Launch angle and some other IMPORTANT things

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Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
https://www.mlb.com/video/mlb-central-demos-launch-angle/c-1931275783?tid=7417714

So watched this a few days ago. Some really trendy launch angle stuff. But Kevin Millar really laid out some good things in his analysis. He put the basic fundamentals of hitting out there for all to hear. He also told every hitter how to find their approach at the plate.Millar starts around the 7:00 mark. Enjoy hitting junkies! The best (not vague) analysis I've heard in a long time!
 
Nov 25, 2012
1,437
83
USA
https://www.mlb.com/video/mlb-central-demos-launch-angle/c-1931275783?tid=7417714

So watched this a few days ago. Some really trendy launch angle stuff. But Kevin Millar really laid out some good things in his analysis. He put the basic fundamentals of hitting out there for all to hear. He also told every hitter how to find their approach at the plate.Millar starts around the 7:00 mark. Enjoy hitting junkies! The best (not vague) analysis I've heard in a long time!

So I have been spending quite a bit of time on hitting and was looking back as several posts here from the past and came across Teacherman's stuff. I then came across several posts that think he is let's just say, not great...... Little did I know there was a big ruckus amongst the hitting gurus a few years back and so mudslinging has made things not so clear.

I say all this because as I was looking at this video I first thought of Teacherman when Martinez was hitting. It just stood out to me AND I saw a girl doing the Barry Bonds thing today at a friendly as she was warming up. She then proceeded to hit the ball with a steeper launch angle than most. Looked kinda like some of the hitters on this link. Anyway, appreciate the post, and I still have no idea which camp I am in, should be in, etc. etc. Finding IR, brush, etc. in pitching was so much easier here. Hitting......not so much.....
 
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
So I have been spending quite a bit of time on hitting and was looking back as several posts here from the past and came across Teacherman's stuff. I then came across several posts that think he is let's just say, not great...... Little did I know there was a big ruckus amongst the hitting gurus a few years back and so mudslinging has made things not so clear.

I say all this because as I was looking at this video I first thought of Teacherman when Martinez was hitting. It just stood out to me AND I saw a girl doing the Barry Bonds thing today at a friendly as she was warming up. She then proceeded to hit the ball with a steeper launch angle than most. Looked kinda like some of the hitters on this link. Anyway, appreciate the post, and I still have no idea which camp I am in, should be in, etc. etc. Finding IR, brush, etc. in pitching was so much easier here. Hitting......not so much.....

If I'm understanding you... you think launch is when the hands start forward. To me that is not the case. I believe launch angle in MLB terms means when the barrel is released. With that thinking ... do you think her swing is steep after changing the verbiage ? This is the part in so many cases with EVERYONE sometime or another ,where a cue is misunderstood and used incorrectly.
My belief is launch angle should be thought of more as point of contact with the ball and not with where the barrel is starting it's 'loading' process . That was kinda vague. Sorry.
Said another way , Donaldson to me just changed his point of contact. Tewksbury got him into a good adjustable sequence , then the athlete in him took over. And with that being said , Donaldson looked at his 'numbers'( launch angle, exit velocity, Time to contact etc .) and came to the conclusion that his launch angle increased.Probably the only thing that changed .So now he parrots that as gospel." Don't swing down".Another case of the athlete saying one thing because he doesn't care about really knowing, he just cares about results. "They don't pay you for ground balls"... He means well. He truly just doesn't know how he got to where he is. I'm pretty sure he swings with direction in mind.So at times he might need to 'swing down' dependent on pitch location. Look at every good hit he has and I GUARANTEE you his barrel is up when his hands start forward. Every swing is 'down too'.

In regards to Teacherman. I've had one exchange with the guy on twitter. Once he knew I was a member of dfp. He never DMd me again. I wanted to attend a clinic of his in my area . I wanted to see his theory in all its glory. Never heard from him again. I have read all I can on his theories on all the hitting sites. He has revamped different things at different times from what I've read. I think he is getting better . But if your looking for someone to base your philosophies off of . You can do better.JMHO. To each his own. I think Tewks knows, a few members on these sites know a lot. Hopefully my post was helpful.
 
Nov 25, 2012
1,437
83
USA
If I'm understanding you... you think launch is when the hands start forward. To me that is not the case. I believe launch angle in MLB terms means when the barrel is released. With that thinking ... do you think her swing is steep after changing the verbiage ? This is the part in so many cases with EVERYONE sometime or another ,where a cue is misunderstood and used incorrectly.
My belief is launch angle should be thought of more as point of contact with the ball and not with where the barrel is starting it's 'loading' process . That was kinda vague. Sorry.
Said another way , Donaldson to me just changed his point of contact. Tewksbury got him into a good adjustable sequence , then the athlete in him took over. And with that being said , Donaldson looked at his 'numbers'( launch angle, exit velocity, Time to contact etc .) and came to the conclusion that his launch angle increased.Probably the only thing that changed .So now he parrots that as gospel." Don't swing down".Another case of the athlete saying one thing because he doesn't care about really knowing, he just cares about results. "They don't pay you for ground balls"... He means well. He truly just doesn't know how he got to where he is. I'm pretty sure he swings with direction in mind.So at times he might need to 'swing down' dependent on pitch location. Look at every good hit he has and I GUARANTEE you his barrel is up when his hands start forward. Every swing is 'down too'.

In regards to Teacherman. I've had one exchange with the guy on twitter. Once he knew I was a member of dfp. He never DMd me again. I wanted to attend a clinic of his in my area . I wanted to see his theory in all its glory. Never heard from him again. I have read all I can on his theories on all the hitting sites. He has revamped different things at different times from what I've read. I think he is getting better . But if your looking for someone to base your philosophies off of . You can do better.JMHO. To each his own. I think Tewks knows, a few members on these sites know a lot. Hopefully my post was helpful.

