Y'all missed Will "The Thrill" Clark - STRAIGHT up and down casual, relaxed, and almost slow looking right up to the explosion. Wood on Leather over and over and over.
Griffey Jr's swing and stance is still breathtaking all these years later. There has never been and very likely will never be a prettier swing. He had to have practiced that in the mirror growing up. Maybe that's part of why he was so successful, the other team was busy staring at his stance and swing. What's awesome is to compare his pure poetry at bat with someone like Hunter Pence whom was the polar opposite leaving you wondering how anyone could hit the ball like that.
Juan Gonzalez. The guy had his bat parallel to the ground like the backswing of Tiger Woods. The guy roped HRs out of stadiums. His line drive HRs to left field in Arlington we’re incredible.
Blessed to have seen Ichiro Suzuki play. One of my favorite stories of him was when he signed with the Mariners, Manager Lou Piniella first heard and saw him, he was confused why everyone was so hyped by this slap hitting singles hitter. So the next day in batting practice, Ichiro basically had his own personal home run derby and launched balls out of the park at a consistent pace. Ichiro could do it all, if they wanted him to be a power hitter, he could, he’d have to sacrifice average but he could easily pop 25 a year. Ichiro is a generational talent.
I remember an interview with Ichiro (and his interpreter) where he talked about how he could've been a 30+ HR hitter but he didn't want to only bat .270. He felt he was more valuable batting well over .300 but having less homeruns. And he was right. He could still bring that power when needed in clutch situations too. Easily one of the top 5 overall hitters ever to play the game.
Another player that stood out when I was young was Alfonso Soriano. Loved how he stood with his front foot closer to the plate and had a great finish to his swing
I named 15 of these before starting the list. Great batting stances that were glaring omissions - Pete Rose, Robin Ventura, Will Clark, Jim Tome, for a few and then the Greek God of wild & effective stances was Igor - Texas Ranger Juan Gonzales' incredible torque & production. Incredible.
Rod Carew's was my favorite stance growing up. Can't believe Will Clark didn't make the list. The Kid's stance and effortless swing was a thing of beauty. Just perfect.
A-Rod’s swing from 2007 was the one I always tried to emulate as a kid playing baseball. One of the prettiest swings from a right handed hitter I’ve ever seen.
You could make an entire video just of him. I was going to make this comment myself before I saw yours. There were some really odd Orioles stances: Mike Young Mickey Tettleton while with the O's, and then his transformation with the Tigers Tony Batista
He literally hit the ball 500 ft looking effortless being a lefty I emulated his swing when I was younger. He’s the best of hitting every pitch out in front
@@thomasanderson6924 let’s throw Thurman Munson, Jose Fernandez, Tyler Skaggs, Yordano Ventura, Oscar Taveras, Tommy Hanson, and Nick Adenhart into that pot
@@Harcorwrestler no, he needs to have a healthy off-season (this yr just may be a wash) where he can re-strengthen his surgically-repaired shoulder & the calf/hip/thigh/hamstring around & above the leg he broke this spring. Basically he needs to be fully healthy so he can get back to the swing that generated so much easy power. You can tell he's been hitting desperate for a good while. That'll change when he gets his health back. I was hoping the team would send him to camelback ranch in AZ to rehab & strengthen, then work on the swing--for all of august. That's obviously a no-go...
Griffey, Sheffield and Canseco were my favorite stances. I feel the 90’s had some unique batting Stances. Some that come to mind are Tony Phillips, Ricky Henderson, Jay Buhner, Mark McGwire, Jeff Bagwell, Wade Boggs, Juan Gonzales,Mike Piazza, Cecil Fielder, Ruben Sierra, I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch of others
I grew up watching Straw and the Mets in the 80s and he had that Sheffield wiggle before Sheffield. His swing wasn't as pretty as Griffey, but his swing was as effortless looking as griffeys. Ball flew off his bat
He's without a doubt in my top 3, in no particular order: jr, straw and cano. Unrelated, I feel like grandy and his whole career are going be overlooked which would be a shame cause he did so much for both ny teams
Definitely The Straw. taught myself to swing lefty with his stance. Would go to the game early for BP - he'd hit the Utz sign on a line drive no problem. Used it in softball for a while with mixed results - too inconsistent but unreal power when I connected cleanly.
