Swing down

[clemenslee1]

And this is why these conversations get so convoluted. I say the sky is blue and someone responds with "no, the sky is not orange".

Exactly! Its creating a hyothetical issue, in which they can then respond to in order some how refute something.

 

[julray]

Why do we keep going around in circles? Either description can be bad. The only reason "getting behind the ball early" would result in a pop up is because you are exaggerating the early. Just like swinging down will result in hitting the ball directly into home plate. Both descriptions can be bad and need to be explained to the hitter in a way that the hitter can understand. Tell a hitter to swing down, don't add any context, and see what happens. Because that is exactly what you are suggesting with my approach.

Context and clarity are key regardless of approach. Just my two cents

 

[Cornbread]

@clemenslee1,


so my posture? Lol. I just went through this. It’s incorrect. go back and listen to why Trout and Arod swing down. To get outta their shoulders. to have a ‘hand’ path. Not a shoulder path. Let that be your guide. listen to when Arod says why he did the Bonds drill. This is why swinging from your shoulder Plane is bad.

Hip/core rotation adjusts to pitch location middle/in/out to help create hand path. More rotation for inside, less for outside to help create the path. Are the hands telling the body how much to rotate?

 

[julray]

@clemenslee1,


so my posture? Lol. I just went through this. It’s incorrect. go back and listen to why Trout and Arod swing down. To get outta their shoulders. to have a ‘hand’ path. Not a shoulder path. Let that be your guide. listen to when Arod says why he did the Bonds drill. This is why swinging from your shoulder Plane is bad.

Shoulder plane is not "bad". Just because a hitter adjusts posture which changes shoulder tilt doesn't mean their hands aren't free to work within that plane. Having good posture allows the hands to work within that plane, creates space for them to be adjusted, and provides the necessary support to power through the ball.

JC, do you stand tall to hammer a nail at your ankles, or do you adjust your posture to give your hands support and a better space(plane) to work in?

 

[FP26]

Shoulder plane is not "bad". Just because a hitter adjusts posture which changes shoulder tilt doesn't mean their hands aren't free to work within that plane. Having good posture allows the hands to work within that plane, creates space for them to be adjusted, and provides the necessary support to power through the ball.

JC, do you stand tall to hammer a nail at your ankles, or do you adjust your posture to give your hands support and a better space(plane) to work in?

Agreed. I see hand use more as a way of adjusting for the pitch location. Adjusting the posture gets you headed in the right direction. Hands allow you to fine tune.

 

[Mudders Brudder]

you can understand why it’s a bad description right? The barrel doesn’t get behind the ball until very late. Getting the barrel behind the ball early as you say would have Pete popping that pitch up right? the only way that get the barrel behind the ball might help is if a hitter is ABAF, to try and shallow out their path.

Getting the barrel behind the ball is simply another way of stating the goal of getting the barrel on plane with the ball.

When you say the "barrel doesn’t get behind the ball until very late", literally speaking you are correct...it doesn't really get right behind the ball until it makes contact with said ball, and any deviation from right behind it is seen in a ground ball or pop-up depending on the exact "not right behind the ball" the bat makes contact with it.

But that's also the same with swinging down, up, sideways, backwards, whatever direction a pro, some instructor, a parent, or player says one should swing the bat at the ball.

how can I? it’s been beat into these forums for a decade. barrel turned to the ball or thrown to the ball?

Why does this confuse you so much?

Both will indeed get the "barrel behind the ball", one just gets it on plane earlier with the ball, and allows for more time with the barrel in the hitting zone. Can't be made any easier than that....IMO.

 

[Work=wins]

Why insert this out of nowhere when this was not brought by my responses to you? I haven't mentioned a single thing of shoulder path. Did I say anything that excludes hand path? No.

well, you didn’t give me a ‘direction’, you just said get FYB and direct the barrel to the ball, right? Answer the question then I won’t need to jump to conclusions.

 

[clemenslee1]

well, you didn’t give me a ‘direction’, you just said get FYB and direct the barrel to the ball, right? Answer the question then I won’t need to jump to conclusions.

Lol, I said take the barrel straight to contact In the direction you want to drive the ball. Didn't think that was vague

 

[Work=wins]

Getting the barrel behind the ball is simply another way of stating the goal of getting the barrel on plane with the ball.

When you say the "barrel doesn’t get behind the ball until very late", literally speaking you are correct...it doesn't really get right behind the ball until it makes contact with said ball, and any deviation from right behind it is seen in a ground ball or pop-up depending on the exact "not right behind the ball" the bat makes contact with it.

But that's also the same with swinging down, up, sideways, backwards, whatever direction a pro, some instructor, a parent, or player says one should swing the bat at the ball.

Why does this confuse you so much?

Both will indeed get the "barrel behind the ball", one just gets it on plane earlier with the ball, and allows for more time with the barrel in the hitting zone. Can't be made any easier than that....IMO.

.please stop using this illustration. no pitch comes in at that angle unless playing Slo pitch. Most baseball pitches are 4-8 degrees.

Does the blue line represent the hitting zone? if so this isn’t what Barrel behind the ball means to @FP26. he wants it deeper right? what would the implications of that be?

 

[Mudders Brudder]

JC, do you stand tall to hammer a nail at your ankles, or do you adjust your posture to give your hands support and a better space(plane) to work in?

This is actually a pretty good analogy wrt getting the head of the hammer "behind" the nail head.

Start several nails in a wall at various heights between the carpenter's chest and knees...and then have him start with the hammer somewhere at, or just slightly above his shoulder, and see the hand path he takes hammer head to nail head.

Will he swing straight "down to" nail - for a glancing blow to the nail - or will he put some amount of "loop" in the swing to get the hammer head directly "behind" the nail coming into contact?