I have a library of nearly 2000 swings of big league players. That library includes many past Hall Of Fame greats. From Williams to Mantle to Dimaggio to Mays and on through the more recent years.....I can't find ONE former great player who does what Harper does. External rotation of the rear humerus is an absolute swing killer. It lengthens the swing. It reduces suddenness. It is a long swing. You just don't find it in the great hitters.

Here are a few that have, or had, the high rear elbow technique and/or a high lift of their hands as they load.



The proper rear arm action in hitting, after the pull back loading, is adduction and supination.....NOT EXTERNAL ROTATION. Here is a demo of the difference.

Up and Under.....NOT....Up and Over

As you can see above, Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard, Manny Ramirez and Carlos Delgado are high rear arm lifters. But you can see their elbow comes UNDER their hand while the hand remains relatively stationery as they move to unload. Pujols does not have quite the high rear elbow lift...but he raises his hands straight up just before his launch. But....his elbow works under....not over.

Bryce Harper doesn't just have rear arm external rotation.....he has the worst case of it I've ever seen in a major league player. He has EXTREME EXTERNAL ROTATION. Yadier Molina had a bit of it for his first few years. Here he is in 2009.



He's gotten much better and his numbers improved. Here is a side by side showing the extreme nature of Harper's external rotation.



Many on the internet compare the swing to the throw. There are some similarities, but mainly in the SnF loading of the hip/back/scap against the leg. They make a HUGE MISTAKE when they include external rotation of the humerus in their hitting instruction. It simply can not happen if you expect to play at high levels.

In a properly loaded hitter (SnF) any external rotation of the humerus MUST bleed the corner, which bleeds the stretch. When that happens you must activate arm usage to deal with the power outage. Watch Harper flail his arms forward. On many of his swings he is down to and down through the ball. On the swing shown here he rounds off due to the height of the pitch.

NO HIGH LEVEL HITTER HAS HAD THAT BARREL PATH AND ARM ACTION AS THEIR BASE SWING.

This guy is one helluvan athlete. So is Jason Heyward. Heyward's rookie year he was being sold as 'all that'. Tremendous athlete. Good minor league career. Sitting on my couch, watching Sportscenter with my son, who is a HUGE Braves fan, after seeing his swing for the first time we both turned to look at each other and said 'that swing is pitiful'. I immediately posted that he would fail with that swing. He 'out athleted' the competition his entire life. But....at the big league level....those pitchers....OH MY are they good. His first year he was OK. Actually, from the Braves standpoint, a slight disappointment if you compare his numbers to the hype. And then those pitchers found his hole. And they exploited his hole. And his numbers went down and down and down. He became a part-time player. He is now in the process of reworking his swing.

It shouldn't have to be. A major leaguer shouldn't have to have a complete overhaul. Where were the people 'in the know' as he was growing up? Where were the Brave's instructors when he was in the minor leagues?

Guess what......THERE AREN'T ANY.

Well.....there is one. Right here at HittingIllustrated.com.

Bryce Harper makes too much money to get sent down to the minor leagues. He will be given every possible chance....and then some.

And he will fail unless he changes his swing. His swing requires an early decision....and offers him little to no adjustability. When one or two pitchers find his hole, guess what? Advanced scouting will intercept the information....and pass it on to their organization. The league will have a book on him very very quickly. I think they already do. Did you see him in game 7 of the Division Series against the Cardinals? Yep, he went deep against Adam Wainright....the NEW Adam Wainright. Not the old one. The one post Tommy John....who hadn't fully recovered. Did you see the relievers blow the ball past him? Did you see them make him sick on the offspeed?

Harper's upside, with his current swing, is a journeyman outfielder.

I think the Nationals want more.