Yup. These people who pick hitters with a swing that was a "thing of beauty" crack me up. This is baseball not a pageant. I dont want crying and I dont want beauty. I pure fkn hostile aggression & that was Gary Sheffield. I hated the Yanks but love the way that dude just murdered the baseball. I dont think Ive seen anyone hit as many line drive home runs in my life, and when he did get lift under a home run it was like he was hitting a golf ball while everyone else wasn't. I would have killed to see him hitting in that 2004 Red Sox lineup with Manny in Ortiz
This was awesome. Growing up as a kid in the 90’s, and with a father who had season tickets every year to the Rochester Red Wings (at the time a AAA team of the Baltimore Orioles) who, by the way was deaf and blind in one eye, one of the fondest memories I had with my dad was when we would play a little game of can you guess who I am solely by imitating a players batting stance. Julio Franco, Gary Sheffield, Mickey Tettleton, Rickey Henderson just to name a few. This video made me happy, and a bit sad at the same time. Lost my dad to colon cancer back in 2008 at the young age of 60. I miss him dearly.
Where was “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas?? He was mentioned, filling up the box, the crouch thru the swing, the back leg raising up on the follow thru, and sheer power…
Griffey is my all time favorite. Hes the reason I started to collect cards when my brother gave me his 89 fleer RC. Hes the reason I taught myself to swing lefty cause of that beautiful swing
@@AsimWajid I meant 89 fleer. Error on my part. He has more than just the UD rookie. That is probably the most iconic baseball card of my generation, but he definitely has an 89 fleer among others
I remember watching Tony Batista as a young O’s fan and just scratching my head as to how anyone could comfortably twist like that let along swing like that
Reggie Jackson my idol as a kid and adult...but Brian Downing was my alltime favorite stance..in front of Micky Rivers and Darrel Porter...I incorporated all 4 in my wide leg sweep soft land stance when I played..
Thank You for posting this video, MLB Vault. I agree with many of the top 30 batting stances showcased here. Except for Craig Counsel at #3. His stance deserves as much adoration as the free throw shooting technique of Chicago Bull’s Center, Bill Cratwright.
I say Griffey but Manny Ramirez had such a relaxed mindset especially with 2 strikes. He was the best 2 strike hitter. Mattingly had a sweet swing. Dwight Evans. Jim Rice. Jeter hit to opposite field better than anyone and so great of a hitter. Ichiro was so smooth. Drag bunts even drag hits. Wade Boggs. David Ortiz most clutch and over 500 hr 290 average. Joe Carter. Rico Brogna. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury. Daryl Strawberry. Dave Henderson. Mike Greenwelll. Frank Thomas, Youkils. Ricky Henderson.
Three stances that stood out to me when I was younger that weren't mentioned in the list are Darryl Strawberry who in my opinion had the smoothest swing, Tony Phillips he got in such a crouch I'm surprised he didn't walk every time he was at bat and Jim Leryitz with that straight front leg and the bat wiggle with the leg kick is etched in my mind.
#5, NOMAR GARCIAPARRA. What a great step-up with the bat, tips both of his shoes at the dirt 4 times, with the arms moving in a circular shape in the air, with each pitch in every game he played. Have to say that should put on the list if they add more!
No one in baseball wasted more time than Nomar Garciaparra. That will be his legacy. The implementation of the pitch clock. He single-handed added a half hour to games. The late 90s early 2000s Red Sox were involved in a bunch of the longest 9 inning games ever played.
When he played in Japan, Ichiro used to point his bat right at the pitcher’s head! For obvious reasons his MLB teammates told him he couldn’t do it in America, but you can see the remnant of his old swing in the way he pointed the bat straight up while sort of pointing his fist at the pitcher.
The staff compiling this royally screwed up by not including Andre "The Hawk" Dawson. He should have been top 5! Unbelievable ... absolutely unbelievable.
Yes absolutely 100% The leader of the family baby 1979 #8 Willie Stargell had the greatest batting stance of all time he should have been voted #1 RIP Pops
It must have had some influence on his hitting success - that getting-set windmill routine was so distinctive! Pops Stargell should have been included in this video.
Tettleton was one of my childhood favorites. I was fascinated by his Popeye forearms. That stance gave me some joy but an awful lot of pain. Mickey struck out with men on base so many times. It was always the same: couldn't get around on the fastball. Why? Because he started it level or below. This video is great!!!
Growing up in the 90s Griffey was the epitome of cool. Everyone wore their cap backwards because of him. I'm a lifelong Dodger fan and Mike Piazza was my favorite, but Griffey was just different.
Off the top of my head, the most memorable stances to me, ones that I can 100% replicate to this day are: Jr. Griffey (of course) Chuck Knoblauch, Mickey Morandini, Mark McGwire, Gary Sheffield, Jeff Bagwell, Julio Franco...there's probably more, I was obsessed with copying these guys in my younger days.
