This is a good thread. Every hitter is different and imo you shouldn’t try to make them all be exactly the same. However, I think most will agree that staying short to the ball (how short seems to be the question) is best. Extension through contact is key. Ideally we would like contact on an inside pitch out in front of the plate. But how far in front? Well I think that’s the beauty of a quality swing with extension after contact. The idea is that if you’re a little late you can still make solid contact. A little early, still make solid contact. Hitting is all about timing (and getting on plane with the ball) but we know that often times timing will not be perfect. So we want a swing that will give us the best chance. I saw a Freddy Freeman video of a tee drill he was doing. He was setting up an inside pitch but deep. His goal was to drive the pitch up the middle. Call it an inside out swing if you wish but I think most good hitters have at least somewhat of an inside out swing. What about the outside pitch? Well most are letting that pitch travel considerably more (get deep). And if your timing is really good on that pitch then your swing is nearly identical to a pitch on the inside part of the plate. The difference is timing and the direction of your extension. Basically I like extension towards where the ball is pitched. So for a righty extension on an inside pitch should be roughly toward the shortstop and toward the second baseman on an outside pitch. JMO