“Launch Position” 

The 3-dimensional geometric shape of the body (including position of the bat) at the moment the front toe touches the ground. If done correctly, this is also the instant before the swing is initiated.

As you can see from the screenshots below, most of the greatest hitters in the history of baseball all somehow end up in this same almost identical position just before they start their swing. All these hitters, from different generations, from different parts of the world, with who knows how many different hitting coaches, end up in the same place at the same critical moment...you think we can learn something here?

Important Points to Remember:

1. Is your back foot perfectly square with the plate/batter’s box, or turned slightly in? If turned out, it will be much more difficult to fully rotate your hips.

2. Is your weight distributed evenly – 50/50 – between your feet (MAX 60/40 towards catcher), or are you leaning slightly forward or too far back?

3. Are you landing squarely on the ball of your front foot, or are you too much “up on your toes” or even landing flat-footed, or on your heel?

4. Bat angle (side view) – are you in the correct slot (knob of bat pointed roughly at catcher’s feet) or are you “wrapping” or “laying off” too much?

5. Bat angle (rear view) – is your bat angle too flat (less bat speed, but more efficient) or too steep (more bat speed, but less efficient)?

6. Is your back forearm parallel to the ground (or close) and is it perpendicular to the line of the pitch?

7. Is your front elbow open MUCH more than 90 degrees (ideally 135 degrees)?

8. Are your shoulders counter-rotated 30 degrees, to point roughly at the opposite middle infielder (2B for righty, SS for lefty)?

“Staying Connected"

Staying connected can be defined as taking the three-dimensional geometric shape (upper arm, forearm, bat) that we have created at Launch Position and maintaining that shape as we begin to attack the baseball. 

We don’t want the arms, legs, shoulders, or the bat to operate independently, or we are causing disconnections, which can range from severe to minor. Some examples of disconnections are:

-Casting the tip of the bat

-Casting the hands

-Not using lower body

-Swinging with only arms

-Elbow Drag

Once we have stayed connected for about the first quarter of the swing, we will then release that powerful shape onto the baseball. We want our arms to stay “connected” to our body, as well as our upper body and our lower body (as they should be rotating together).

MLB Swing Analysis Videos

Mike Trout (possibly the best video example of a perfect swing, start at 0:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L72Vn6SueA

Mookie Betts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLj-JBgAVMc

Manny Machado: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYvnR7_zeew

The "5 Ball" Approach to Hitting

#1: Ready to hit right away 

MOST IMPORTANT: We need to be READY TO HIT the moment we step into the box, not 1,2,3 pitches later. If you need to see a few pitches first, fine, that’s what the ON DECK CIRCLE is for. 

#2: 17 inches = 5 balls (1-5), 2,3,4 until 2 strikes

Home plate is 17 inches, or roughly 5 balls, wide. Ball 1 is on the inside corner, Ball 5 is on the outside corner. Balls 2,3, & 4 are in the middle of the zone. These are your focus with a count in your favor, or a “hitter’s count” (i.e. not 2 strikes). Eliminate balls 1 & 5 in those counts.

This makes you much less likely to swing at balls that are, or end up, off the plate when they pass through the hitting zone. This also has the effect of driving up an opponent’s pitch count.

***YES, WE ARE GIVING THE PITCHERS THE CORNERS IN HITTER’S COUNTS*** 

#3: 80% - either off the plate or down the middle

Pitchers generally hit their targeted corner about 10% of the time, meaning even if we give 10% to BOTH corners, that means that 80% of the time, we’ll get a strike down the middle, or a ball. Also, if that pitcher can hit a corner TWICE in ONE at-bat, it’s very unlikely that it will happen again. 

#4: No surprise or emergency swings

If you focus on 2,3 & 4, it also stops the “element of surprise” and the inevitable “emergency swing” that follows on a pitch down the middle, because that’s where you are already ASSUMING it will be. 

#5: Not a lot of early junk pitches at this level (8U-12U)

At this level, you almost never need to worry about a pitcher throwing lots of junk pitches, so we can key on the fastball, ESPECIALLY with a hitter’s count.

***WE NEED TO ATTACK EARLY! THAT IS WHERE THE BEST HITTER’S PITCHES ARE***

#6: 2 strikes = 1-5 are ALL in play now

With 2 strikes, now balls 1 & 5 are also in play, and we need to use our "2-strike approach."

Offseason - Swing Reconstruction

Off-season training is when you are going to be able to make major mechanical adjustments to your swing. It gives us the time to break down every little detail in our swing and focus on it for an extended period of time.

The first step is to get pictures and, more importantly, video of your current swing. In reviewing the footage (preferably in slow and stop-motion), it is imperative that you ask yourself openly and honestly:

1. What are my strengths?

2. What are my weaknesses?

3. What are my main mechanical flaws?

4. How can I make adjustments moving forward?

If you’re serious about reconstructing your swing, you should not hit a baseball for at least a month or two. While we are working to recreate our swing, we don't need little distractions like trying to hit the ball on the barrel, or getting our timing right. This is your Swing Reconstruction time...nothing else.

During this time, we take video after video to ensure that we are improving, and we vary the speed of our swing (10%, 50%, 90%, etc.) while using a mirror, if at all possible.

By the time we are ready to actually hit anything, our "dry rep" swing should look (and feel) really good!