Are Home Runs Miss Hits?

[julray]

I love Josh Donaldson swing. So explosive (suddeness). Great tempo. So controlled and balanced. Sometimes he almost pauses at launch like a golfer. I don't think he is trying to hit bottom half. Maybe. Never heard him say that.

Agreed, I never heard him say that either. So one would assume he's trying to square the ball up. Looking at his HR's, most of the time the ball is coming off at a steeper angle than his swing would dictate. I can only assume that this is happening because the bat is making contact lower half of the ball.

 

[julray]

When a pitcher throws faster than what a player normally sees the hitter will most often swing a miss under the ball. Instead of adjusting (dancing) to when they start their swing, they instinctively try to catch up by using their hands. resulting in swinging under the ball. It sorta a quick fix but if you need a ball in play it works. Like I said I dont like it but it works.

Wouldn't this be just for players who dump the barrel. Somebody with proper mechanics would get on plane early.. logic would say that they would actually be over the ball because they haven't arrived on plane yet because they are behind? I've seen players swing below the ball due to velocity because the pitch wouldn't be dropping so much as a slower pitcher... therefore the hitter is anticipating the pitch will drop more than it actually does

 

[RichK]

I don't think hitters can aim to hit a particular spot on the ball. That said:

I think in softball, most home runs are squared up because you don't need great loft to hit the ball over shorter fences. I think hitters practice and in games execute hitting squared-up line drives that with enough power can clear FP fences.

In baseball (these days), I think a LOT of hitters are trying to get the ball in the air. They practice it and talk about it. It's mostly launch angle/bat path and not so much aiming to hit above or below the center-line of the ball If the launch angle is right they are more likely to hit under or have a path that creates loft.

IMO.

 

[Rolling Hard]

Wouldn't this be just for players who dump the barrel. Somebody with proper mechanics would get on plane early.. logic would say that they would actually be over the ball because they haven't arrived on plane yet because they are behind? I've seen players swing below the ball due to velocity because the pitch wouldn't be dropping so much as a slower pitcher... therefore the hitter is anticipating the pitch will drop more than it actually does

Maybe it is dumping the barrel. I just know the cue "swing over the ball" puts the ball in play.

 

[julray]

I don't think hitters can aim to hit a particular spot on the ball. That said:

I think in softball, most home runs are squared up because you don't need great loft to hit the ball over shorter fences. I think hitters practice and in games execute hitting squared-up line drives that with enough power can clear FP fences.

In baseball (these days), I think a LOT of hitters are trying to get the ball in the air. They practice it and talk about it. It's mostly launch angle/bat path and not so much aiming to hit above or below the center-line of the ball If the launch angle is right they are more likely to hit under or have a path that creates loft.

IMO.

I agree.. but logically this is a little perplexing to me. Matching the plane of an incoming pitch, basically slight upward should actually reduce loft and prevent the ball from getting in the air. Just so I am clear, I believe in matching the plane of the pitch, it's the only way to truly get behind the ball early and stay through it.

 

[julray]

Maybe it is dumping the barrel. I just know the cue "swing over the ball" puts the ball in play.

Do you believe this cue means try to hit the top of the ball... or keep your hands above the ball?

 

[Cornbread]

Do you believe this cue means try to hit the top of the ball... or keep your hands above the ball?

It’s a quick fix. Rolling is right in saying it will get the ball in play. Typically when hitters are late, the barrel can’t square the ball up due to the barrel lagging. Swing over the ball is not a good teach imo but when it’s game time it helps. I try to use swing over the ball for the que, have used top half of the ball que as well but I think that encourages a steeper swing plane. If a player hits a pop fly foul straight back, swing over the ball que will typically create a missile on the next pitch.

 

[julray]

It’s a quick fix. Rolling is right in saying it will get the ball in play. Typically when hitters are late, the barrel can’t square the ball up due to the barrel lagging. Swing over the ball is not a good teach imo but when it’s game time it helps. I try to use swing over the ball for the que, have used top half of the ball que as well but I think that encourages a steeper swing plane. If a player hits a pop fly foul straight back, swing over the ball que will typically create a missile on the next pitch.

Staying over top of the ball doesn't mean the same to me. It doesn't mean hitting the top of the ball. It means keeping the hands above the ball. I don't think I would ask a hitter to hit the top of a ball

 

[A's dad]

I think for the most part homeruns are miss hits by design. At least in baseball if you get on plane with any straight pitch and square it up you should hit it back to the pitchers release point. I think about how we teach bunting, barrel above knob, this makes miss hits more likely to go down. Similarly barrel below knob is frowned on because much more likely to miss hit the ball in the air.

 

[_MIA_]

Or like Zimmerman says, good luck trying to hit a certain portion of the ball when pitchers are throwing 95-100 mph with movement.

This. A difference in fractions of an inch of ball/bat contact location will cause a significant change in launch angle.