Juan Gonzalez. Julio franco. Justice. Mo vaughn. Sheffield. Galaragga. Henderson. Griffey. Bagwell. I tried to emulate them all as a kid lol…. But the comfy one i stuck with was rlly closed like stanton or paul molitor. Glad to see alot of these included :)
Lots of players I seen at their last couple of years when I was a kid in the early 2000s on this list I love it Griffey was my favorite of them all. Glad they put belli on this list. Dodgers 🤙🏽⚾️
Barry Bonds though. Choked up on the bat, stood close to the plate. He was always able to put good wood on the ball whether the pitch was inside or out. Also had an impeccable eye.
Griffey Jr had that launch angle swing before that was even a thing that they looked at. It was natural for him because he stood so upright and had a perfect V load at the top to transfer the hand speed to his hips like a bow and arrow which caused tremendous bat speed with a perfect launch angle.
A player that was name dropped TWICE on this list inspiring two players on their swing but missing from the list itself: Tony Gwynn. No, it wasnt quirky like Sheffield or Counsell's, but it is the textbook stance you want to teach players. Perfectly balanced. Excellent plate coverage. When the object of the game is to hit the ball, TG was one of the best to do it in the last 50 years.
I played little league in the mid-90's. I found out about yaz's stance from people telling me I did it just like him. Turns out I did, but it was unintentional, I didn't know who he was at that point. Held that sucker way up there, and it helped me a lot.
With the exception of Griffey and a few others, this list is really "All Time Ugliest Stances". Do another list of "Greatest/Coolest Batting Stances" next time and make sure Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis are up there with Griffey
I always remembered thinking Jack Clark’s batting stance with the bat kinda horizontal was very intimidating. He batted cleanup for that great Cardinals track team in 1985. Also Bob Horner just standing straight up and resting the bat on his shoulder like the girls in gym class that didn’t know what they were doing and didn’t care, then he’d knock it out of the park.
Palmerio sceewed up it seems ever since he pointed his finger at congress instead of quitting while ahead even though im sure hes doing better than me lol
Growing up a Cubs fan, all we heard about was the "sweet" sving of Billy Williams. It was classic, beautiful to watch. He was the ideal #3 hitter in the line-up, good for average and power. Nothing was forced, nothing changed, it was grooved naturally. You missed it. I fully expected Billy Williams to show as the #1 swinger. He wasn't dramatic, he wasn't theatrical, he was poetry, he was music at the plate. -- You also missed Stan Musial, who I'll never forget as the most studious swinger of them all.
Love seeing Tony Bautista and Mo Vaughn on here, but this list is missing a LOT of great stances, like Darryl Strawberry, Juan Gonzalez, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr (he had like 20 of them), Jim Eisenreich, Will Clark, Chuck Knoblauch... Griffey is the obvious #1 though. It wasn't just the stance and the perfect swing, it was the walk afterward
Carl Yastzemski, Gary Sheffield, Joe Morgan, Julio Franco, Ken Griffey Jr., Mickey Tettleton, Oscar Gamble, Rod Carew, Tony Bautista, and Kevin Youkilis too HAVE my favorite BATTING STANCES in this video!!!
JUNIOR! The most beautiful swing in baseball, I was one of those kids who tried to have Junior's stance. That said, where is Luis Gonzalez and Garciaparra?
Also, Matt "The Professional Hitter" Stairs. Bat resting on his shoulder and then a smooth, violent uppercut. The bomb he hit off Broxton in the '08 playoffs still hasn't landed.
Tony Gwynn is definitely missing from this list. He had one of the purest swings ever.
We aren’t talking swings, it’s STANCE. 🤦🏻♂️
Tony drilled basics so damn much he is def missing from this list
@@elijahrobinson2362 he had a unique stance too. Shoulda been on here
George Brett had a unique stance and a beautiful swing
Too bad this video is about batting stance so makes sense that Tony gywn and his sweet swing wouldn't be mentioned here . 🤦🏿♂️
How Eric "The Red" Davis is not in this list is mind boggling.... A very unique stance and power to boot...
Better stance than Pete or Johnny, c’mon playa.
Fastest hands ever.
Jeff bagwell and juan gonzalez
Ken Griffey Jr. has the smoothest swing in MLB history.
Him & will clark
Dwight evens
My bad Darrel Evens
*cough cough* bellinger
@@peter2213 Jr is better
Darryl Strawberry’s stance and swing was a thing of beauty. Aesthetically I would say Jr #1 and Strawberry #2.
totally agree with this!
There was a player named Laroche who had a golf swing. When he made contact, his shots were beautiful. I would say chipper Jones had #3 best swing.
Exactly!
I waited that whole video to see Strawberry!
Right!?! Seemed to be a mix of best and most unique stances.
Oh Griffey, the most beautiful swing in MLB history. It’s still pretty even when he whiffs.
Man I miss watching him play!
