How about this guy for a cinderella story.retires from pitching and comes back as a hitting outfielder.3 homeruns already.


Amazing talent.

I am really happy for him.

I hope not, but I believe he will fall on some hard times.

The two on the left are spring training '07. The one on the right is current.

I see significant changes/improvements.

However, his recent game HR swings were similar to the ones on the left.

Nice clips RS. The no-stride approach seems to be working so far. He had 32 HRs with close to 100 RBIs in AAA before being promoted to da show. peace

Chameleon- The guy is in the big leagues. That swing produced 32 HR's in AAA and 3 HR's in the big leagues. This is a tremendous athlete. Who are you to make a judgement on this guy? Honestly, you have no clue what you are talking about. You have become a legend in your own mind!

Have you ever been around great athletes in your life? Have you ever worked with them on the field? You can hypothesize all you want and some people will actually buy into your spiel. That said, you are a self-made farce. You know nothing on what makes these guys tick. Stick to analyzing 12 year olds on video because that's truly all you are qualified for.

Swings will change to a certain degree with different location and speeds,as well with breaking stuff.They will all look different and some will look downright bad if the pitch changes enough from what they expect.


He is an amazing athlete and from what I can tell,he is alos a heck of a person with a lot of heart.

quote:

Originally posted by Chameleon:


I hope not, but I believe he will fall on some hard times.

The two on the left are spring training '07. The one on the right is current.

I see significant changes/improvements.

However, his recent game HR swings were similar to the ones on the left.

Nothing wrong with those swings! EVERY hitter falls on some hard times, it's what you do for a season or more that matters. Just him getting back to the bigs as an outfielder is a major accomplishment, but we may want to give him at least the rest of the season before we glorify or condemn his hitting ability. After two games he's better than most in the MLB though.

Of all the mlb players that have had success (modern day...those that I have video of)...only two consistently hit AT extension. And they were/are pretty darn good.

This is a long swing by mlb standards.

IF he has success it will not be because of these mechanics. It will be because his atletic ability can out run these mechanics.

I hope he's successful.

What is really interesting is those that posted have no clue what they are looking at.

I guess "the rest of his stats" don't support your opinion so you don't mention them. He had a very low on base percentage AND struck out WAY too much at AAA.

Wonder why.

My guess is he's "tweening". He's in the process of changing his swing...as shown by the recent bp swing...it's much different than the other two...much better...and he probably reverts back and forth between them if his cocentration level drops or on certain pitch locations. It's not easy making a change at that level.

Why don't one of you "smarties" list the differences between the recent bp swing and the spring taining swings. lol.

Well...I'll take a stab at it just to generate conversation on this quiet afternoon. The bp swings look like he is leaning over. I believe that this may have adverse results. Maybe slowing down his bat speed, as well as making him more vulnerable to certain pitches. Maybe inside? Also it appears that he is leaning back a bit too much in the bp swings, which may cause too much lift, less of a line drive swing path. My Son has been suffering from this as well hitting alot of deep fly-outs.
In the spring training clip he looks much better, not bent over. He looks more level through the shoulders which I would expect may result in a better gap to gap line drive swing.
I have heard that keeping the front foot closed may result in more leverage, more power at contact, anyone have thoughts on that?

Better segmentation in the right clip....Hips are getting a running start....Better stretch....Lower body is helping more.....

Needs a better weight shift....

Watch the clips and do your best to determine when he says "go".

Then compare positions at "go".

They are significantly different.

Chameleon- What you don't understand is, at that level, it's not about his swing. He's athletic enough to figure it out and has proved it. Striking out or getting a hit at that level is a result of decision-making. It's all about a series of mental adjustments. The players that can figure it out are successful.

I've been fortunate to have been around great players. They are different. They all have the prerequisite mechanics. The difference in success and failure is above their shoulders. Bottom line- Unless you've been around it (on the field) you don't understand and are not able to make a cogent opinion on whether this guy will be successful or not.

quote:

Originally posted by ncball:
Chameleon- What you don't understand is, at that level, it's not about his swing. He's athletic enough to figure it out and has proved it. Striking out or getting a hit at that level is a result of decision-making. It's all about a series of mental adjustments. The players that can figure it out are successful.

I've been fortunate to have been around great players. They are different. They all have the prerequisite mechanics. The difference in success and failure is above their shoulders. Bottom line- Unless you've been around it (on the field) you don't understand and are not able to make a cogent opinion on whether this guy will be successful or not.

I have been around pro archery shooters and what makes them better than the rest is definately above the shoulders.

Shot a pro-am with a pro one time and we were tied with another group and a pro.They were not about to split anything,they wanted to win and both had the confidence to beat the other in a shoot off.They both toed the line and on a 35 yard shot,less than a 1/4" separated the two arrows.

While I will agree with the two above posts, that the mental side of hitting, e.g. the ability to read pitches, is probably the most important aspect of hitting at a high level, mechanics and adjustments of mechanics are significant factors as well.
You will never be the best hitter you are capable of w/o proper mechanics, regardless of your ability to stay cool under pressure and your ability to read pitches. Not all players are recruited for their bat. Certainly you would not expect that to be a determining factor for a pitcher, or former pitcher.
I rarely see what Blue Dog or Chameleon see, but I still share their interest in perfecting hitting form and mechanics.

quote:

Originally posted by ncball:
Chameleon- What you don't understand is, at that level, it's not about his swing. He's athletic enough to figure it out and has proved it. Striking out or getting a hit at that level is a result of decision-making. It's all about a series of mental adjustments. The players that can figure it out are successful.

quote:

They all have the prerequisite mechanics.

The same guy made both of these statements.

Pure genius in our prescence.

What is abundantly clear...is...this guy who "has been around em"...still doesn't know what he's looking at.

The difference between Ankiel's swing and these...

Today's Greats

...is significant.

Your statement about the mental aspect is correct. However, you're showing your a s s when you say he has the prerequisite mechanics.

I have a library full of mlb hitters who are below average. Almost all of them have the mechanics of the Greats. So, yes, the mental aspect is very important.

But....Ankiel does not have the same mechancis....and you, ncball, can't identify it.

You wasted your time around the greats?

Floridafan,

Look at the distinct difference in the position of the hips at "go".

Look at the distinct difference in the swing planes....and especially how they are generated.

quote:

Originally posted by Chameleon:
Of all the mlb players that have had success (modern day...those that I have video of)...only two consistently hit AT extension. And they were/are pretty darn good.

This is a long swing by mlb standards.


Why don't one of you "smarties" list the differences between the recent bp swing and the spring taining swings. lol.

By hitting AT extension, do you mean too far out in front??? I believe ARod does that, but since he is so big and so strong, he can get away with it. As far as striking out too much, Reggie Jackson, Mark McGwire, Jose Conseco, Dave Kingman, Sammy Sosa, Mickey Mantle...do you see a pattern there???

Since you can't see his entire body from the same angle in each clip, it is very difficult to see many differences. Top left it looks like he starts his top hand out and around instead of getting on the plane of the pitch by getting his hands flat first and he appears to be swinging much harder. The other two swings look similar except he is stepping in one.

Hmmmmm

Revealing........very revealing.

You can't see the differences...
You don't know where extension is...
You want everyone to believe you know what you're talking about...

lol

I'm requesting a sidebar, your Honor. lol

Chameleon, can I please have the link to a video which I think you posted.

It was a video had "no", "no", "no"...."yes" imprinted within the video. I'm trying to keep up with you...and occasionally need to revert back to something from the past.

I appreciate it.

sheesh. you're quick.