The Baseball Swing Is Adjustable

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Jan 14, 2009
1,591
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Atlanta, Georgia
I'm on "Mike Epstein Hitting's" e-mail list and he sent out a link to this YouTube video. I thought I would post it to emphasize that the baseball swing is adjustable and can be tailored to fit a player's strengths.


 
Oct 12, 2009
1,465
0
I'm on "Mike Epstein Hitting's" e-mail list and he sent out a link to this YouTube video. I thought I would post it to emphasize that the baseball swing is adjustable and can be tailored to fit a player's strengths.

While this was interesting, it perpetuates a number of myths...

1. Whoever put the simulated batters together is a big believer in the level swing (2:02 and 2:25). Of course, all the slow motion video debunks the idea of the level swing (meaning bat level to the ground at the POC).

2. The kinetic energy in the arms shoulders isn't what matters. What matters is the core.

I also don't see how this says much of anything practical about adjustability other than that in home run derbies you should swing faster to hit the ball farther.

While that works in home run derbies, it's not always good advice in games.
 
May 13, 2008
831
16
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Where does the adjustability in the bat angle come from? Seems to me that it comes from the hand path. There is not much of an appreciable change in body tilt.
 

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Oct 12, 2009
1,465
0
attachment.php


Where does the adjustability in the bat angle come from? Seems to me that it comes from the hand path. There is not much of an appreciable change in body tilt.

You can see the tilt by comparing the height of the top of the helmet to the beam above and behind it in the background.
 
Jan 14, 2009
1,591
0
Atlanta, Georgia
While this was interesting, it perpetuates a number of myths...

1. Whoever put the simulated batters together is a big believer in the level swing (2:02 and 2:25). Of course, all the slow motion video debunks the idea of the level swing (meaning bat level to the ground at the POC).

2. The kinetic energy in the arms shoulders isn't what matters. What matters is the core.

I also don't see how this says much of anything practical about adjustability other than that in home run derbies you should swing faster to hit the ball farther.

While that works in home run derbies, it's not always good advice in games.

Hopefully others here will recognize the fact that the simulation was done using a very good former pro hitter. I also thought the info early in the clip showing how Nomar changes his swing plane from 10 to 20 degrees to get more lift was insightful. IMO this seems to dovetail with Epstein's observation that big strong HR hitters can benefit from a slighty steeper swing plane, whereas smaller players may benefit from a shallower swing plane.

I also thought the conclusion about batspeed was insightful as it is a graphic reminder of how important it is to develop mechanics that maximize batspeed.
 
Oct 12, 2009
1,465
0
Hopefully others here will recognize the fact that the simulation was done using a very good former pro hitter.

The computer animations clearly show a swing that is level to the ground (and dropping the hands) while all of the videos show the bat head well below the hands.


I also thought the conclusion about batspeed was insightful as it is a graphic reminder of how important it is to develop mechanics that maximize batspeed.

If maximizing bat speed is so important, then why is Albert Pujols' bat speed a very mediocre 87MPH?
 
May 13, 2008
831
16
You can see the tilt by comparing the height of the top of the helmet to the beam above and behind it in the background.

I saw the slight amount of tilt, but it looks to only be a degree or so. More telling is the angle of the top hand forearm.
 
Oct 12, 2009
1,465
0
I saw the slight amount of tilt, but it looks to only be a degree or so. More telling is the angle of the top hand forearm.

I wouldn't draw any conclusions from these swings because to many variables are uncontrolled.

For instance, the trajectories of the pitches look different.

This just looks like normal adjustments to pitch to pitch variation to me.
 
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May 13, 2008
831
16
I wouldn't draw any conclusions from these swings because to many variables are uncontrolled.

For instance, the trajectories of the pitch look different.

This just looks like normal adjustments to pitch to pitch variation to me.

Agree, hard to make conclusions about these swings. They are in a controlled environment with different types of pitches. The swings were selected to illustrate their point. Further, Nomar states in the clip that a different swing is used in game situations.
 
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