Y'all missed Will "The Thrill" Clark - STRAIGHT up and down casual, relaxed, and almost slow looking right up to the explosion. Wood on Leather over and over and over.
I saw the title of this video and the first person I thought of was Will. List is BS without him.
Thank you...
Yeah William neuschler Clark swing was butter
Will Clark has the GREATEST swing of all time. Period.
Yeah man will clark was the best so far
Will Clark, John Olerud, and Carlos Gonzalez ... the prettiest, sweetest swings in modern baseball!
Gonzalez has one of the most beautiful swings I have ever seen!! Just perfect.
Griffey Jr's swing and stance is still breathtaking all these years later. There has never been and very likely will never be a prettier swing. He had to have practiced that in the mirror growing up. Maybe that's part of why he was so successful, the other team was busy staring at his stance and swing. What's awesome is to compare his pure poetry at bat with someone like Hunter Pence whom was the polar opposite leaving you wondering how anyone could hit the ball like that.
Juan Gonzalez, Will Clark, Albert Belle should've made the list
Gonzo was just franco 2.0
Albert Belle!
And Eric Davis
Ruben Sierra, Ryan Klesko, and Eric Davis
Will the Thrill for sure
Honorable mentions: Willie Stargell, David Justice, Mark McGwire, Brian Downing (YEP!), Lou Whittaker, and John Olerud.
someone FINALLY acknowledges Justice!
I agree with all of those, especially Stargell. And I'd personally like to add Wade Boggs.
Juan Gonzalez, Todd Hundley and Alfonso Soriano
Griffey's swing was so nonchalant, its like "Oh yeah there's the ball" ...crack!
Juan Gonzalez. The guy had his bat parallel to the ground like the backswing of Tiger Woods. The guy roped HRs out of stadiums. His line drive HRs to left field in Arlington we’re incredible.
Blessed to have seen Ichiro Suzuki play. One of my favorite stories of him was when he signed with the Mariners, Manager Lou Piniella first heard and saw him, he was confused why everyone was so hyped by this slap hitting singles hitter. So the next day in batting practice, Ichiro basically had his own personal home run derby and launched balls out of the park at a consistent pace. Ichiro could do it all, if they wanted him to be a power hitter, he could, he’d have to sacrifice average but he could easily pop 25 a year. Ichiro is a generational talent.
I remember an interview with Ichiro (and his interpreter) where he talked about how he could've been a 30+ HR hitter but he didn't want to only bat
.270. He felt he was more valuable batting
well over .300 but having less homeruns. And he was right. He could still bring that power when needed in clutch situations too. Easily one of the top 5 overall hitters ever to play the game.
Same here. One could argue that Ichiro is THE greatest hitter ever; I would definitely put him top 3 with Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn.
“Best” stances ever? “Memorable” is probably a better word for it
Another player that stood out when I was young was Alfonso Soriano. Loved how he stood with his front foot closer to the plate and had a great finish to his swing
He hit effortless bombs. He was a great hitter
Used a big barreled bat too, esp for a guy his size. And handled it well.
He's way too underated unfortunately
@@Nick_Valentine2702 he had amazing wrists and bat speed.
I named 15 of these before starting the list. Great batting stances that were glaring omissions - Pete Rose, Robin Ventura, Will Clark, Jim Tome, for a few and then the Greek God of wild & effective stances was Igor - Texas Ranger Juan Gonzales' incredible torque & production. Incredible.
Jim Thome did not have a “great batting stance” at all. He just jacked em.
Jeff bagwell
Rod Carew's was my favorite stance growing up. Can't believe Will Clark didn't make the list. The Kid's stance and effortless swing was a thing of beauty. Just perfect.
A-Rod’s swing from 2007 was the one I always tried to emulate as a kid playing baseball. One of the prettiest swings from a right handed hitter I’ve ever seen.
Steroid swing
How do you keep Cal Ripken (literally “the man with a thousand stances”) off this list?!
You could make an entire video just of him. I was going to make this comment myself before I saw yours. There were some really odd Orioles stances:
Mike Young
Mickey Tettleton while with the O's, and then his transformation with the Tigers
Tony Batista
I liked Alfonso Soriano’s stance a lot as a kid. Dude was huge and imposing
Dude was skinny and swung a stupid heavy bat so hard and somehow hit the ball hard consistently. Amazing
huge? I know he is like 6ft 2 but he was also like 165lbs.
@@wilkesmcdermid7906 more like 185 lbs
Pure aesthetics - Ken Griffey Jrs' stance and swing was a thing of beauty. A flash from the past - Ron Santo's was also a thing of beauty..
