Which is the more correct way after loading and getting ready to swing? Is it striding out the front foot towards the pitcher, or simply picking the front foot up and setting it down? I have heard many things from both sides, but still the correct answer seems to be lingering out there, somewhere. Any feedback?

You should be striding and loading at the same time no matter which way you do it, loading your hands against your opening hips. Other than that, each hitter is different, it's what feels natural and gets them in the best position to hit.

I have found that the better method would be to stride/weight shift in conjunction with the swing, finished with hip turn.

Mentally it is better thought as swinging, weight shift and hip turn all at once.

I have never understood why the chain or sling shot swing would be used.

Why would a batter stride, hip turn and then swing?

It seems like an exercise in bat dragging and arm swinging.

This guy did it pretty well.

I "think" hip coil with the left hip,, and ride the right hip..you dont just step you coil too!

If you look at Aaron's swing you'll notice that the bat is coming forward before his hips start to turn.

His weight shift/stride is exaggerated by his raising his back foot. He is still shifting his weight forward at contact.

Buddy,

It my opinion, a lot of it depends on the width of their stance. The majority of Today’s hitters use a wider stance and as a result their stride foot travels a shorter distance (Bagwells foot even traveled backwards sometimes). Most still take their hands and arms back while their foot travels forward and they begin to do that a split second before or after the pitcher releases the ball. This action ends a split second before or after the ball is half way to the plate (my opinion).


Quincy,

I’m am still a big Henry Aaron fan. And I don’t think he saw a lot of fat fastballs during his prime. "I don't see pitches down the middle anymore - not even in batting practice"-Hank Aaron (date unknown).

I wonder if that needs to be factored when comparing his clips to those filmed in the last 10 years.

I know these are only two clips, but both of them seem to be pitches that would have been laid off of by today’s power hitters (even with two strikes).

Just my opinion,

THop

Hitters of today are not as intelligent in the game.

Notice the common sense adjustment Aaron makes.

Left frame has the tradjectory of a pitch from a righty aimed at the inside corner. Aaron stands further off the plate to get the good wood on the inside pitch.

Right frame has the tradjectory as coming from a lefty so Aaron turns to the direction of the pitch as well as standing a bit closer to the plate.

Today's hitters do not seem to have the common sense to make the same adjustments.

Quincy,

“Hitters of today are not as intelligent in the game”.

“Today's hitters do not seem to have the common sense to make the same adjustments”.

Not sure if I would agree with that at all.

THop

Jason Giambi as an example.

Infield shifts so that the third baseman is at the shortstop position.

Team needs baserunners.

Why doesn't he push a bunt down third?

Quincy,

Doesn’t mean he’s unintelligent or can’t make adjustments does it? To me it just means he’s unmotivated. TV has done that to today’s player two ways. One is money. Why should I? It’s not like I’m going to get a bonus or anything. Two, I have tried to bunt 90 mph fastballs (machine) and it’s scary. You can really look bad if you don’t work at it a lot. And with TV, if a MLB player “really looks bad” in a game, 50 million people will see it 10 times over the next few days. On the other hand, if Giambi did lay down a bunt to the left side in the situation you described, they would show it all night on Sport Center.

Just my opinion.

THop

Back to the main topic...if the foot is just picked up and put down, this is called "rotational hitting", correct? But, from striding out, the hips have more room to clear. And what about the issue of over striding? I've seen kids' stances so low and wide that it seems like there is nothing behind the swing since from being so wide, there is no extra "oomph". I do agree that all hitters are different and have their own style and ways of hitting the ball, but there has to be some agreement. So what is this agreement that all hitters must agree on?

Quincy; Jason Giambi is getting paid to hit, not bunt.

Buddy,
I think you're missing a very important point here. The only thing that all hitters agree on is that you "Must hit the ball". After that it's all up for debate.

If you don't believe it, just read any thread on the hitting page that's over 1 page long. Lots of disagreement.

Well, sure. A hitter must hit the ball. BUT, it's getting to a good position in order to hit the ball. BUT, if every hitter was in a good position every swing, he/she would hit the ball hard every time. That doesn't necessarily always happen, though. I know it might sound confusing, but this is the best way to put it into word form for me. Making contact is only half the battle.

No wonder why they say hitting is the single most difficult thing to do in all of sports.

quote:

Originally posted by Buddy Lawrence:
Well, sure. A hitter must hit the ball. BUT, it's getting to a good position in order to hit the ball. BUT, if every hitter was in a good position every swing, he/she would hit the ball hard every time. That doesn't necessarily always happen, though. I know it might sound confusing, but this is the best way to put it into word form for me. Making contact is only half the battle.

No wonder why they say hitting is the single most difficult thing to do in all of sports.

