A hitter staying back.
Tue., Aug 31, 2011Don't 'Stay back' Today's entry will focus on hitting. A commom phrase heard around most batting cages is "Stay back". That is probably my most hated phrase in the game.
As a hitter, you should never hit off your back foot. You hit against your front foot or front side. Batters should more accurately use the phrase "Stay balanced" (A phrased constantly used by one of my former hitting coaches, Randy Cialone). Here is a video on biomechanics where the speaker makes that point. Scroll ahead to about the 9:45 point in the video.
A few throwback players illustrate this point (hitting against your front side).Roberto Clememte over-exagerrates this somewhat. Hank Aaron always hit on his front foot. There should be little or no weight on your back foot to maximize the torque you create with your core.
Clemente looks like he lunges a lot. Hitters will want to work on staying balanced so as not to shift to much weight forward on an off-speed pitch.
Here's a look at a modern day hitter.Here's Albert Pujols. Take a look at the back foot in both these videos. They are not "Staying back" -- they are staying balanced and hitting against their front side.
I tried to find a Tony Oliva video, but I'm sure none of the players would remember Tony O.
--CP
As a hitter, you should never hit off your back foot. You hit against your front foot or front side. Batters should more accurately use the phrase "Stay balanced" (A phrased constantly used by one of my former hitting coaches, Randy Cialone). Here is a video on biomechanics where the speaker makes that point. Scroll ahead to about the 9:45 point in the video.
A few throwback players illustrate this point (hitting against your front side).Roberto Clememte over-exagerrates this somewhat. Hank Aaron always hit on his front foot. There should be little or no weight on your back foot to maximize the torque you create with your core.
Clemente looks like he lunges a lot. Hitters will want to work on staying balanced so as not to shift to much weight forward on an off-speed pitch.
Here's a look at a modern day hitter.Here's Albert Pujols. Take a look at the back foot in both these videos. They are not "Staying back" -- they are staying balanced and hitting against their front side.
I tried to find a Tony Oliva video, but I'm sure none of the players would remember Tony O.
--CP
No comments:
Post a Comment