He literally hit the ball 500 ft looking effortless being a lefty I emulated his swing when I was younger. He’s the best of hitting every pitch out in front
Jrs swing was so pure, so fluid, it truly was a thing of beauty. +1 I got ya back broseph
It was good, ive seen a couple just as pretty. Didnt end up as successful as griffey but JUST in swing they were just as graceful.
I saw Ron Santo bat at Shea Stadium in the 60's. He really did have a great stance. So did Ron Hunt (if you will recall).
@@buffalopatriot also #22 Will "the thrill" Clark. Nice pretty stroke.
Griffey’s swing still gives me chills.
Thank you. Just thank you. I don’t feel alone anymore lol
@@FINFLEX88 well it's just you two
@@nelsonrivera764nope three 😂
Ok then it's you 3........f@gs
Where is the “natural” Will Clark? Y’all messed up.
Clark and Mike Schmidt
The Thrill should be top 5 at least.
I was hoping to see Eric Davis on this. Truly one of a kind
Prince Fielder not being able to finish his career is a crime
As a Rangers fan, we hated to see him go. He was very beloved in the DFW area.
Still was dominant for 12 yrs.
As a defensive player he made a great hitter.
Roberto Clemente says hold my beer.
@@thomasanderson6924 let’s throw Thurman Munson, Jose Fernandez, Tyler Skaggs, Yordano Ventura, Oscar Taveras, Tommy Hanson, and Nick Adenhart into that pot
I think Dave Justice had a great swing. He had some great seasons.
Cody Bellinger being all "oh you know, it's just what feels comfortable man" is probably the most Cody Bellinger thing he could say.
and then just after that he says, "just like, the comfortabilty of it, is way more comfortable to me"
another by gem from perma-high Cody
California cool lol to quote Cowherd on Arodge but makes sense
Dude... Brah....
He needs to change his stance or he’s not going to be in the majors for long.
@@Harcorwrestler no, he needs to have a healthy off-season (this yr just may be a wash) where he can re-strengthen his surgically-repaired shoulder & the calf/hip/thigh/hamstring around & above the leg he broke this spring. Basically he needs to be fully healthy so he can get back to the swing that generated so much easy power. You can tell he's been hitting desperate for a good while. That'll change when he gets his health back.
I was hoping the team would send him to camelback ranch in AZ to rehab & strengthen, then work on the swing--for all of august. That's obviously a no-go...
I always liked the swings of Dave Kingman, Darryl Strawberry, and Eddie Murray.
Robinson Cano should be on this stand list, just for the Smoothness of his bat swing. Silky!!
Agreed!!!!
I loved bonds and Sheffield always thought they had cool looking stances
How and why the hell is Will Clark not here???!!! His was the best until Griffey came around. Darryl should be here too.
John olerud
They had to shoehorn current players which pushed out way more memorable stances
Griffey, Sheffield and Canseco were my favorite stances. I feel the 90’s had some unique batting Stances. Some that come to mind are Tony Phillips, Ricky Henderson, Jay Buhner, Mark McGwire, Jeff Bagwell, Wade Boggs, Juan Gonzales,Mike Piazza, Cecil Fielder, Ruben Sierra, I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch of others
Eric Davis
Mo vaughn.
Garret Anderson’s and Jim Edmonds
Rickey H, jose, jeff bagwell, gary sheffield
Where's Darryl Strawberry???
...I was looking for him too
I grew up watching Straw and the Mets in the 80s and he had that Sheffield wiggle before Sheffield. His swing wasn't as pretty as Griffey, but his swing was as effortless looking as griffeys. Ball flew off his bat
it's as sweet as Griffey
He's without a doubt in my top 3, in no particular order: jr, straw and cano. Unrelated, I feel like grandy and his whole career are going be overlooked which would be a shame cause he did so much for both ny teams
Definitely The Straw. taught myself to swing lefty with his stance. Would go to the game early for BP - he'd hit the Utz sign on a line drive no problem. Used it in softball for a while with mixed results - too inconsistent but unreal power when I connected cleanly.
Remember Ichiro Suzuki came over around 27 year old. And still had over 3k hits here. Imagine if he started here younger. Crazy
..Gary Sheffield...always loved it.. just so aggressive, everything about it said, “bring it bitch!!”, ha...
Yup. These people who pick hitters with a swing that was a "thing of beauty" crack me up. This is baseball not a pageant. I dont want crying and I dont want beauty. I pure fkn hostile aggression & that was Gary Sheffield. I hated the Yanks but love the way that dude just murdered the baseball. I dont think Ive seen anyone hit as many line drive home runs in my life, and when he did get lift under a home run it was like he was hitting a golf ball while everyone else wasn't. I would have killed to see him hitting in that 2004 Red Sox lineup with Manny in Ortiz
his arms could move so quickly
I'd have loved to have seen him play in the statcast era, see how many records he'd have
Looked like he was swinging with a toothpick. Such a powerful swing and stance
@@brianbelden2449 swings of beauty are the people who produce.