Only 6 guys have had a career .600 slugging percentage or better and they all did very similar things in their pre-swing. Two of the swings are exactly the same and are the only two to accomplish the task since 1950. They both also had an OBP of .400 or better. Only 10 hitters since 1950 have had an OBP of .400 or better, .300 or better AVG., and .500 or better slugging percentage.

If you want to study hitting, these are the guys to start with. Learn the similarities and see what you can put in your swing.

Anyone want to list or already know who they are?

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
Only 6 guys have had a career .600 slugging percentage or better and they all did very similar things in their pre-swing. Two of the swings are exactly the same and are the only two to accomplish the task since 1950. They both also had an OBP of .400 or better. Only 10 hitters since 1950 have had an OBP of .400 or better, .300 or better AVG., and .500 or better slugging percentage.

If you want to study hitting, these are the guys to start with. Learn the similarities and see what you can put in your swing.

Anyone want to list or already know who they are?

I will list

Actually, there are seven with a slugging % over .600, one being active and another wanting to still be active

Babe Ruth: .6898
Ted Williams: .6338
Lou Gehrig: .6324
Albert Pujols: .6200
Jimmie Foxx: .6093
Barry Bonds: .6069
Hank Greenberg:.6050

quote:

Originally posted by Quincy:
If you look at Aaron's swing you'll notice that the bat is coming forward before his hips start to turn.

His weight shift/stride is exaggerated by his raising his back foot. He is still shifting his weight forward at contact.

His weight is not shifting forward at connection. It has stopped due to his stride leg being extended and blocking his forward movement.

quote:

Originally posted by beemax:

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
Only 6 guys have had a career .600 slugging percentage or better and they all did very similar things in their pre-swing. Two of the swings are exactly the same and are the only two to accomplish the task since 1950. They both also had an OBP of .400 or better. Only 10 hitters since 1950 have had an OBP of .400 or better, .300 or better AVG., and .500 or better slugging percentage.

If you want to study hitting, these are the guys to start with. Learn the similarities and see what you can put in your swing.

Anyone want to list or already know who they are?

I will list

Actually, there are seven with a slugging % over .600, one being active and another wanting to still be active

Babe Ruth: .6898
Ted Williams: .6338
Lou Gehrig: .6324
Albert Pujols: .6200
Jimmie Foxx: .6093
Barry Bonds: .6069
Hank Greenberg:.6050

Yep! I didn't have Pujols because he didn't have enough at bats to be on the all-time list. How about the .300, .400, .500 question? Yeah, can you believe no one has picked up Bonds? Why wouldn't a AL team pick him up to DH? Even if he gets sent to prison before the season is over, they would still get their money's worth.

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
[QUOYep! I didn't have Pujols because he didn't have enough at bats to be on the all-time list. How about the .300, .400, .500 question? Yeah, can you believe no one has picked up Bonds? Why wouldn't a AL team pick him up to DH? Even if he gets sent to prison before the season is over, they would still get their money's worth.

Williams: .344 BA .482 OBP .634 SLG
Todd Helton: .331 .430 .581
Frank Thomas: .302 .420 .559
Edgar Martinez: .312 .418 .515
Stan Musial: .331 .417 .559
Manny Ramirez: .314 .410 .594
Bobby Abreu: .300 .407 .500
Chipper Jones: .309 .404 .548
Larry Walker: .313 .400 .565
Pujols: .332 .422 .620

Is this the same list that you have? You said after 1950, and Musial and Williams retired after 1950, so I think this is the list.

quote:

Originally posted by beemax:

quote:

Originally posted by powertoallfields:
[QUOYep! I didn't have Pujols because he didn't have enough at bats to be on the all-time list. How about the .300, .400, .500 question? Yeah, can you believe no one has picked up Bonds? Why wouldn't a AL team pick him up to DH? Even if he gets sent to prison before the season is over, they would still get their money's worth.

Williams: .344 BA .482 OBP .634 SLG
Todd Helton: .331 .430 .581
Frank Thomas: .302 .420 .559
Edgar Martinez: .312 .418 .515
Stan Musial: .331 .417 .559
Manny Ramirez: .314 .410 .594
Bobby Abreu: .300 .407 .500
Chipper Jones: .309 .404 .548
Larry Walker: .313 .400 .565
Pujols: .332 .422 .620

Is this the same list that you have? You said after 1950, and Musial and Williams retired after 1950, so I think this is the list.

Yes Sir! Do you see any surprises on there? I was kind of surprised about Abreu, but he is just barely on there. It's still a heck of an accomplishment though. I believe Thomas may fall off of the .300 average list if he stays around much longer, kind of like Aaron and Mantle who were really part of that list most of their careers.