“Down To” vs “On Plane Deep”

[Shawn]

What is Bonds doing?

When we look at the moon we look up. If we were on the moon you might think the Earth is therefor below the moon. So, you might think you would have to look down to look at Earth while on the moon

This of course is not the case. There is no up or down in space. If you were to hit a pitched ball in space, you simple intercept the ball at a point in space.

 

[Shawn]

BTW, Bonds swing path and tilt match. You could say he swing down/level/up. I don’t like that analogy. But, it has some truth in the analogy.

 

[TDS]

Cons of Down To
- too much back spin
- sequencing issues
- shoulders rotating instead of tilting
- smaller hitting window
Pros of Down To
- less misses under
- shorter swing
- better timing on velocity
Cons of On Plane Early
- longer swing
- more misses under (most miss under)
- timing issues
- hitter stays back longer
Pros of On Plane Early
- better sequencing
- bigger hitting window (if timing is good)
- more adjustability
- ball can get deeper

Just some thoughts
Edited to add: the plane of a fastpitch pitch in not 7-8 degrees down. Maybe a degree or two down. I think this gets overlooked way too much when comparing swings even though they are very similar.

Cornbread, can you explain the smaller hitting window please ?

 

[efastball]

95% hitters who swing and miss are underneath the ball..

95% of youth hitters also have bat drag.

This would mean that the bat is still in the 'down' phase of the swing because of the drag/lag and would therefore be under the ball at contact.

So, the fix for this is not to make another flaw by swinging down, but instead to fix the bat drag.

 

[efastball]

Cons of Down To
- too much back spin

Impossible. Here is what happens when you hit anywhere above the center line of the ball

 

[TDS]

95% of youth hitters also have bat drag.

This would mean that the bat is still in the 'down' phase of the swing because of the drag/lag and would therefore be under the ball at contact.

So, the fix for this is not to make another flaw by swinging down, but instead to fix the bat drag.

Swinging "down to" isn't a flaw.. All hitters swing "down to" and then the barrel flattens out. Don't mistake "down to" as a chopping over across the ball.

 

[_MIA_]

Battle of Dogma

 

[efastball]

Don't mistake "down to" as a chopping over across the ball.

But I think that is exactly what hitters do when they hear the phrase 'down to'. They throw their hands.

What am I supposed to do with my hands with 'down to'? I don't understand.

 

[TDS]

But I think that is exactly what hitters do when they hear the phrase 'down to'. They throw their hands.

What am I supposed to do with my hands with 'down to'? I don't understand.

Learn to get leveraged before whipping the barrel vs abaf

Leveraged

abaf

 

[FP26]

What is Bonds doing?

When we look at the moon we look up. If we were on the moon you might think the Earth is therefor below the moon. So, you might think you would have to look down to look at Earth while on the moon

This of course is not the case. There is no up or down in space. If you were to hit a pitched ball in space, you simple intercept the ball at a point in space.

Good example of "on plane early" in my opinion. Bonds is already on plane when the barrel passes his rear shoulder.