This was awesome. Growing up as a kid in the 90’s, and with a father who had season tickets every year to the Rochester Red Wings (at the time a AAA team of the Baltimore Orioles) who, by the way was deaf and blind in one eye, one of the fondest memories I had with my dad was when we would play a little game of can you guess who I am solely by imitating a players batting stance. Julio Franco, Gary Sheffield, Mickey Tettleton, Rickey Henderson just to name a few. This video made me happy, and a bit sad at the same time. Lost my dad to colon cancer back in 2008 at the young age of 60. I miss him dearly.
Ken Griffey Jr.'s stance was BUTTER smooth. It would almost bring a tear to your eye. God damn was it beautiful to watch.
His swing, not his stance. 🙄
Or both...
Where was “The Big Hurt” Frank Thomas?? He was mentioned, filling up the box, the crouch thru the swing, the back leg raising up on the follow thru, and sheer power…
Griffey is my all time favorite. Hes the reason I started to collect cards when my brother gave me his 89 fleer RC. Hes the reason I taught myself to swing lefty cause of that beautiful swing
There is no 88 fleer Griffey RC...1989 UD is his rookie card.
@@AsimWajid I meant 89 fleer. Error on my part. He has more than just the UD rookie. That is probably the most iconic baseball card of my generation, but he definitely has an 89 fleer among others
Same!!! Not only did I teach myself to hit left handed but also throw!!!!
@@AsimWajid Griffey has a rookie card from Donruss, Fleer, Bowman, Topps, Upper Deck and more.
I remember watching Tony Batista as a young O’s fan and just scratching my head as to how anyone could comfortably twist like that let along swing like that
Darryl Strawberry, Will Clark, and Carney Lansford are three that I remembered that weren’t on this list.
Hands down Ken Griffen Jr has the best stance, swing, and follow through of all time. Like a hot knife through butter
Fantastic list! No list is perfect, so here's the only two I was shocked to see didn't make it: Reggie Jackson and Will Clark.
Don't forget Robin Ventura.
Reggie Jackson my idol as a kid and adult...but Brian Downing was my alltime favorite stance..in front of Micky Rivers and Darrel Porter...I incorporated all 4 in my wide leg sweep soft land stance when I played..
Thank You for posting this video, MLB Vault. I agree with many of the top 30 batting stances showcased here. Except for Craig Counsel at #3. His stance deserves as much adoration as the free throw shooting technique of Chicago Bull’s Center, Bill Cratwright.
John Olerud and Will “the thrill”
Smoothest swings in baseball
Matt Kemp's swing is pretty great.
...and Rafael Palmeiro too.
So glad you mentioned Will Clark!!!
@@distinctfab smoothest swing ever. Honorable mention to Garrett Anderson too. They had the same exact swing.
+1 Will Clark. Its criminal that he's not on this list.
I say Griffey but Manny Ramirez had such a relaxed mindset especially with 2 strikes. He was the best 2 strike hitter. Mattingly had a sweet swing. Dwight Evans. Jim Rice. Jeter hit to opposite field better than anyone and so great of a hitter. Ichiro was so smooth. Drag bunts even drag hits. Wade Boggs. David Ortiz most clutch and over 500 hr 290 average. Joe Carter. Rico Brogna. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury. Daryl Strawberry. Dave Henderson. Mike Greenwelll. Frank Thomas, Youkils. Ricky Henderson.
Junior's swing is second to none! Best ever!
Griffey’s swing is exactly what the phrase poetry in motion is trying to explain
Three stances that stood out to me when I was younger that weren't mentioned in the list are Darryl Strawberry who in my opinion had the smoothest swing, Tony Phillips he got in such a crouch I'm surprised he didn't walk every time he was at bat and Jim Leryitz with that straight front leg and the bat wiggle with the leg kick is etched in my mind.
Yeah and Leyritz was always going oppo. Real frustrating to be a playoff opponent of his in the mid-late 90s.
Strawberry not being on the list is unfortunate.
I was gonna mention Tony Phillips. His stance definitely stands out
I think it’s an absolute travesty that Darryl Strawberry isn’t on this list. In my book, the best stance and sweetest swing I ever saw in my life.
#5, NOMAR GARCIAPARRA. What a great step-up with the bat, tips both of his shoes at the dirt 4 times, with the arms moving in a circular shape in the air, with each pitch in every game he played. Have to say that should put on the list if they add more!
And adjust his glove 40 time per at bat.
Nomar would've failed miserably in the pitch clock era.
