.

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TigerDad99 said:

After reading through this thread it occurred to me that there is just as much variance of instruction as there is criticism of said instruction.

A few observations and opinions:

-The student is more important than the instructor. No instructor can take a non-hitter and turn them into the best hitter of all time. The student has to have some ability, they have to want to work on their own and they have to have the mental part of focus and understanding what "Hitting" actually is.

-Athletes who are at the extreme of their field like Crystol Bustos are outliers. She does not fit any possible model. She has above average upper body strength that 99.9% of females cannot approach. She has an above average eye for the ball. Meaning she can recognize the ball quickly and put the bat on the ball with a high degree of accuracy and power (even when she isn't swinging with her most efficient swing). If everyone could do that or even be taught to do that then she would just be average. Clearly that is not the case.

-The issue of the front elbow is actually a valid topic. Most of the athletes shown are not maintaining the gap between the front and back elbow. This causes the back elbow to accelerate past the hands and the front elbow to rise. This is commonly referred to "Dipping" by your average "Shade Tree" hitting instructors, ie...Dad. I would call it "Drag" and one of the most common swing defects in young hitters. The best thing for bat drag is strengthening the hitters core and upper body. Then concentrating on mechanics and timing.

-The GIF of Crystol Bustos taking BP in her Team USA uniform is not a good example of her swing. To me it looks like she is a little fatigued and not focused on mechanics. One obvious thing is her back foot prior to her swing. Players of her caliber can hit the ball out of the park in BP without much effort. If you are going to use that kind of a player as an example, then they should be shown during a live at-bat or when they are giving instruction and concentrating on their mechanics.

-The problem with weight transfer to the front side is when it occurs too early in the swing. It can cause the hips, hands, torso, head and eyes to rise above the ball. This clearly changes the angle of vision and bat at contact and can cause the ball to have a downward trajectory off of the bat. If you take a look at a slap hitter they use this motion to get on top of the ball and pound it into the dirt. I personally like to see the hitter drive the back side into the wall created by the front side. That is how torque is transferred into the bat "Whip". It does not matter how the back foot/toe looks at the finish, it only matters that the transfer happened on time with the swing.

-I believe that timing is the most difficult aspect of hitting for most young hitters. The outliers have an innate ability to be on time with the ball even when their mechanics are not totally sound.

-My thoughts are that there is no definable "Baseball" or "Softball" swing. I personally trust a swing that has rotational force with some linear hand path. Each hitter will have a unique signature to their own swing and a good instructor will work within the students ability.

Just some thoughts and opinions.

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