I plan to make the majority of this blog revolve around the challenge of hitting the baseball very, very, very far against top level pitching. Therefore, it would probably be a good idea to lay the foundation for what I feel a hitter should do mechanically (even though I hate this term) before we look into specific aspects. To start, let us admire this example of hitting a baseball very, very, very far:
https://gfycat.com/FinishedGrossBuck
This probably isn’t the farthest ball ever hit, but as you’ll come to learn, I kinda have a thing for Miguel Cabrera and his swing.
Anyway, moving on, let’s get into what makes a good swing. I’m not really sure how to do this, so I’ll make a “list” and hopefully won’t forget anything too important.
1) Hitter is athletic. I say this first because a lot of times, we get into problems as hitters when we start talking about “mechanics”. So first things first, don’t get caught up in the small things. There are certain aspects that need to happen, and the rest is generally style.
2) What I like to call the “Engine” underneath. This one is very tough to describe. It will probably require its own post, but I’ll try to touch on it here. There is a certain look/feel the greatest hitters have. It’s as if their body is fused into a unit and works very well together. Take a look at this clip of Manny and also at the clip of Miggy I posted earlier. There is no “slop”. Everything is tight.
https://gfycat.com/WavySpicyBallpython
Compare that to these swings from Omar Infante and Billy Hamilton. I have absolutely nothing against these guys. They are living the dream, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be better hitters:
https://gfycat.com/ConventionalMeagerAntarcticfurseal
Try to ignore the atrocious dance attempt of the on-deck batter (Hey, that was close to the you know what!) and notice how Infante’s hands start to leak forward before they launch. I like to say the best hitters “launch from behind them”. Infante doesn’t do this.
https://gfycat.com/PassionateSimplisticAfghanhound
I know this isn’t really a “swing” from Hamilton, but it demonstrates the intent he has in this swing. Compare it to this take from Yasiel Puig:
https://gfycat.com/TenderFarawayJabiru
Aside from the fact that Puig just demonstrated his Super-Natural-Super-Human strength by breaking a bat on a check swing, notice how Hamilton’s intent, and Infante’s as well, is to “take the hands to the ball”. There is nothing behind it. Just “throwing the hands”. Compare it to the Puig clip, who could probably do a few things better, but is definitely a better hitter. Notice the tighter feel. Not just “throwing the hands”. The feel I get is of the backside delivering bat/barrel. There is tension there and it “unwinds” into the baseball, or rather “unwinds” to break the bat in this case. Enough on this for now, don’t want to scare off all my viewers with too much gunk at the start.
3) I originally planned to talk more about specific mechanical aspects, but point number 2 really covers most of “mechanics”. There are a lot of styles and patterns that can take place within it, but this is really just meant to be an intro to mechanics article, so we’ll move on. Okay, point number 3 for real: The way the hitter trains. In short, going from lazy tee swings, to lazy front toss, to trying to launch bombshells in batting practice doesn’t cut it. In long, this will be featured in my upcoming article on treadathletics.com (notice how I’m trying to promote, you should read it!), so check it out then.
These are the largest points that come to mind right now. I’m sure more will come to me, but for now, know that these are the things to keep in mind as a hitter. Baseball players are “athletes”, so don’t be too mechanical. The swing matters, study the best hitters and try to understand what separates them. I can’t tell you how many hours I have spent staring at the computer screen trying to figure it out. I can help get you going in the right direction, but in the end it’s up to you. You have to take the initiative, and try to see this stuff for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it. Strive to understand. And finally, train better (read my future article, last time I promise!).
I know I said this was going to be an intro to “mechanics”, but oh darn, I changed my mind and decided to include some other stuff. It is my blog, I can do that. Enough of this “intro” garbage though. Next time we will get into some nitty-gritty as I take a look into everything Miguel Cabrera (I said I kind of have a thing for him, remember?). We will take a look into his swing, approach, and everything else that makes Miggy, Miggy. Got it? Good. See you next time.