No one in baseball wasted more time than Nomar Garciaparra. That will be his legacy. The implementation of the pitch clock. He single-handed added a half hour to games. The late 90s early 2000s Red Sox were involved in a bunch of the longest 9 inning games ever played.
When he played in Japan, Ichiro used to point his bat right at the pitcher’s head! For obvious reasons his MLB teammates told him he couldn’t do it in America, but you can see the remnant of his old swing in the way he pointed the bat straight up while sort of pointing his fist at the pitcher.
Great list. I was expecting Albert Belle, and maybe Dave Henderson. I thought of Will Clark too.
Can not forget my man Rafael Palerimo!!!! Beautiful lefty swing.
Jay Buhner had an intimidating stance and wore sunglasses. Shit was badass
What was so intimidating about his stance was how relaxed he was, like nothing fazed him.
Tony Gwinn, Cal Ripken Jr., and my personal favorite, Josh Hamilton. Hamilton was a lot like Griffey Jr., with the smooth swing and follow through
The staff compiling this royally screwed up by not including Andre "The Hawk" Dawson. He should have been top 5! Unbelievable ... absolutely unbelievable.
100% agree on the Hawk. How could anyone forget his front leg knee locked
Derrek Jeter's stance is so vanilla but he is Derrek Jeter so he *has* to be on any list. most overrated player ever.
Being a left handed hitter, I emulated Griffeys stance. It was so smooth. Got me a lot of hits in my life.
No Willie "Pops" Stargell, he arguably had the most beautiful and intimidating batting stance ever in MLB...
Yes absolutely 100% The leader of the family baby 1979 #8 Willie Stargell had the greatest batting stance of all time he should have been voted #1 RIP Pops
Good one!!!
It must have had some influence on his hitting success - that getting-set windmill routine was so distinctive! Pops Stargell should have been included in this video.
Tettleton was one of my childhood favorites. I was fascinated by his Popeye forearms. That stance gave me some joy but an awful lot of pain. Mickey struck out with men on base so many times. It was always the same: couldn't get around on the fastball. Why? Because he started it level or below. This video is great!!!
Growing up in the 90s Griffey was the epitome of cool. Everyone wore their cap backwards because of him. I'm a lifelong Dodger fan and Mike Piazza was my favorite, but Griffey was just different.
Off the top of my head, the most memorable stances to me, ones that I can 100% replicate to this day are: Jr. Griffey (of course) Chuck Knoblauch, Mickey Morandini, Mark McGwire, Gary Sheffield, Jeff Bagwell, Julio Franco...there's probably more, I was obsessed with copying these guys in my younger days.
Missing Ty Cobb, Tony Phillips, Albert Belle, Wade Boggs, and Jim Thome
Adam Dunn was a poor man’s Jim
Thome
Pete rose, don’t forget the babe !!!
@@sammyweed4771 man for real how do you not include the hit king in a list of batting stances.
@@yell0wberry I agree but Adam had more power. His homer off Jose Lima in Cincinnati over the river boat was an absolute monster blast.
@@Truckerdaddy lol, I did Pete Rose, I hear yea I could named a few more, I was just naming a fee
Juan Gonzalez. Julio franco. Justice. Mo vaughn. Sheffield. Galaragga. Henderson. Griffey. Bagwell. I tried to emulate them all as a kid lol…. But the comfy one i stuck with was rlly closed like stanton or paul molitor. Glad to see alot of these included :)
Lots of players I seen at their last couple of years when I was a kid in the early 2000s on this list I love it Griffey was my favorite of them all.
Glad they put belli on this list.
Dodgers 🤙🏽⚾️
Barry Bonds though. Choked up on the bat, stood close to the plate. He was always able to put good wood on the ball whether the pitch was inside or out. Also had an impeccable eye.
Did y'all forget Will the swing Clark. Smoothest of allllll-time
Fuck yeah!!
Griffey Jr had that launch angle swing before that was even a thing that they looked at. It was natural for him because he stood so upright and had a perfect V load at the top to transfer the hand speed to his hips like a bow and arrow which caused tremendous bat speed with a perfect launch angle.
Wow perfectly said I feel like that's the main reason why most of his home runs look so effortless
Happy to see Tettleton on here. Loved his swing.
A player that was name dropped TWICE on this list inspiring two players on their swing but missing from the list itself: Tony Gwynn.
No, it wasnt quirky like Sheffield or Counsell's, but it is the textbook stance you want to teach players. Perfectly balanced. Excellent plate coverage. When the object of the game is to hit the ball, TG was one of the best to do it in the last 50 years.
My god Prince had such a smooth swing
I played little league in the mid-90's. I found out about yaz's stance from people telling me I did it just like him. Turns out I did, but it was unintentional, I didn't know who he was at that point. Held that sucker way up there, and it helped me a lot.
