"The fastest point to the ball is straight down" - B Bonds
What he means is straight down into the arc. No dropping of hands first, no moving the hands forward and then throwing the barrel. He means throw the barrel when the hands are at the armpit, and throw the barrel with the top hand.
Down doesn't mean that you have to throw over the top. The barrel goes "down", but it arcs rearward before going down.
No doubt that is what he does as demonstrated in the actual swing clip. But everything he says and demonstrates in the Finch clip would lead a parent or Finch to a different conclusion. The path of the front elbow in the actual swing vs what he shows Jenny with his air swings and explanation are two different things...especially how he gets to an inside pitch. If I said to a kid here...watch what Barry Bonds "says" to do vs. watch what Barry Bonds does in this game swing I think I would have 2 different results. That's how it looks to me.
Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | Albert Pujols and Harold Reynolds on hitting approach - Video | MLB.com: MultimediaThat's true. Just as I saw Albert Pujols demonstrate in slow motion what he "thinks" he does. Totally different from his actual swing.
Interesting. I know this is a conversation that has been ongoing on this site. I have been using the cue with my 17 y/o daughter and my 11/12 y/o team for the past 2 months - "Turn the barrel with your top hand at the back shoulder" while leading with the hips. It has provided some pretty good results in terms of power. A lot of young players push knob to ball and leave the barrel behind. Now whether the hands are actually turning the barrel or just holding the hinge angle and not succumbing to the inertia of the mass of the barrel I cannot say for certain.One thing that IMO, we can conclude from what they say and how they show it, is that if they are thinking "keep the barrel up, and get the top hand through" it is HIGHLY unlikely that they "turn the barrel rearward" consciously with their top hand as some people on the internet believe. I believe that the rearward movement is from arm and shoulder action, and that the only thought they have regarding the hands is; throw the barrel down. The rearward move and movement in a downward arc is simply the result.
Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | Albert Pujols and Harold Reynolds on hitting approach - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia
I've watched this demo too. I was shocked that he doesn't seem to really know the angles he creates with his bat and body in his "real" swing. He's not even close in this demo.
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