Tony Gwynn

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Jan 6, 2009
6,587
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Chehalis, Wa
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I've seen this allot, hitter taking a small step or no stride in BP. This is just picking the foot up and putting it back down.
 
Nov 18, 2015
1,585
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Aaron Judge may also have switched to a no-stride 2-strike approach during Spring Training.

Didn’t hurt his power at all, as he put one into the players parking lot beyond the LF fence yesterday.


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Jan 6, 2009
6,587
113
Chehalis, Wa
Aaron Judge may also have switched to a no-stride 2-strike approach during Spring Training.

Didn’t hurt his power at all, as he put one into the players parking lot beyond the LF fence yesterday.


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Some might say he can get away with it because of his size. Personally I really like the no stride. They often say smaller hitters need more momentum.
 
Sep 17, 2009
1,637
83
If you think about it, how would a small player benefit from momentum, ie, they are by definition a small player so moving that mass forward isn't going to create much of an advantage :)

I like some form of foot up and down (off the ground), I think it helps for sequencing. If you look at Judge's no-stride he's very pre-set. If you look at Pujol's no-stride it is an extremely athletic and leveraged action that can be hard for a (young especially) player to duplicate.

On the other extreme, I actually think sequencing gets harder/more challenging if a hitter has a big move-out, they really then need to pull back against it and time that pull back well and also be able to land AND continue to stretch if they see off-speed. TM had some interesting criticism of Donaldson's big moves in his Periscope yesterday, saying there's lots of room for slack and mistiming with such large actions. Which makes it interesting that his big leg kick has become so popular in some circles. Someone like George Brett or Will Clark that have big forward move-outs are phenomenal athletes, not everyone can execute swings like that effectively, IMO. Not saying forward by coil can't work, but it has to be executed properly.
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
If you think about it, how would a small player benefit from momentum, ie, they are by definition a small player so moving that mass forward isn't going to create much of an advantage :)

I like some form of foot up and down (off the ground), I think it helps for sequencing. If you look at Judge's no-stride he's very pre-set. If you look at Pujol's no-stride it is an extremely athletic and leveraged action that can be hard for a (young especially) player to duplicate.

On the other extreme, I actually think sequencing gets harder/more challenging if a hitter has a big move-out, they really then need to pull back against it and time that pull back well and also be able to land AND continue to stretch if they see off-speed. TM had some interesting criticism of Donaldson's big moves in his Periscope yesterday, saying there's lots of room for slack and mistiming with such large actions. Which makes it interesting that his big leg kick has become so popular in some circles. Someone like George Brett or Will Clark that have big forward move-outs are phenomenal athletes, not everyone can execute swings like that effectively, IMO. Not saying forward by coil can't work, but it has to be executed properly.

I remember TM saying that in the periscope although I am not sure if he was referring to his move out/leg kick vs. his arm action..maybe both. To me a big arm action is a larger timing problem (with respect to launching from max coil) than the leg kick/large stride.
 
Last edited:
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
If you think about it, how would a small player benefit from momentum, ie, they are by definition a small player so moving that mass forward isn't going to create much of an advantage :)

I like some form of foot up and down (off the ground), I think it helps for sequencing. If you look at Judge's no-stride he's very pre-set. If you look at Pujol's no-stride it is an extremely athletic and leveraged action that can be hard for a (young especially) player to duplicate.

On the other extreme, I actually think sequencing gets harder/more challenging if a hitter has a big move-out, they really then need to pull back against it and time that pull back well and also be able to land AND continue to stretch if they see off-speed. TM had some interesting criticism of Donaldson's big moves in his Periscope yesterday, saying there's lots of room for slack and mistiming with such large actions. Which makes it interesting that his big leg kick has become so popular in some circles. Someone like George Brett or Will Clark that have big forward move-outs are phenomenal athletes, not everyone can execute swings like that effectively, IMO. Not saying forward by coil can't work, but it has to be executed properly.

Moving the mass forward is not for power. It’s for balance. It’s what every hitter seeks. It creates a timing window second to none. Forward yet back is the goal. Getting the mass moving forward with the slack taken out while keeping the back leg still loaded can enable one to hit in, out, offspeed without adjusting anything but the hands tangentially.

Power is about approach and size and or strength. Power is relative to the player. Mechanics that promise ‘power’ are sacrificing one thing for another. IME.
 
Sep 17, 2009
1,637
83
Moving the mass forward is not for power. It’s for balance. It’s what every hitter seeks. It creates a timing window second to none. Forward yet back is the goal. Getting the mass moving forward with the slack taken out while keeping the back leg still loaded can enable one to hit in, out, offspeed without adjusting anything but the hands tangentially.

Power is about approach and size and or strength. Power is relative to the player. Mechanics that promise ‘power’ are sacrificing one thing for another. IME.

Yes, that was my point re: mass/momentum/power :)

I also agree with you about how to ideally execute a forward by coil move. HOWEVER, there are many ways in which a forward move can go wrong. I *like* the way you describe it a lot. But it's not the only way to create sequence and a timing window.
 
May 12, 2016
4,338
113
Really like this simple hover drill;



Mass moving forward while keeping the back hip loaded. Makes more sense to my DD when we refer to it as Back hip, and not leg. When saying back leg loaded she tends to sit on it too much and sometimes the back knee extends pass the back foot.
 
Last edited:
Oct 13, 2014
5,471
113
South Cali
Yes, that was my point re: mass/momentum/power :)

I also agree with you about how to ideally execute a forward by coil move. HOWEVER, there are many ways in which a forward move can go wrong. I *like* the way you describe it a lot. But it's not the only way to create sequence and a timing window.

Thanks for the response. Please explain further about other patterns you teach or subscribe too that can get hitters into a forward yet back(balanced hitting position). If you don’t mind.
 

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