“Phil Plantir has the lowest stance on this list.”
Me: So, Jeff Bagwell doesn’t appear on here?
#4 man
Phil Plantir would be holding Oscar Gamble's beer.
Bagwell's crouch was legendary....
21:05 Bagwell is #4
Was there any doubt what #1 was going to be? - his swing was beautiful. Perfect mid of balance and power.
With the exception of Griffey and a few others, this list is really "All Time Ugliest Stances". Do another list of "Greatest/Coolest Batting Stances" next time and make sure Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis are up there with Griffey
Tony Batista man he stand was horrible jajaja the best ugliest one everrrrr
I always remembered thinking Jack Clark’s batting stance with the bat kinda horizontal was very intimidating. He batted cleanup for that great Cardinals track team in 1985. Also Bob Horner just standing straight up and resting the bat on his shoulder like the girls in gym class that didn’t know what they were doing and didn’t care, then he’d knock it out of the park.
No Will Clark or Raffy Palmiero? For shame
Palmerio sceewed up it seems ever since he pointed his finger at congress instead of quitting while ahead even though im sure hes doing better than me lol
The 2 i can think of is Al Martin and Jason Kendall. They had weird Stances also.
Growing up a Cubs fan, all we heard about was the "sweet" sving of Billy Williams. It was classic, beautiful to watch. He was the ideal #3 hitter in the line-up, good for average and power. Nothing was forced, nothing changed, it was grooved naturally. You missed it. I fully expected Billy Williams to show as the #1 swinger. He wasn't dramatic, he wasn't theatrical, he was poetry, he was music at the plate. -- You also missed Stan Musial, who I'll never forget as the most studious swinger of them all.
Most of the reply’s on your comment are by people that have only seen the players from the 90’s to the present . And that’s a shame .
I really thought Will "The Thrill" Clark would be #1
I'm really surprissed Mike Piazza isn't on this. His stace and swing were completely unique.
Chipper as a lefty even though I think he had more power as a righty.
Griffey’s stance/swing is the baseball equivalent of Vick throwing a football.
2 lefties that make it look so cool and effortless
Where’s is the Cobra Dave Parker !!!
A few honorable mentions:
Andres "Big Cat" Galarraga
Sean "The Mayor" Casey
Sammy Sosa
Ryan Howard? One of the smoothest swings I have ever seen! Or even Bryce Harper
This is a list of batting stances not swings.
Love seeing Tony Bautista and Mo Vaughn on here, but this list is missing a LOT of great stances, like Darryl Strawberry, Juan Gonzalez, Tony Gwynn, Cal Ripken Jr (he had like 20 of them), Jim Eisenreich, Will Clark, Chuck Knoblauch... Griffey is the obvious #1 though. It wasn't just the stance and the perfect swing, it was the walk afterward
Liked for Phil Plantier. So hard to find a video of him
Tony Gwynn should be 1, Bonds 2. Gwynn had the most perfect swing the game ever saw and Bonds short swing and hand speed was god level.
Ellis Burks was mine. Loved the hand movement and lift.
As a Mississippian I'm very proud of my fellow statesman doing good things in professional baseball. Wish I could meet Ellis one day.
Good GOOD call!
Carl Yastzemski, Gary Sheffield, Joe Morgan, Julio Franco, Ken Griffey Jr., Mickey Tettleton, Oscar Gamble, Rod Carew, Tony Bautista, and Kevin Youkilis too HAVE my favorite BATTING STANCES in this video!!!
Andre Dawson, Ernie Whitt, John Kruk? And of course, Tony Fernandes???
As well as Derek Bell and Daryl strawberry
Add my top 3 to yours...Brian Downing, Darrell Porter, Mickey Rivers!
Ichiro was always my fave. His stance was on another level altogether man.
Only Garciaparra is missing the list from my favorite stands ever
ocd stance
It's so cool the way he just drops the bat at the end of that smooth swing ,man what style!!
JUNIOR! The most beautiful swing in baseball, I was one of those kids who tried to have Junior's stance. That said, where is Luis Gonzalez and Garciaparra?
Agree that Griffey Jr. had the most beautiful swing. Another memorable one for me was Andres Galarraga, i.e. the Big Cat.
Gary sheffield hit so angry. Jr was beautiful
Also, Matt "The Professional Hitter" Stairs. Bat resting on his shoulder and then a smooth, violent uppercut.
The bomb he hit off Broxton in the '08 playoffs still hasn't landed.
For a moment I had to recheck the title to see if it was lefty only.
They got #1 right. Griffey was mechanically perfect, smooth, and looked cool.