Difference between baseball and softball swing mechanics...

[Fastpitch Trainer]

Here is what I see in Megan's swing:

She uses the Hips/Hands effectively, but not the way that I would teach a hitter to use them. What I see is this: in Frames 53-54-55 you see Megan's hand path really move inside the ball upon final approach. It's a reverse sequence though for her. The reason she's able to square it up on frame 55, is that the hips finally get to their destination, and allow a better approach inside of the softball. Watch the hip movement over the last 3 frames. A hitter like Pujols is generally going to be done with the lower half in Frame 53, meaning that the hips have supplied power and allow the bat head to stay inside the ball with better spacing than Bush does here. Obviously with the screwball, spacing is HUGE in Fastpitch. If you can't maintain spacing, you can't hit a screwball.

She's already released the bat head, prior to the end of hip rotation, so we can't say that the hips are powering the swing. What we can say is that the hips do ALLOW the hands to take the final path. Would you see a 12/13 year old have tremendous success and power doing this? No, they don't have the surplus of power someone like Bush has.

Megan is strong enough to do this with the upper body though, and can get away with the hips helping the approach, and not supplying the power in her swing. Easier for a world class athlete, who has no issues using her hot equipment, to put a ball over a 200 foot fence 15 times a year. There is such a surplus of power with some of these kids, that they get away with things.

Some things need to be adjusted to see her take it to the next step in that .375+ 20 HR category...the 20 HR may come, but the average will be hard to come by with reverse sequencing.

 

[Tewks]

If she tilted more, she'd miss under the ball.

Tilt is important, but has to be used correctly.

Take Tulowitzki's swing at the high pitch, add lateral tilt via rear hip drive to hit the pitch at this location. The tilt puts the bat on plane. In the swing I posted - a very high pitch - he has virtually no tilt. Her swing doesn't look like the Tulo swing with tilt added. She can't tilt effectively because she has shifted to the front side. Then pulled.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Take Tulowitzki's swing at the high pitch, add lateral tilt via rear hip drive to hit the pitch at this location. The tilt puts the bat on plane. In the swing I posted - a very high pitch - he has virtually no tilt.

He has no tilt because the pitch is so high.

The problem with your theory is that it's dependent upon lots of tilt in every swing, which leaves you vulnerable to balls hard and up.

In good swings at high pitches, the swing is as close to level as it's ever going to get.

If you added tilt, he's not going to hit the ball.

Her swing doesn't look like the Tulo swing with tilt added. She can't tilt effectively because she has shifted to the front side. Then pulled.

If she tilted more, she'd miss the ball.

That might make it fit your model, but it won't get the job done.

I'm a HUGE believer in and proponent of tilt, but it's no panacea.

 

[Tewks]

He has no tilt because the pitch is so high.

The problem with your theory is that it's dependent upon lots of tilt in every swing, which leaves you vulnerable to balls hard and up.

In good swings at high pitches, the swing is as close to level as it's ever going to get.

If you added tilt, he's not going to hit the ball.




If she tilted more, she'd miss the ball.

That might make it fit your model, but it won't get the job done.

I'm a HUGE believer in and proponent of tilt, but it's no panacea.

This makes no sense.. If there is logic here, I'm not following it. What are you trying to say?

He has no tilt on the high pitch. And he kills the high pitch. As I stated... and as you restated. Why would he then tilt to the high pitch? He is already on plane? What are you saying?

On a lower pitch, he would tilt. If Tulo swing at a lower pitch with more tilt, he would not look like the SB player. (More importantly, the SB player would not look like him!) I agree, she would likely miss the ball if she tilted.

I'm not claiming tilt heals all swing diseases. But I am saying it exists, as required by pitch location, to get the barrel on plane in high level swings. And it does not exist in your SB player's swing.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

I'm not claiming tilt heals all swing diseases. But I am saying it exists, as required by pitch location, to get the barrel on plane in high level swings. And it does not exist in your SB player's swing.

So you're saying her shoulders are level and she's adjusting with her arms and dropping her hands to get to this ball?

I need to see some video, and ideally a comparison, that contrasts how she's adjusting now with how she should adjust.

 

[Tewks]

So you're saying her shoulders are level and she's adjusting with her arms and dropping her hands to get to this ball?

I need to see some video, and ideally a comparison, that contrasts how she's adjusting now with how she should adjust.

Her late adjustment to the ball with her hands brings her right shoulder up as she rotates to contact. That is the opposite of tilt. I don't need a comparison video to show you, or anybody else that. Just look at the video you have posted above. You can go on your website and watch all of your Pujols clips if you need to.

 

[Wellphyt]

I'd love to know what you'd do to fix this swing and get her to really hit the ball.

The only thing I see is a bit too much of reverse-rotation of the shoulders and a tendency to slap the outside pitch rather than hit it for power.

I've explained it on here before and it's been explained to you by others on other hitting forums. It's clear you don't see the difference in what Bush does and what MLB hitters like Pujols do. As I've said before, Bush has a very good amateur swing. If a fastpitch hitter is athletic enough they can have success using amateur mechanics because of the minus 8 high tech carbon bats. Some of us are after more and are trying to teach our daughters the MLB high level swing. Afterall, many in the fastpitch community now claim the fastpitch swing should be the same as the MLB swing.

The fact is that Bush pushes her hands towards the pitcher when she lowers her back elbow. IMO Bush would be a better hitter if she got rid of her push and instead turned her hands over and whipped like this hitter does at about the 2:13 mark
YouTube - Bustos the Great

This hitter has a hand pivot point and turns into the ball, while Bush has no hand pivot point and pushes towards the ball.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

The fact is that Bush pushes her hands towards the pitcher when she lowers her back elbow. IMO Bush would be a better hitter if she got rid of her push and instead turned her hands over and whipped like this hitter does at about the 2:13 mark

There is a small amount of push during the middle of her swing, but it's really just her repositioning her hands to adjust to the inside location of the pitch and to deal with the fact that her hands are a bit too close to her back shoulder at go.

If the push was excessive, she wouldn't get the whip that she does.

 

[Wellphyt]

There is a small amount of push during the middle of her swing, but it's really just her repositioning her hands to adjust to the inside location of the pitch and to deal with the fact that her hands are a bit too close to her back shoulder at go.

If the push was excessive, she wouldn't get the whip that she does.

Like I said Chris, you don't see the difference. Carry on.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Like I said Chris, you don't see the difference. Carry on.

I've seen lots of push-driven disconnection -- it's the single biggest problem I see in my high-level baseball clients (especially guys close to or at the major league level) -- and Bush doesn't have it.