Posted by: George () on Tue Jun 5 17:33:29 2007

> How do these 2 swing so much alike? I've been trying to swing like them in games and practice but it seems I am using my arms to accelerate the bat. Where are there hands located in the swing ( in front of shoulder, behind shoulder) Also when do there arms extend? So basically what im asking is how do their swings look so smooth and how do their hands and hips finish at the same time.


Connor. Basically both of these players have tremendous natural ability. And if you were to compare their father's swings and style with theirs you would notice a solid core of basic fundamentals which involve many similarities.

In the case of Griffey Jr. his father possessed greater speed and was more of a slashing line drive hitter though he possessed good physical skills. He differed from Jr. in that he did not use rear arm pullback, and rearward tilt combined with full lead arm extension.

In the case of P. Fielder as good as he is he is still a raw material in process. But because of his great natural ability and ability to finish off his swing he is still able to hit the ball out of the park when he swings late because he does not collapse his mechanics by deviating into an uneven swing path like most hitters who do not have his ability. His front foot to tap allows him to merely concentrate on making a controlled movement to the ball.

Griffey to his credit is one of the few successful hitters that requires no preset movement. He is so good, he only has to see and hit the ball because of his pure mechanics shaped over his upbringing.