Jose Bautista hitting article.

[julray]

Albert Pujols is a professional baseball players and one of the best hitters of all time. I don't think anyone is debating that. However, just like you and I, he is not a professional talker or professional teacher. Swinging a bat and explaining how to swing a bat are two different skill sets. Some are able to do both. But having the ability to do one, doesn't guarantee you can do the other.

Do you believe you have to be a professional teacher talker/communicator in order to know how you do something. AP is taking his hands and displaying what he's thinking at each and every bat... this does not require a teaching professionalism.. he's not being graded or evaluated on what the students retain or their ability to understand. But he is a qualified enough professional expert to demo what he's thinking at the plate and how is hands should move. As a matter of fact, he doesn't even need to speak, he's moving in a way that he visualizes himself moving over 10 years of baseball where he was the dominant hitter at the highest level. That's pretty solid IMO. That's his approach at the plate, take this specific demo and make it apart of his entire sequence and it makes a lot more sense.

 

[_MIA_]

But we all know that really just means keep the weight in the back hip until you release the swing. You still gotta transfer weight forward.

The problem is that no, not everybody knows this and again instruction, any instruction( be it, AP, TM, W=w or pattar ), which requires advanced knowledge apriori to interpret properly is an issue.

 

[_MIA_]

Do you believe you have to be a professional teacher talker/communicator in order to know how you do something. AP is taking his hands and displaying what he's thinking at each and every bat... this does not require a teaching professionalism.. he's not being graded or evaluated on what the students retain or their ability to understand. But he is a qualified enough professional expert to demo what he's thinking at the plate and how is hands should move. As a matter of fact, he doesn't even need to speak, he's moving in a way that he visualizes himself moving over 10 years of baseball where he was the dominant hitter at the highest level. That's pretty solid IMO. That's his approach at the plate, take this specific demo and make it apart of his entire sequence and it makes a lot more sense.

The question isn't whether he knows how to hit or what he feels when he does hit, it was whether that video is a good way to teach somebody how to hit like him...that is what we are using that for here right?

 

[julray]

The question isn't whether he knows how to hit or what he feels when he does hit, it was whether that video is a good way to teach somebody how to hit like him...that is what we are using that for here right?

Nope not me... I would not take this video straight up and ask my DD to make this movement. I could show her this video (she would look very confused), and then follow up with W=w AP video posting and explain.. that would be a light bulb moment. So what he feels when he does it is important to me because I'd be curious to see if my DD tried to feel this when Incorporated in her entire sequence, what the result would be. I can't just simply turn a blind eye to what one the greatest hitters or our era is saying he feels... it also aligns with a lot of other great hitters have said as well. Knob to ball may not be incorrect... my understanding of it and the way it was taught to my DD by other instructors may of been

 

[FP26]

Lol. He’s not a professional communicator so he can’t explain himself? The slightest chink you will find my friend

It’s just a fact in instructional history that many can’t communicate hitting cues because they don’t understand them completely. ‘Knob to the ball’ or countless others get bad reps. ‘Stay back’ is another. But we all know that really just means keep the weight in the back hip until you release the swing. You still gotta transfer weight forward.

Knob to the ball is a directional cue that will get you adjusting to pitches in different locations. Without barrel articulations which can be detrimental to barrel path etc.

Not directed at you FP. Just putting it out there.

What was being implied by others is that just because a person is good at hitting automatically means that he is good at explaining it. I do not think that is the case. In my opinion, Barry Bonds is the GOAT. But as a hitting coach in the pros... He didn't last too long.

 

[FP26]

Do you believe you have to be a professional teacher talker/communicator in order to know how you do something. AP is taking his hands and displaying what he's thinking at each and every bat... this does not require a teaching professionalism.. he's not being graded or evaluated on what the students retain or their ability to understand. But he is a qualified enough professional expert to demo what he's thinking at the plate and how is hands should move. As a matter of fact, he doesn't even need to speak, he's moving in a way that he visualizes himself moving over 10 years of baseball where he was the dominant hitter at the highest level. That's pretty solid IMO. That's his approach at the plate, take this specific demo and make it apart of his entire sequence and it makes a lot more sense.

My belief is that many people "think" they do certain things when in reality they do not. I don't know if you spend any time in the pitching forum, but one of the greatest pitchers of all time is Jennie Finch. Most experts agree that what she does and what she teaches are not the same thing. It would be interesting to sit down with Albert, show him his demo, then show him his swing in slow motion, and ask him to compare the two. The problem with all of this is that Albert is making comments concerning his mechanics, and all of us are attempting to "interpret" what those comments actually mean. Any one of us could be right. Or all of us could be wrong. Ultimately Albert is the only one that can answer that question.

 

[FP26]

Nope not me... I would not take this video straight up and ask my DD to make this movement. I could show her this video (she would look very confused), and then follow up with W=w AP video posting and explain.. that would be a light bulb moment. So what he feels when he does it is important to me because I'd be curious to see if my DD tried to feel this when Incorporated in her entire sequence, what the result would be. I can't just simply turn a blind eye to what one the greatest hitters or our era is saying he feels... it also aligns with a lot of other great hitters have said as well. Knob to ball may not be incorrect... my understanding of it and the way it was taught to my DD by other instructors may of been

Not everything is black and white. There are always shades of grey in between. Nobody is saying you should turn a blind eye to anything. To me that is an overexaggeration of the situation. The underlined comment above is the most important part of this entire discussion. I don't agree with that statement at all. Nearly any cue can be misinterpreted and misused. It's important to fully understand what is actually meant, and that can be difficult to translate at times. Going back to the Albert example. If his words help a hitter understand a concept, I think that is great. But performing that exact action in a game situation will not end well, in my opinion.

