Swing down

[FP26]

If a player says they are trying to hit the top of the ball I am not going to say they are lying. That said what they might be trying to do and what they do are obviously (from a pure mathematical/physics perspective) different if they are not pounding the ball straight into the ground. No different than Bergman saying he tries to stay square to the plate..obviously at some point his hips open up Different hitters have different queues which (within their own brains) allow them to swing the way they want to which have been developed over many years of learning their bodies/swings and what does and doesn't work...I am not even sure what we are discussing at this point.

From my perspective it is a matter of what the pros say/try to do vs what actually happens in the swing.

I'm not debating that they think about "swinging down". I consider that a hand path thought. Their barrel path does not match what they demo.

I'm not debating that they think about "hitting the top of the ball". Personally I would prefer the phrase "stay on top", but whatever. The fact is that if they actually succeeded and consistently hit the top of the ball, they would not be pros for long.

Honestly, I'm starting to agree with you. If people cannot see how the barrel actually moves or what part of the ball they actually make contact with, there really isn't any point in talking about it any more. My daughter is a pitcher. So if more people have those thoughts, it will give DD's infield more opportunities in her games. I'm fine with that.

 

[_MIA_]

From my perspective it is a matter of what the pros say/try to do vs what actually happens in the swing.

Really from the perspective of many (most?) reading this thread, it is a question of what should be taught to a developing hitter to get them to a point where the swing resembles what everyone here agrees is a good looking swing which will play at a high level. I do theoretical research for a living..not really interested (anymore at least) in coming on here and doing the same thing

That said this is the technical hitting forum so I guess I can see how it belongs (Technical Forum=Theoretical Research, Practical Forum=Applied Research) .. All in good fun

 

[julray]

Never said that they try to get under. In fact, I don't think anyone claims that. However, they often will. My preference is and always has been on plane and through. That has been my preferred philosophy since day 1. TDS disagrees... Maybe you should be having this conversation with him... Just a thought.

I never said you did, just wanted your opinion because Efastball just said that in another post and you guys seem to be on the same page with a lot of your ideas. So I was curious what you thought. I also agree with getting on plane and through the ball, if TDS disagrees with this, then we differ on this one.

 

[_MIA_]

I never said you did, just wanted your opinion because Efastball just said that in another post and you guys seem to be on the same page with a lot of your ideas. So I was curious what you thought. I also agree with getting on plane and through the ball, if TDS disagrees with this, then we differ on this one.

Where did @efastball say what they are trying to do? Just like you cannot argue what the barrel path of a good swing actually is at contact since there is video evidence, you cannot argue what they are trying to do when there is video evidence of them saying what they are trying to do..

 

[FP26]

Really from the perspective of many (most?) reading this thread, it is a question of what should be taught to a developing hitter to get them to a point where the swing resembles what everyone here agrees is a good looking swing which will play at a high level. I do theoretical research for a living..not really interested (anymore at least) in coming on here and doing the same thing

That said this is the technical hitting forum so I guess I can see how it belongs (Technical Forum=Theoretical Research, Practical Forum=Applied Research) .. All in good fun

Agreed. The instruction portion really doesn't matter to me. Cues are worthless. It's the instruction that goes along with the cues that develops the hitter. It's very clear that TTB means different things to different people. It's also very clear that swing down means different things to different people. The phrases themselves don't matter. It's how those phrases are implemented and applied.

 

[_MIA_]

Agreed. The instruction portion really doesn't matter to me. Cues are worthless. It's the instruction that goes along with the cues that develops the hitter. It's very clear that TTB means different things to different people. It's also very clear that swing down means different things to different people. The phrases themselves don't matter. It's how those phrases are implemented and applied.

Right so this thread, along with most of the others, are just exercises in mental masturbation...

 

[FP26]

I never said you did, just wanted your opinion because Efastball just said that in another post and you guys seem to be on the same page with a lot of your ideas. So I was curious what you thought. I also agree with getting on plane and through the ball, if TDS disagrees with this, then we differ on this one.

If @efastball stated that the pros are trying to get under the ball and swing up, I missed it. He showed some clips demonstrating that it actually happens, but I don't think he was implying that it is their goal. There is a difference between the two.

 

[MikeP]

Apparently swinging up is bad. Getting behind the ball is bad. And swinging down and through is bad. We are out of options at this point. The only other thing I can think of is swinging backwards...

My dd swung so early on a change up once that I think she made contact on the back swing, behind her back Didn't go very far so we've decided not to use that approach.

 

[julray]

If @efastball stated that the pros are trying to get under the ball and swing up, I missed it. He showed some clips demonstrating that it actually happens, but I don't think he was implying that it is their goal. There is a difference between the two.

FYI

 

[efastball]

If @efastball stated that the pros are trying to get under the ball and swing up, I missed it. He showed some clips demonstrating that it actually happens, but I don't think he was implying that it is their goal. There is a difference between the two.

Every mlb hitter swings under. This should obviously be their goal. How else would you consistently get a launch angle greater than the pitch angle?

Trust the video evidence