Looking to study Robinson Cano's swing.

[Jeff Kneiert]

So what should our goal be?

 

[Chris O'Leary]

Time and again I have heard everyone say not to get over the back foot during the load, "don't sway". The second video seems to contradict that completely. What gives?

What gives is that the best of the best of the best can sometimes get away with stuff that ordinary people can't.

Last year Pablo Sandoval was a powerful argument for swinging at everything you can reach with your bat.

This year, not so much.

 

[cshilt]

I'm not so certain that many of you would not pick apart Cano's swing if you didn't "cano" who he was.

You make a good point and you're probably right. There are a lot of successful players at every level of ball who do something that would be less than the ideal model swing. The truth is that what occurs from heal plant of the stride foot to contact is where the rubber meets the road. That isn't saying that what is upstream isn't sometimes important, but that what happens prior to heal plant can be a style choice.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

So what should our goal be?

You and your DD need to answer that question.

For example, I would like my DD to work on improving one of her biggest swing flaws which is the casting of the arms and loss of power. We are starting to work on keeping the hands "inside the ball" more and maintaining the arm triangle and angle of hands/bat at Point of Contact. I figure this is something she will be working on for years (and maybe as long as she plays softball).

I would make a list of the major swings flaws and chip away at correcting or at least improving them. I agree with others that she will never have the perfect swing but that doesn't mean she can't work on improving it. How boring softball would be if all players, mastered all the skills of the game. The struggle to get better is what it is all about.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

So what should our goal be?

Continuous improvement.

 

[Jeff Kneiert]

I guess that is my point, how do we judge continuous improvement? By results or technique. For example if I were helping Cano would I want him to eliminate the sway and head movement, work on a better coil? Or do the results speak for themselves? And if they do, what is it that makes them so, homeruns, BA, OB%? When does continuous improvement equal dimishing returns? Just some food for thought.

 

[Chris O'Leary]

I guess that is my point, how do we judge continuous improvement? By results or technique. For example if I were helping Cano would I want him to eliminate the sway and head movement, work on a better coil? Or do the results speak for themselves? And if they do, what is it that makes them so, homeruns, BA, OB%? When does continuous improvement equal dimishing returns? Just some food for thought.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

Even though he's funky, I wouldn't touch Cano since he's hitting well.

He might be --- and probably is -- one in a million.

If someone does something funky, I won't mess with them as long as they are hitting. However, if they start to struggle then I target the funkiness.

 

[FiveFrameSwing]

Jeff, I don't know that Cano isn’t trying to continuously improve.

His salary in 2010 was $9M … he certainly has the money and incentive to continue improving.

In any event ... you asked what "your goal" should be ... and my suggestion was "continuous improvement". I said that, because that's my view of the game ... that you continue to improve until you are done.

A good friend put it to me this way when he quit a company we were working at. In his opinion, a person is either dying or growing ... the interim, of coasting, is just too short to be counted on. Unfortunately he didn't feel himself "growing", so by default he felt that he was "dying" ... or stagnating. He moved on to another company ... desiring to find himself "growing".

 

[PEPPERS]

I have a few kids that I work with on their hitting one thing I stress is hitting is a work in progress, you can easily become a victim of your success (once you realize improvement do not quit doing the things that made you successful, it should inspire you to work harder).

 

[RayR]

My experience has been that even during a season our hitters go through ups and downs - fatigue - (mental and physical), outside interests, playing multiple sports at the same time, academics, etc. Their swing is a constant work in progress, IMO. It is very easy to develop some slop in the swing...