Thanks for the information and I think you said what I was trying to but it didn't come out right. Or at least you helped me understand what I was trying to say. Yes, the girl I saw point of contact was much more up and down like if the bat was going across a clock face or something like that. Less horizontal maybe describes it??

Anyway, much to learn and thanks for the comments!

S3
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
In my opinion launch angle is measured as the angle of the trajectory of the ball after contact when compared to the ground. In the video, Donaldson mentions the "slightly upward" barrel path. If that path contacts the ball at a specific point, the ball will achieve a certain launch angle. In most cases, when someone is talking about a "slightly upward" path, they are implying a barrel path of approximately 10 degrees. So to achieve a launch angle of 25 degrees, they need to contact the ball slightly below its equator. That said, a hitter could theoretically "swing down" on a ball (barrel angle of less than 0 degrees), and still achieve a positive launch angle based on where on the ball contact is made. The theory behind the slightly upward barrel path is that it gives the hitter a higher probability of achieving the desired results. A "swing down" barrel path produces a lower probability of achieving that result because the contact area is not as large.
 

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
launch angle; simply it is the angle that the ball comes off the bat. The way to
judge is less than 10 degrees you are seeing a ground ball, 10-25 degrees is a line drive, 26-50 is a fly ball
and lastly over 50 is a pop up. When you hear his launch angle is 20 degrees an old schooler would say the just hit a line drive. Another stat is exit velocity. This is explained by how fast the ball is coming off the bat. The average exit velocity is about 88 miles per hour (MPH). But we are continuously hearing about balls coming off the bat at over 100 MPH from the top hitters.
6_5455367.jpg

......................................
 
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
And of course lets dissect every word. Lol.Its so hard to communicate hitting with words. I am in agreeement with ^^^^ both above . If my words are a tad minced. I did rush my post. Should stop trying to eat so fast, I always get heart burn when I do so! Good discussion. Thanks gents! Anyone have any comments on Millar? Personally liked his description of his/pro level swings. Funny how he mentioned Barry. Lol. Millar must be visiting baseball/softball websites in his free time! That was not a jab to anyone ! It was more like a towel whip! Wuupooh!
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
And of course lets dissect every word. Lol.Its so hard to communicate hitting with words. I am in agreeement with ^^^^ both above . If my words are a tad minced. I did rush my post. Should stop trying to eat so fast, I always get heart burn when I do so! Good discussion. Thanks gents! Anyone have any comments on Millar? Personally liked his description of his/pro level swings. Funny how he mentioned Barry. Lol. Millar must be visiting baseball/softball websites in his free time! That was not a jab to anyone ! It was more like a towel whip! Wuupooh!

Personally I enjoy videos of the pros talking about what they do, what they feel, or how they go about their craft. In many cases I think their words are dissected too much to imply that they don't know what they are talking about. Hitting is a difficult art. There is always discussion concerning hitting debates as compared to pitching debates. What typically isn't mentioned is that the pitcher is in control of the situation. He/she pitches when ready and knows exactly what pitch they are throwing and what location they are planning to hit. They may not hit that location in all cases, but you get the idea. The hitter is attempting to hit a moving target with no warning concerning velocity, spin, or location. If a hitter can consistently get on base 30% to 40% of the time, they can make a living in the sport. If a pitcher was only capable of getting out 30% to 40% of the hitters, they would not be around very long. I'm not trying to diminish what pitchers do. Their job is incredibly difficult as well. But overall, I liked what Millar had to say in this particular video.
 
Nov 25, 2012
1,437
83
USA
If I'm understanding you... you think launch is when the hands start forward. To me that is not the case. I believe launch angle in MLB terms means when the barrel is released. With that thinking ... do you think her swing is steep after changing the verbiage ? This is the part in so many cases with EVERYONE sometime or another ,where a cue is misunderstood and used incorrectly.
My belief is launch angle should be thought of more as point of contact with the ball and not with where the barrel is starting it's 'loading' process . That was kinda vague. Sorry.
Said another way , Donaldson to me just changed his point of contact. Tewksbury got him into a good adjustable sequence , then the athlete in him took over. And with that being said , Donaldson looked at his 'numbers'( launch angle, exit velocity, Time to contact etc .) and came to the conclusion that his launch angle increased.Probably the only thing that changed .So now he parrots that as gospel." Don't swing down".Another case of the athlete saying one thing because he doesn't care about really knowing, he just cares about results. "They don't pay you for ground balls"... He means well. He truly just doesn't know how he got to where he is. I'm pretty sure he swings with direction in mind.So at times he might need to 'swing down' dependent on pitch location. Look at every good hit he has and I GUARANTEE you his barrel is up when his hands start forward. Every swing is 'down too'.

In regards to Teacherman. I've had one exchange with the guy on twitter. Once he knew I was a member of dfp. He never DMd me again. I wanted to attend a clinic of his in my area . I wanted to see his theory in all its glory. Never heard from him again. I have read all I can on his theories on all the hitting sites. He has revamped different things at different times from what I've read. I think he is getting better . But if your looking for someone to base your philosophies off of . You can do better.JMHO. To each his own. I think Tewks knows, a few members on these sites know a lot. Hopefully my post was helpful.

This is close to what I was trying to describe....Again, sure I was not doing a good job at the description

Another DiCarlo HR off Barnhill.

59EY0K.gif
 
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
Dicarlo looks a lot like Kris Bryant . Very nice .
Almost exactly. Nice coil to stretch , down to the ball. Loading the body and the barrel are so IMPORTANT Imo. Does Dicarlo learn from Bryants dad also? Uncanny resemblance .
 

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