Proper Swing Mechanics
Video links provided
These are the CORE attributes of good hitters. When teaching hitting or being around other hitting coaches, I see that THE SIMPLER the teaching THE BETTER understood by players. Yes, there are parts left out (ex. keeping the wrist even or inside the elbow at launch to promote a short, “non-casting,” path to the baseball), but I think these are the basic concepts that all good hitters have. There will be minor adjustments I make to a hitter to allow these concepts to show. I have explained a concept, and then provide links to videos that illustrate the concept. First, I give correct illustrations of the concept, and then I give poor illustrations of the concept, so you can see the differences. REMEMBER TO KEEP THINGS SIMPLE WITH YOUR HITTERS, AND EXPLAIN HOW THIS CONCEPT WILL BENEFIT YOUR HITTER.
Correct process of the swing
1) Load/Gather
“Load” or “gather” energy BACK before you go forward. You must go back BEFORE
you go forward. If you only go forward, you force yourself to swing with the upper body only,
reducing power, and shortening the time the barrel is in the hitting zone.
i. Turtle Thomas (former LSU hitting coach) discussing the load or gather
Turtle Thomas
ii. Example of Evan Longoria, a Twins player, a very good high school player, and Manny Ramirez loading the weight. Watch how smooth the weight comes back before the swing occurs for the big leaguers.
iii. Examples of poor loads, that lead to future problems in the swing.
2) Stride separation
The hands move back as the front foot moves forward. This is creating a stretching of the core muscles. This will allow the hands to work independent of the shoulders for maximum bat speed.
i. Chicago White Sox Academy, Justin Stone, discusses Stride Separation
ii. Manny Ramirez getting a good stretch, for stride separation
3) Correct Hand Path/Weight Transfer
In order to allow our body to use the momentum that we have built up in the “load” or “gather” phase, and to allow the barrel of the bat to remain in the hitting zone the longest. Our hands must take a direct line to the pitch (No shoulders swingers, see Don Slaught video below). I’ve heard it described as staying inside the ball (not casting), keeping your hands close to your body as you approach contact, Rudy Jaramillo (Texas Ranger’s hitting coach) calls it bend to extend with the front elbow. There are many ways to say the same thing. This will allow for the correct position at contact to occur, and torque to be transferred from the lower half to the barrel .
i. Chicago White Sox Academy, Justin Stone, discusses Hand Path
ii. Don Slaught (former major leaguer and bench coach) discusses Shoulder Swingers
iii. Don Slaught (former major leaguer and bench coach) discusses Hand Path
iv. Examples of poor hand paths (hands cast away from body) that inhibit correct weight transfer, and minimize bat speed. Watch how a poor load causes these problems. If a player doesn’t get enough weight on the backside, the only way to generate power is by swinging with the shoulders, thus pulling off the baseball. When this occurs the barrel doesn’t stay in the strike zone for an extended period of time (not long through the zone). Also, power is lost because the shoulders open up early losing the torque stored in the core.
4) Point of Contact
This is where the ball meets the bat. If there are deficiencies at this point, it will be from poor timing, or a previous principle was not mastered. At the point of contact the hitter must be in a palm up/palm down position with the hands, the back elbow bent (near the ribs, like a stomach punch) not extended, and the back foot must not be weight bearing. This is from all the weight being transferred into the firm front side.
i. Albert Pujols, look at the direction of his momentum. It is through the middle, not spinning off to the side.
ii. Joe Mauer, watch how close his hands stay to his body when attacking the pitch, and how his back arm is bent at the point of contact.
iii. Albert Pujols, hitting a homerun to left. Watch point of contact, and hand path.
iv. This is an example of a player who casts (poor hand path), which causes bad direction, which causes lost power (spinning off the ball) and a short time for the barrel to be in the hitting zone (sweeping across the zone).
a. Watch how the weight stays back, and never transfers to the front side. This happens because when the hands cast (get away from the body) the body rotates around the back hip, and doesn’t allow the weight to transfer into the front side.
5) Follow through
Follow through naturally occurs. If you have mastered the above principles the follow through is where you will see the “fruits of your labor.”
Ex. 1) A hitter should not work on balance after contact has been made. A hitter should work on balance by loading to the backside, so the body doesn’t have to compensate for a lack of momentum to deliver into the pitch with a violent turn of the shoulders. The violent turn of the shoulders is what causes balance not to occur.
Ex. 2) The “Power V” of the bat, pointing straight at the pitcher when a hitters arms are fully extended after contact (showing short to the zone and long through the zone) occurs when the players hand path is correct. If a player casts (poor hand path), the barrel will sweep “across” the strike zone, instead of “staying long through the strike zone,” and the “Power V” will end up pointing at the 3rd baseman (Right- handed hitter). Once again, this is not corrected during the follow through, it is corrected at onset of hand path.
The only advisable teaching point, after contact has occurred, is to allow your body to continue to “push through” keeping the barrel in the zone as long as possible. Other than that one point, all other teaching points after contact are pointless.