Hitting and Hitters Discussion Bat speed and power....... middle in VS outside

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I want to post a question to my fellow lemmings and anyone else interested in the fine art of hitting.

While working with a student last evening on hand path and bat speed I noticed a large drop in bat speed from the middle in to the outside............ almost a 10 mph drop, and this speed im sure has alot to do with the distance the ball travels when hit. the batter being left handed can go 280 right field, a good 250 center and then the drastic drop starts, a true left field shot struggles to go 220 ft, 10 mph and 60 ft is a substantial difference.

So my question is this, is it normal for that bat speed to drop, because it is an outside pitch, meaning having to wait on it, or her body is in a position where her hips cant get all the way thru the ball as fast as an inside pitch? I would be interested to hear what different people have to say about this.thanks in advance

Tim

 

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If you were just working on hand path with a known location and not facing an actual pitcher I would say it is mechanical and not mental.

I know my dd tends to get just a slight bend in her back on outside pitches when she reaches instead of fully extending to the ball. I can see the slowness when that happens. This is something we have been working on for several weeks and she is starting to rotate and extend rather than reach and rotate. The difference is amazing and her confidence is growing which leads to much better execution.

 

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Rotate as needed. Belly button to the point of contact. You just aren't rotating as much.

 

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I kind of agree with Chris. Howard just worked with swifty on hitting the outside pitch and she is a lefty.

 

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I agree, we worked on over rotation on outside, and I think we may have caused her to slow a bit trying not to........ the belly button is getting to the point of contact, but looking back im not sure if the extention is going thru long enough...... its a good starting point anyhow.. thanks yall

 

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There are a few reasons why the ball does not travel as far on contact with an outside pitch versus contact with a ball pitched middle-in:

1. Contact with ball is further away from core due to extended arms, thus reducing power.
2. Recuced hip rotation.
3. Reduced upper body rotation.
4. Reduced extention and finish.

Len

 

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There are a few reasons why the ball does not travel as far on contact with an outside pitch versus contact with a ball pitched middle-in:

1. Contact with ball is further away from core due to extended arms, thus reducing power.
2. Recuced hip rotation.
3. Reduced upper body rotation.
4. Reduced extention and finish.

Len

Sounds like its just the nature of the beast.........

 

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not maintaining the box...too much disconnection
rotating more around the front hip opposed to the spine

 

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Well think about this for awhile for those that feel outside pitches can't be hit as hard (I'm trying to understand and see it in my own "minds eye.") If I were to take a rubber band and wind it around my finger and let it go would the rubber band be traveling faster at release or further along as it unwinds? To me it makes sense that the rubber band would be quickest and create more "pop/snap" at first then discipate as it unwound, which would shoot down the idea of less power on outside pitches, because you would be more "loaded" initially and able to expel greater force.

Now on the contrary, if you look at the swing as a "two engine" system. If the ball is an outside pitch, and only one engine begins to fire (say the lower body) and you use the concept "hips as needed," that first engine recognizes outside pitch and starts shutting down/idling back, and then the "second engine" (upper body) begins to fire, the two engines will now be working against one another, therefore a loss in power.

 

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Rotate as needed. Belly button to the point of contact. You just aren't rotating as much.

We currently have a kid at NKU who can hit a ball to right, center or left off the tee from home plate over a 200 foot plus fence, so in my opinion it is more in the technic verses how far away the ball is.

I know how she grips the bat and that is how we apply leverage to the ball and it does make a huge difference since the ball is only the bat for about 2 milliseconds and the collision must be near perfect as to head down to engage the intrinsic muscle group and rotating as needed. Her grip is an off set grip or as a right handed hitter my top hand door knocker knuckles are line up to my wedding ring. The bottom hand has the bat in the area where the fingers join at the palm of the hand. We place a rubber band on the top hand index finger and tie about four knots and hold the bat so it lays across the hand so the bat is ahead of the index finger pad. This is a poor mans Turbo Slot glove. We have measured bat speed using the lining up of door knuckles and found this to give us a 2 to 4 MPH increase in bat speed using a Swing Speed Radar Unit.

Crystl's technic of using the back foot by first lifting the heel and focusing on the drive coming from the back foot big toe and the toe next to it and the knee cap pointing more in the direction of the second baseman for right handers verses short stop for left handers allows her to focus on an explosion of the hips that directs the ball to the opposite field by way of the belly button. As a right handed hitter it also helps her get out of the box faster.

This is why we teach bat control up the middle first and outside next as in my opinion anyone can pull a ball which is usually the case and the upper body is often out of sequence.

This is why using the matrix drill will uncover that in most situations the upper body is in motion prior to the Elvis move as Coach Enquist terms it or as the front foot heel plants the back foot heel is lifted and the thrust is set in motion for the rotation to begin. Some believe it is just rotation however the martial arts people will disagree with the baseball people. Personally I will stick with the martial arts people and that is how how Crystl does it and she has repeated it on pressure plates at UCLA with Slaught and Candrea and independent studies being done that may be published later on this year.

When we did this with Dan's daughter a few weeks ago it became clear as we did the matrix drill, ready position, set position, separate to toe touch and then when I said elbows she turned her shoulders before she planted the front foot heel (Elvis move) and pulled the ball and it was an outside pitch off the back corner of the plate. Then we repeated and she hit her mark on the net and you could hear the bat click which is an indication of good square contact with the bat much like driving a nail with a hammer. When the ball is deeper in the box remember we are in the lane with the knob of the bat sooner and need to focus on releasing the barrel to the ball. If we are late doing this we will not make square contact with the ball.

Many girls find using the nail simulator of how to use a hammer both vertically and then horizontally educational as most fathers over look the ability of using a $7 dollar hammer verses buying a $300 dollar bat and think unhinging the wrist happens from just centripetal force only. Once they learn how to control the release of the barrel to the ball the distance and bat speed pick up also.

The loading of the hips with counter rotation so they can feel the glutes in the back hip flex also helps to increase the force in their rotation as well as landing on a flexed front knee. This is a taught skill to the female as the glutes do not fire in a females knee which is why you see many females over the front leg verses being up against it.

A lot of coaches in my opinion struggle with this aspect of the swing and do not teach a stride or use a slide up against the back leg and reduce the power which can be generated by using a weight shift.