Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Thu Dec 4 08:29:14 2003

> Sandman,
>
> Now that's good stuff. A very helpful comparison to myself and Gonzo. Very easy to see the difference. You inquired about my desire on posting my swings and it is two-fold. But first let me say this and ask you a question. The swing plane you see here is indicative of my swing. It hasn't changed in the last 7 years. There is a downward motion to the ball. I completely understand that that costs me power especially with wood in my hands. My quesiton is this though: What do you see in my swing that would cause lazy fly balls to the right side? My goal this offseason is to completely eliminate that from the arsenal. I gave up 25 to 30 points in BA and when I'm struggling is because I'm laying balls off to the right side that I should be driving. The way I see it is that the hip sway after heel drop causes this and not the plane of the swing. Therefore, I am more concerned with that, but if I could become fully convinced in my own mind that the downward plane of my swing caused that then i would be willing to make some very difficult changes. So, my reason for writing is improvement and to take the next step.
>
> Andy
>
>
>
> Andy,
> >
> > From this angle, I cannot tell if your hips/shoulders/head are still sliding after heel plant. It'd be nice if the angle were truly perpendicular to home plate. Also, I lose the bat in frame 18 (but it's visible again in 19).
> >
> > I realize that not everyone will/should exhibit the same swing characteristics, as well as that there is much more to "hitting" than the "swing" itself. With the success you're enjoying, I'm not sure what your goal of posting clips is? Are you wanting to hit for more power? If so, then perhaps some improvements can be made. If you're pleased w/ your current production, then why change anything? I'm not trying to be sarcastic, I'm genuinely trying to learn your goals.
> >
> > Seeing you like Gonzo better than Soriano for comparison purposes:
> >
> > http://members.cox.net/dsanda/Andy/Andy%20vs.%20Gonzo%20-%20planes,%20axes,%20hands%20height.jpg
> >
> > Though your pitch is lower than his, the way you go down and get it is quite different. You drop your hands to reach it because your axis is very upright for a thigh-high pitch. This makes your swing plane as you come into contact much flatter than what Gonzo's is on a slightly higher (belt-high) pitch. On this particular pitch, not only did you still manage to make contact, but you did so on the bottom part of the ball - hence the HR.
> >
> > Do you consistently make good contact like this on low pitches though? If you do, then again I'd ask, "What are you trying to improve upon then?". But if not, then perhaps the mismatch of your swing plane to the pitch plane is contributing to that and I would think that a less upright axis, coupled with a lower rear shoulder, would help.
> >
> > Sandman

I would back causation up farther and say you need to sweep/uncock the bat more smoothly from vertical to horizontal.

You cock the hip well and you internally rotate the back arm well as the hip cocks/loads(when exaggerrated this internal rotation of back arm is called a "hitch",and a hitch is fine as long as loading isn't interrupted,see Bagwell for a very pronounced hitch since he has to create sepaartion almost entirely with upper body action in the presence of a "negative" stride).

You slot the elbow well with external rotation of the back arm and avoid disconnection well.If you didn;t have good internal rotation/hitch to begin with,you wouldn't be set upi to do this.

In between these two actions,however,you shortchange yourself by not pinching the back scap more.If yo accentuate this,you will finish cocking/centering the bat more as it also comes down some from vertical, and then be positioned to smoothly uncock/accelerate into the desired plane as you slot the elbow.

The back scap/pinch needs to be synchronized with the stride foot going out without losing hip cock.As Jack says,next,the bat uncocks/bathead turns as the front heel turns before heel drop is done.

I would experiment with adding this more accentuated back scap load/bat centering/bat cocking move.As you watch most hitters on video,you can see them go through these distinct arm actions-hitch(as hip cocks)/scap load(to load hands)/slot elbow(to uncock bat while still keeping hands back and coiling.Keeping the sequence will prevent the steep bat angle overshooting the swingplane.

This will also create a bat that is accelerating and will fire out faster,making the swing quicker while creating more load/more stretch and a better loaded torso to turn more fully into contact.