Posted by: woco14 (smoaksb@email.wofford.edu) on Wed Nov 3 11:22:15 2010

> Jack- question on big leaguers hitting off-speed, particularly those hitters with a leg
kick, does foot plant occur at the same time for an off-speed pitch? Or does it always land
just before the swing starts? Basically, unless the hitter is fooled by the pitch, he reads the
curveball and delays foot-plant until he begins the swing? It's not a noticeable delay
though just very natural during the read which is why I believe it goes unnoticed.
>
> The reason Im asking is it seems everyone always preaches get your foot down so you
can read the pitch, but I look at guys like Jose Bautista and he hits homers on 80mph
breakers and 95mph heat with what appears to be the same swing (with foot-plant still
occurring just before the swing). There doesn't appear to be a delay from foot-plant and
swing. It looks like he reads the pitch prior to getting to launch position.
>
> Anyone feel free to help clarify

Here is a video to help illustrate. Its all of Jose Bautista's 54 homers, all of the swings are
pretty similiar, and there is no delay from footplant to swing. Obviously, the pitches he hits
are all very different speeds and locations, so I think this shows that he is definately
reading the pitch without his foot down. And getting your foot down is more of a result
from a good read but plays no role in reading the pitch itself. I think this is another
problem with hitting coaches in todays game, who always preach get your foot down,
when putting it down too early is kind of like putting on the brakes in a good swing.
Naturally, your foot will be on the ground when you have a well timed swing. So can we get
rid of the cue get your foot down?