Posted by: Major Dan (markj89@charter.net) on Fri Feb 22 07:47:41 2002

Hey everybody. I am curious to learn some of your ideas on the different strides players use. My question is about Ichiro vs. Edmonds. Ichiro put on a show in batting practice at the Metrodome one day and I was able to watch him from the side. He had his trademark stride toward the pitcher, but when he swung the bat all forward movement stopped and was completely rotational. Jim Edmonds does not stride and has a lot of weight on his back leg before he gets to his rotational swing. Which way is better for most hitters? I am a bit baffled because both have had so much success their way.

The more I watch, the more I notice that MLB players are all pretty rotational, even the 'linear' ones. THis is very different at lower levels.
Ichiro has great speed down the line and makes his living slapping grounders to the left side. His stride/lunge gets him going on his run to first. He rotates as best he can to slap the opposite way and runs like crazy.
Edmonds is a power hitter who stays back to elevate the ball.
IMO the stride/no stride in these cases is related to their hitting intentions/strategies. They both rotate to hit the ball hard and have a quick bat.