 

[julray]

Not everything is black and white. There are always shades of grey in between. Nobody is saying you should turn a blind eye to anything. To me that is an overexaggeration of the situation. The underlined comment above is the most important part of this entire discussion. I don't agree with that statement at all. Nearly any cue can be misinterpreted and misused. It's important to fully understand what is actually meant, and that can be difficult to translate at times. Going back to the Albert example. If his words help a hitter understand a concept, I think that is great. But performing that exact action in a game situation will not end well, in my opinion.

Do you know what AP means when he says "Knob to the Ball"? I got a clearer understanding of it when watching W=w video of AP. I never once claimed that AP swings exactly the way he demos knob to the ball, but when incorporated in his overall sequence that motion would not be so pronounced. I believe AP directs the knob to the ball and there is forward movement with the knob towards the ball as well. That's what I see in his swing, not exactly what he's demoing, but I can certainly understand the feeling he is explaining

Which part of my statement do you disagree with? I don't understand what you mean, The fact that I may not have understood what is really meant by knob to the ball can't really be disputed by anybody else.. after all I am talking about my understanding, . Maybe I misunderstood you,

 

[FP26]

Do you know what AP means when he says "Knob to the Ball"? I got a clearer understanding of it when watching W=w video of AP. I never once claimed that AP swings exactly the way he demos knob to the ball, but when incorporated in his overall sequence that motion would not be so pronounced. I believe AP directs the knob to the ball and there is forward movement with the knob towards the ball as well. That's what I see in his swing, not exactly what he's demoing, but I can certainly understand the feeling he is explaining

Which part of my statement do you disagree with? I don't understand what you mean, The fact that I may not have understood what is really meant by knob to the ball can't really be disputed by anybody else.. after all I am talking about my understanding, . Maybe I misunderstood you,

I know what my interpretation is of what AP means. But I am not AP, so all it is, is my interpretation. Same with W=W or anyone else. I understand that W=W is trying to say. But do any of us really know that this is what AP means? Or do we simply think this is what AP means? The truth is none of us will ever know unless we can speak with AP personally and ask him. It's all guessing otherwise. That's my point. There has been a lot of guessing and speculation about what many people say. Some of it may be correct. Some of it may be incorrect. Where many people get bogged down on things is that they make the assumption that because they believe something to be a certain way, it must be true. They never even consider the possibility that they may have been wrong all along.

What I disagree with is the theory premise that just because someone is good at something automatically makes them a good teacher, or knowledgeable enough to speak on the topic. I just don't think that is an accurate statement. In some cases it may be accurate, but not all. Your last statement that I bolded in that previous post was something that I do agree with. And that is that "knob to the ball" is not necessarily a bad cue, but can become bad when used incorrectly. The same could be said about TTB or many other cues. It's not typically the cue itself that causes problems. It's misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or mis-use that causes the problems.

 

[julray]

I know what my interpretation is of what AP means. But I am not AP, so all it is, is my interpretation. Same with W=W or anyone else. I understand that W=W is trying to say. But do any of us really know that this is what AP means? Or do we simply think this is what AP means? The truth is none of us will ever know unless we can speak with AP personally and ask him. It's all guessing otherwise. That's my point. There has been a lot of guessing and speculation about what many people say. Some of it may be correct. Some of it may be incorrect. Where many people get bogged down on things is that they make the assumption that because they believe something to be a certain way, it must be true. They never even consider the possibility that they may have been wrong all along.

What I disagree with is the theory that just because someone is good at something automatically makes them a good teacher, or knowledgeable enough to speak on the topic. I just don't think that is an accurate statement. In some cases it may be accurate, but not all. Your last statement that I bolded in that previous post was something that I do agree with. And that is that "knob to the ball" is not necessarily a bad cue, but can become bad when used incorrectly. The same could be said about TTB or many other cues. It's not typically the cue itself that causes problems. It's misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or mis-use that causes the problems.

I'm so use to people disagreeing that I automatically read it as you disagreeing with me, LOL.

I agree with your thoughts on one's interpretation ..... however when you take one's interpretation, explanation, demo in this case and apply it to their actual swing (like W=w did) for verification, then I believe there is something more to it. If you demoed AP's knob to the ball, like he did in that video, I would of dismissed it just like I first dismissed AP's demo.. makes no difference who did it. However if W=w posted the video that he posted in this thread and I revisited your demo, then I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. I actually see some of that movement in his swing. The fact that AP himself did the demo and explained his approach and now I can actually see some of that in his swing holds more water because it's actually coming from the horses mouth... maybe there's something to it,

I believe when incorporated with a complete swing it get's the hitter going in the right direction and on plane early, with the barrel arcing behind led by the knob. I just believe there is a little more linear movement with the knob and the barrel lagging behind at first. I don't believe in TTB from go and the body will react appropriately