Random Thoughts and Questions

[ropes]

1) Low outside pitch locations. Do they give hitters problems because the fused upper body is lost sooner? Farthest distance away from hitter. Hitter is not near as tight as he would be on a waist high pitch down the middle. Would setting up lower in your stance help you handle the LOP? If so does that create a different location problem?

2) Continuous pullbacks on any outside pitch or off speed is the key to success. I have also noticed a tad bit longer stride on outside pitches. Does this aid the hitter in letting the ball travel deeper? Are the pullbacks helping make the stride longer? Have seen the reverse effect on inside fastballs (shorter stride). If so the rear leg has to be rock solid in order to contol stride length. Must get on top of rear leg. If the hitter does not have enough weight on the rear leg it would hender using the stride as an adjustment. Or is the stride always the same length?

All feedback welcome.

[Pronk]

I think you can still keep the corner on those pitches Ropes where they lose the fused body is if they go out to get that outside pitch. As far as the low, one thing I've noticed is that if you tend to swing from the max tipped position you seem to cover that ball a little bit better. At some point if the guy is hitting the knees on the black or off the plate and blue is giving that strike you might have to just tip your hat.

Actually with Steven's barrel action the low inside pitch is usually a little harder because he isn't turning the barrel downward immediately. He has a floating action, somewhat like your son does (older one that Teach posts in case you have more than one) and that low inside can tie him up a little.

[Teacherman]

1) Low outside pitch locations. Do they give hitters problems because the fused upper body is lost sooner? Farthest distance away from hitter. Hitter is not near as tight as he would be on a waist high pitch down the middle. Would setting up lower in your stance help you handle the LOP? If so does that create a different location problem?

This one confuses me. For the outside pitch you ought to be the tigtest.....(if there is any change in tightness at all). The purpose of the attacking oppo drills is to coil 'around' to the degree that the hip socket is very very tight. When you do that you are aligned to swing and drive the ball oppo. Your tightness should be there. The ball will be struck deeper than the hitter is used to. Continuous pull back is very important....including the pull back to launch the swing.

A revelation to many players is just how close contact is to the body when you swing high level. We watch a lot of video and it's hard to 'feel' the difference. But when you swing in the high level pattern, you notice that ball closer to your body as compared to the amateur swing.

My judgement, without seeing video, is you may be experiencing a slight weight shift across the pelvis....which slides the hitter forward....which reduces his hip socket stretch....which moves his contact point forward....which causes him trouble on the outside pitch. It doesn't take much to interfere with the pattern. And you can't let ANY happen. OK to move out. NOT OK to allow weight to shift before go. NONE is the goal.

You know I love AGon....



Here is a 'thought' I like to use when instructing. Consider the swing as a 1/4 circle turn....a 90 degree turn....that is somewhere between diagonal and vertical (not around the spine and horizontal). Consider that that 1/4 turn is the same for ALL pitch locations. You only have 1/4 of a turn to get your barrel up to speed. After you've coiled and have the pull backs in place....and constantly and continuously pulling back....you launch the barrel rearward into it's 1/4 turn.

Here is AGonz's 1/4 turn....and on this pitch he drives an outside pitch oppo.



This is the COMPLETE swing. From an energy production standpoint it is over. Done. He is done generating a frame or two before he gets to that last frame. He launched it rearward....allin....and on a line toward the opposite field. It comes around the circle on autopilot.

For the outside pitch....his leg does not turn him....the stalemate between the leg and pullbacks keep him back to drive oppo.

For the middle pitch....his leg turns his 'mechanism' so the barrel's arc is in line with the pitcher....not the opposite field....AS he performs that same 1/4 turn of the barrel. It happens simultaneously. It is not two moves. It is not align then swing. It is swing....and by the time the 1/4 turn is done, the leg has turned him into alignment with the middle pitch. Simulataneous actions.

For the inside pitch....his leg turns him more....so the barrel's arc is not in line with oppo or the pitcher....but now in line with the inside pitch. Again....simultaneous action. Same 1/4 turn. Just pointed in a different direction....by the leg turning the mechanism. A sudden launch aligned by the simulataneous turn of the mechanism by the leg.

The oscillating fan.

HERE IS THE KEY......

If your weight is sliding forward, across the front of your pelvis, before you swing, as part of your stride....you can not execute the above with any efficiency. Your barrel will drag. You will be sluggish. You will not be onelegged. You will rotate and rotation REQUIRES a push by the hands.

2) Continuous pullbacks on any outside pitch or off speed is the key to success. I have also noticed a tad bit longer stride on outside pitches.

The tad bit longer stride is....should be....a response to the degree of pull back. And/or vice versa. Increasing pull backs that keep him back for the outside pitch, in a strider, will cause an more aggressive stride to balance the system. An aggressive strider should get REAL tight in the socket.

Does this aid the hitter in letting the ball travel deeper? Are the pullbacks helping make the stride longer? Have seen the reverse effect on inside fastballs (shorter stride). If so the rear leg has to be rock solid in order to contol stride length. Must get on top of rear leg. If the hitter does not have enough weight on the rear leg it would hender using the stride as an adjustment. Or is the stride always the same length?

I agree with all the above....

Leg must be rock solid.
Weight must remain back.
I like the feel of 'on top of the leg'....although that will be misinterpreted by our critics.

As to the length of the stride.....it isn't just the length but the aggressiveness of it. The duration of it. IMO, the key is the balancing of the pull backs and the stride to keep the stalemate to keep/increase the stretch...and keep the corner. An aggressive stride needs stronger, more active pull backs, over a longer period of time, to 'arrest' it. While a less aggressive stride does not need the same duration of pull backs.

I do believe, on most good swings, regardless of the field the ball is hit to, that the stride length goal should not vary. Adjustments made on the fly will effect this. Timing will effect it.

[Teacherman]

Another view....



Weight remains back.

A diagonal to vertical barrel arc that is aligned to the opposite field.

[Mike]

This in my opinion is some really amazing insight on the many reasons to swing one legged . I've been going over several old post and am amazed at how in-depth a lot of this is.