Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jul 11 10:57:27 2006

>>> Scott

You are correct about not getting the whole picture by looking at a few stills or videos, though look at enough and you begin to see how a particular hitter's swing changes based on pitch type and location. In fact you can see quite alot. Regarding blanket statements, that is exactly my point!

My frustration with those statements that I hear on a daily basis is that they are tossed around as blanket hitting truths made without really seeing what is happening. For example, I hear "your foot is opening up" (this was the case with my son). However, what these coaches failed to notice was that prior to and at contact, his foot is closed (or at a roughly 45 degree angle). His foot opens only after contact. Yet they constantly harped on that. They couldn't see what was happening, only the end result. I also hear "swing with level shoulders!" Now how does one do that on a pitch lower than letter high ?!? (i was admonished by our manager for my uppercut --he told our kids this was a result of my softball playing--while taking a swing on a slider that broke knee-high down and in and that I drove to right).

And this is where I think the problem is. Coaches (don't get me wrong---they are often well meaning) frequently see 'problems' when a player has failed (swung and missed for example) and they don't when a player has success (a rope to the gap, a pitch fouled off the other way --"level out those shoulders!"). Yet their swings may be identical. For example: a kid swings and misses on a pitch down the center of the plate. He ends up with his belly button and eyes facing the pitcher (likely momentum got him to this point). What do we all hear? "you're pulling off the ball! Keep your head in there!" He does this again, hips open, head facing the pitcher but the ball is now sailing between left and center and one-hops the fence. What does the coach say now?

While I pitched bp at our all-star practice last week I heard a chorus of comments directed at a fine hitter as he whiffed. "keep your head in there!" coaches and players encouraged. The more he heard it the more he swung and missed. He had lost focus, was swinging late. Yet otherwise his swing looked fine to me.

I think we need to be careful about the tips and advice we dispense. I hear bogus hitting analysis not only from LL coaches but from HS coaches and on Baseball Tonight as well (Kruk and Reynolds were great ballplayers but do not know what they are seeing where swing mechanics are concerned).

Looking at still images (especially from a flip book) allows one to see that, yes, a hitter's foot may be 'closed' at contact but does open after. Or shows that both arms are NOT extended at contact ("get those arms extended!") but only after (ok, they may need to be on an offspeed pitch low and away). I don't know about you, but with our 10-12 year olds we're not quite ready to discuss swing adjustments the kind Arod might make on pitches in or away. <<<

Hi Nativetrout

You state, “While I pitched bp at our all-star practice last week I heard a chorus of comments directed at a fine hitter as he whiffed. "keep your head in there!" coaches and players encouraged. The more he heard it the more he swung and missed. He had lost focus, was swinging late. Yet otherwise his swing looked fine to me.”

I could not agree more with your statement. Below is an article from “Truism or Fallacy” I wrote on your topic.

Jack Mankin
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Truism or Fallacy
Rethinking Old Baseball Hitting Theories

"You're Pulling Your Head Off The Ball"

I would caution coaches to be very careful in correcting hitters who they believe are pulling their heads off the ball. If the batter is stepping in the bucket or is falling away from the plate, then he obviously has a problem that needs correcting. But in many cases the problem appears to be that the batter is turning his head and taking his eyes off the ball before contact. --- Here is where I advise a lot of caution before messing with a player's mechanics.

When I was coaching, I, like most coaches, considered pulling the head off the ball to be a problem that effected many of the young hitters. In 1991 and 1992 I taped the swings of hundreds of high school and college players. What I found while reviewing those swings in frame-by-frame action was very surprising. I discovered that very, very few hitters were pulling their heads out before the bat passed through the contact zone. Yes, their heads were being pulled out but it happened later during the swing's follow-through.

I can fully understand why many coaches might disagree. It certainly does appear that hitters are pulling their heads out before contact. But we must remember that the entire swing takes less than a half of a second. The time from contact to follow-through is about 1/30 of a second. Our eye reflexes are just not fast enough to clearly see the difference in head movement between contact and follow-through.

I have seen (and heard) on video tape many coaches yelling at their hitters that they are pulling their heads out. When I reviewed the swings frame-by-frame, the players head and eyes were just fine through contact --- it was the back shoulder being pulled through by the reaction of the bat during follow-through that forced the hitters head out. --- In most cases, if the batter is told he is pulling his head out, he will try to correct his "non-problem" by slowing his bodies rotation and relying more on his arms to swing with. --- I wonder how many young players have had their progress slowed by well-intentioned coaches trying to solve problems that didn't exist.