Just when I'm ready to teach extention "Turn the Triangle" looks pretty good

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Sep 29, 2008
1,401
63
Northeast Ohio
Just when I'm ready to teach extention "Turn the Triangle" looks pretty good

This has the potential for an awesome discussion.

I have taught for a long time maintaining distance between the elbows, at least to help get the barrel efficiently turned.
Recently based on some video I have watched of hitters, I have wanted to include more of an extension into/through contact as part of what I teach (I think FFS calls this the along part of the swing).
It often seems like some hitters, once the barrel is on plane maintain the wrist angle while extending, almost pushing through contact.

This video does a nice job of showing and explaining otherwise - "just rotate the triangle into contact". It is Jack Mankin of batpeed.com. I hope we can stick with the message and not spend time talking about Jack either way which would not be useful.

Thoughts?
 

JJsqueeze

Dad, Husband....legend
Jul 5, 2013
5,436
38
safe in an undisclosed location
No doubt that "turning the triangle" is part of a good swing. I do not agree with the general drift of what he is saying though. He is saying basically "no need to allow that triangle to release and extend into contact". And I think that is wrong. That triangle represents stored energy, why wouldn't you want it it be released on pitches where it can? Which brings me to my big criticism. it looks like he is showing a lot of inside pitches and many times you have hold on to that position into contact to hit an inside pitch fair. Whenever I see instruction that keys in on a single aspect and really doesn't dive into the "why" then I am suspicious.
Just looking at a couple of those swings they looked pretty jammed up.
 
Sep 29, 2008
1,401
63
Northeast Ohio
Ihowser ... there were some long and semi-heated discussions on this at BBD.

I haven't had the pleasure (I have 3 daughters so all boys sports are dumb!).

For me it's really about what cues to emphasize and how to emphasize them. I am always open to my position changing. I see triangle early in most swings but only sometimes downstream in others.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
I am not opposed to the concept of a triangle, but I am not a fan of the theory of keeping the elbows at the same distance. In my opinion much of this comes down to pitch location and timing (JJ hinted to some of this). At one point in time I used a modified "connection device" with some hitters, and quickly realized that it was not having the effect I wanted to see. As I continued to study the concept I realized that I wanted my hitters to be able to "lengthen and shorten" the bat depending on pitch location. This gif may not be the best to explain what I am talking about, but look specifically at the bottom left and bottom middle. Does it look like Miggy is maintaining the same distance between his elbows? Or is the distance being reduced by the fact that he is swinging at an outside pitch? I believe the latter.

34zypfn.jpg
 
Jan 6, 2009
6,591
113
Chehalis, Wa
No doubt that "turning the triangle" is part of a good swing. I do not agree with the general drift of what he is saying though. He is saying basically "no need to allow that triangle to release and extend into contact". And I think that is wrong. That triangle represents stored energy, why wouldn't you want it it be released on pitches where it can? Which brings me to my big criticism. it looks like he is showing a lot of inside pitches and many times you have hold on to that position into contact to hit an inside pitch fair. Whenever I see instruction that keys in on a single aspect and really doesn't dive into the "why" then I am suspicious.
Just looking at a couple of those swings they looked pretty jammed up.

Yes JJ, Timing is the key aspect in those swings.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
The contact point on almost all of those clips look surprisingly deep. Hard to tell where the catchers are set up but they seem to be reaching straights forward from left shoulder for an inside pitch.

FP26 I would like to hear more about lengthening and shortening the bat. That gif is pretty convincing to me.
 
Jul 16, 2013
4,659
113
Pennsylvania
The contact point on almost all of those clips look surprisingly deep. Hard to tell where the catchers are set up but they seem to be reaching straights forward from left shoulder for an inside pitch.

FP26 I would like to hear more about lengthening and shortening the bat. That gif is pretty convincing to me.

To me it is a byproduct of educated hands. One of the ways a hitter needs to adjust to pitch location is by allowing his/her hands to get into a position to deliver the barrel to the ball. FFS talks about casting and how it is not always a bad thing. Pre-mature casting occurs when the hands separate (move away) from the body before they should. But there is a certain amount of casting involved in every good swing. Just a matter of when the casting occurs. Think about the term "casting" and then look at the 6 swing Miggy clip. Can you see how his hands are cast differently in each of those swings? To me that is educated hands. I hope that makes sense.
 

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