redline248 said:

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Ragnar Danneskjoldd said:

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TarponChaser said:

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Ragnar Danneskjoldd said:

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i feel like this is just a list of people naming good hitters. While not at the level of hitters previously mentioned, i could watch Michael Brantleyswing a bat all day.

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You mean most good hitters have great swings? Whodathunkit??

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No, i was making the exact opposite point.

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New topic! Which good hitters have the ugliest swings?

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Ichiro

To a certain degree you guys are all off the mark here. This thread is naming guys with great looking swings, but the reality hidden in here that unites them all is lightning quick hands and elite hand eye coordination. What I've learned from a lifetime in baseball is that if you can work on those skills, your swing and stance can look any way you want it.

If there were really a "best" swing out there to model, everybody would be using it. Part of the greatness of baseball is the uniqueness of each player and the mental and physical preparation they have to do in order to succeed 30% of the time if they are great.

If you have a son and want him to be a great hitter, work on hand eye coordination and reflexes. We had a thread a while back that noted that Tony Gwynn only got HBP like 20 times in his whole career, he was quoted as saying that was because he was so quick he just moved out of the way. Think about that, dude could jump out of the way of 90 MPH fastballs.

Sure the swings start different but they pretty much all get to a certain position, they all have a certain posture, have weight transfer, they all rotate around the front.

Again, to a certain degree, but I'm talking about the whole swing process, from leg kick, hand starting position, follow through, etc. all of those are really negotiable based on comfort.

Hand position and bat angle at the contact point all end up being similar, but how you get there is just not as important as some would make it seem.

Again, if there was a perfect way to do it, everyone would do it, literally millions of dollars at stake for anyone that could perfect it.

Edit to add, so I coach my kids and there are a couple of things I prohibit, like pre swing coiling and getting off balance, but my kids are thriving at the young ages by being free and easy and attacking the ball. I've incentivize line drives and they've both figured out how to make that happen by trusting their hands.

This is just wrong. There's definitely a general swing shape that most pros conform to if you freeze their swing at contact.

Weight transfers to the front foot, back leg even comes off the ground for a lot of them, back arches with the front elbow elevated and back elbow in to get the barrel through the zone and maximize that upper body torque after the weight transfer to the front foot. It's obviously slightly different for each guy, as with any sport's motion, but there's a very similar shape you'll see if you freeze most MLB players' swings.

For some reason, little league dad's teach swings that are basically the complete opposite of what most MLB batters do. "Squish the bug", "extend your arms out across the plate", "keep all your weight on your back foot", "swing down". I don't get it.

I do agree with the starting position. But that's mostly a comfort thing that pretty quickly transitions to a common swing shape once the leg kick starts. I think how big the leg kick is just depends on how different people stay balanced. In the end, they're all setting that foot and transferring to it. Whether there's a big leg kick or it's basically set to begin with.

The way I read this thread was folks looking at the whole swing process from stance to load to follow through.

We're in agreement that from the moment the hands get ready to accelerate forward to the contact point the bodies of most are going to look the same with a lot of similar physics to create power and keep on balance.

In that case, I agree with you. There's a ton of variation in stance and leg kick. It doesn't start looking the same for everyone until that front leg is set and the barrel starts dropping down.

I also agree with you on the weird ritual of little league dads going around making kids poke out their elbows and point the bat straight up in the air. It's what got me to decide to coach my kids after the first year of watching a coach do that to my son.

My swing was completely ruined as a kid by my dad and coaches telling me the stupidest **** for my swing. Took batting lessons in highschool and it was mind blowing how wrong I had been previously taught.

AggieEP said:

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I also agree with you on the weird ritual of little league dads going around making kids poke out their elbows and point the bat straight up in the air. It's what got me to decide to coach my kids after the first year of watching a coach do that to my son.

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I used to be that dad/coach with my oldest because it's what I was taught many, many years ago. I kinda screwed up my oldest with a lot of it at first but with work and input from a lot of people who know better he's improved dramatically and I've learned a lot myself so my 7-year old is taught differently.

Mike Brantley
Terry Puhl
Lance Berkman

Michael Brantley most solid mechanics and swing. Also, he does not do anything unorthodox. Watch him starting as he steps into the box. Hand alignment on grip, stance. His head and eyes positioning. Watch his hips turn in conjunction with where his hands are. Hands through the zone. Base hit machine he is. (Yoda)

If you are having your kids imitate a MLB player's swing, I think it is best to start with something smooth and simple. Machado has a simple swing and stays through the zone for a long time, Mookie has a nice, simple, repeatable swing, You have to throw Trout in there as well.
Young kids need to learn how to remain balanced and not get out on the front foot, and the earlier they learn it, the better. After that, and efficient, repeatable swing that gets from the load position through baseball is a great foundation to build off when they are young.