I played minor league baseball for 4 years, and I have been giving private lessons for the last seven years. I have recently accepted an offer to be a volunteer assistant at Central Michigan University. I have worked with a world series champion, Little League players, and everyone in between. I cover topics from hitting and fielding instruction down to how parents should use the resources that are available to their kids, and what is going on in the MLB as well. I'll save you money, sanity, and your valuable time, while giving you information that is priceless.
Some people argue that people who hit for power use hip rotation and singles hitters tend to slide forward and be more linear. I disagree completely, I think there is one way to swing a baseball bat that makes people consistently successful. That way as I have stated before comes down to your back hip opening and driving forward after your front heel hits the ground. This is obviously a little bit of a simplistic overview of my philosophy. I will say this, you hit into your front foot, not on it. What does this mean, it means your front leg should be firm and your hips should power your swing through the zone driving you into your firm front leg. This link below gives proof to the fact singles hitters and one of the best singles hitters in baseball history uses these exact mechanics. Notice how his neither his head or chest are even close to being in front of his front foot. Again this guy is a singles hitters.
Now the next link is Albert Pujols, who we all know to be a tremendous power hitter how also hits for average. Notice the swing mechanics and the hip rotation are the same as Mr. Gywnn’s swing. The one difference is the amount of tilt Pujols has but that is no big deal. I want you to look at the positioning of his body during the swing and at contact.
Both of these hitters use their hips to propel their swing. The swing plane is not down, the hands do not start the swing, the back shoulder is lower then the front, and this is the way to swing the bat. For all you kids out there and all you hitting instructors please make sure you are practicing and teaching what you see.
