- Jun 8, 2016
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Neck slot is pretty much as close as one usually gets although I think @julray posted a hitter from Canada who had a swing which looked similar to Epstein's deltoid drill.
More early batspeed?
- Thread starter Shawn
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Why not start with the barrel aligned to the shoulder plane?
ah, that would be above the hands
ah, that would be above the hands
How far do the hands actually lower? or is it the tilt of the torso/spine creating the path for the barrel/hands?
- Oct 2, 2017
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You don't see the position he starts from to really know
- Jul 29, 2013
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Not if the hands are at shoulder level/plane....
But the question remains....
Why should the barrel stay above the hands?
Shouldn't the barrel being on pitch plane as early as possible be the goal?
If so, wouldn't that dictate the hands drop below the pitch plane to keep the barrel above the hands????? Now that would be chopping down, wouldn't it?
Why should the barrel stay above the hands?
- Jul 29, 2013
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Makes you wonder though..... is everything Harper does beneficial to his high level swings or does some of what he does hold him back?
Without some sort of controlled experiment, we'll never know.
What I do know is:
1) the Babe Ruth era guys didn't have hitting coaches and didn't do the drills we've all seen promoted throughout the small ball era, and yet Ruth's homerun total stood for decades and Williams' batting avg (dead pull with power) still stands.
2) there were a few of the drills Harper does (knob to ball, inside out on every pitch, more than a few swings off a tee, side and front toss) that I stopped doing with my dd and she improved, indisputably.
My point, Beware of conventional wisdom.
There is no magic in hitting a ball with a stick. It's all based in physics and probability.
Show me the pro who was average and then became a elite because of a drill that promotes hitting ground balls to second base.
Without some sort of controlled experiment, we'll never know.
What I do know is:
1) the Babe Ruth era guys didn't have hitting coaches and didn't do the drills we've all seen promoted throughout the small ball era, and yet Ruth's homerun total stood for decades and Williams' batting avg (dead pull with power) still stands.
2) there were a few of the drills Harper does (knob to ball, inside out on every pitch, more than a few swings off a tee, side and front toss) that I stopped doing with my dd and she improved, indisputably.
My point, Beware of conventional wisdom.
There is no magic in hitting a ball with a stick. It's all based in physics and probability.
Show me the pro who was average and then became a elite because of a drill that promotes hitting ground balls to second base.
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I can show you many pros who practice UTM and oppo field hitting drills, rookies and veterans, power hitters etc. Line shots to short/2nd base, not ground balls. Maybe your on to something though, if they followed your hitting plan they would be SO much better. Harper, Vladdy, Trout, Braun, Thome etc etc etc...
- Jul 29, 2013
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- 63
Or maybe they're impervious to bull$hit drills but you could expose your dd to them and see how far it gets her.
Then there's this from a former big leaguer who laments wasting his time, but what does he know?...he's just a guy who had a hand in Donaldson's success.
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