I was just talking to my son about “backspin” and then, this video pops up. He was hitting to me in the outfield today and every ball had the knuckleball effect.
Tony Gwynn, one of the purest hitters of all-time, was a big proponent of tee work. He preferred to hit wiffle balls off the tee, because it was easier to tell if he was making solid contact. According to Gwynn, if he made solid contact the wiffle ball would act like a knuckleball off the tee and he could hear air going through the ball; however, if he didn’t make solid contact it would spin and create a different sound. Gwynn’s objective was to hit the ball squarely. When the ball was spinning he would make adjustments to his swing.
This is great and makes total sense. Where does all this "swing down on the ball" info originate? I suppose Charley Lau taught this in his Art of Hitting .300 book. With so many little league and PONY coaches believing that you must swing with a downward trajectory to be successful, how do you convince them otherwise?
The concept that many coaches believe is that a fly ball/pop-up is an easy out. So, they teach to put the ball on the ground, the player has to field it, use correct feet work, transfer the ball to the throwing hand, set their feet, throw the ball accurately and quick enough, and first baseman has to be touching first while catching the ball. All of those things have to fall in pace for efficient groundouts. Fly balls, all the player has to do is be fast enough to get under the ball and read the ball properly to make the catch. And those are all true for Little Leaguers, but in HS and above, they should make ALL groundouts. A ball on the ground usually has a higher chance of coming in contact with the infielders than a ball to the outfield does with outfielders. So, with an 'upward' trajectory on the swing will put the ball, more times than not, in the outfield with solid contact. The more balls hit to the outfield, the higher chances of base hits. That is all you need to convince them. Sure fly balls are 'easier' to catch, in a sense, but baseball is an analytical game of probability. Stats prove that more base hits are made from line drives/fly balls to the outfield because why? The outfield is about 3-4 times larger (I'm sure how much bigger, but that's the guess I'm going to make) than the infield. More times you put it out there, the more holes it will find. You have basically 3 narrow paths on the ground to the outfield, and it has to be hit hard to get through those holes.
what are your opinions on metrics/the increased focus on them? like the focus on throwing harder, increasing exit velocity and launch angle, and stuff like that
Runners in scoring position and less than 2 outs, or any other hitting situation to where I needed to put a ball deep in the outfield, I just closed my wrists slightly, lining up the second set of knuckles more. It's a very subtle grip change. Doesn't take much. This manipulates a very slight barrel drop without me trying to 'aim' the barrel to a certain part of the ball. This increased my chance to put the ball deeper in the outfield to move the runners on an extra base hit or sac fly. I never was a power hitter, but I hit nukes in practice 😂😂, but my batting avg was .485 my all 3 years on Varsity in Texas 4A ball 11 years ago, so I would like to believe it worked for me. Point is, I never had to manipulate my swing, ever. It's like a pitcher. Same arm slot, arm speed, just a different grip on the ball to manipulate the ball without having to think about trying to manipulate my attack on the ball lower. Doing this allowed me to not think about my swing, but just attack the ball the same way I would if I was just trying to get the ball in play for a base hit. This is what I was taught my freshman year by an All-American, So I would think he knew what he was talking about. Walked on at college in '07 but a 70 mph head on wreck end my career when someone decided to drink and drive. Oh well, life happens but sometimes you can't help but wonder, what if...
I completely understand what you are saying, but when this coach has a great coaching record who is very knowledgeable with understanding mechanics, etc. and had the ability to increase multiple player's hitting abilities throughout HS. You tend to listen to a guy like that and more cases than not, he knows what he is doing. Also, I was extremely careful who I let pour information into me. I didn't listen to just anybody. Not that I knew it all, but I tried my best to absorb only the best advice I can be given. In the end, after he showed me the little tip, not only did my slugging jump up, but batting average, RBIs, and OBP went up altogether with runners in scoring position situations. Those were notable stats that helped our team from leaving a lot of runners on base in the end of an inning, etc. I don't think this was a very popular taught tip, simply due to the fact that most HS coaches are more concerned with contact for power, game situations, etc. They really don't get too far into teaching the details. Coach Buff, per say, had us established the fundamentals very well, not all HS teams are fundamentally sound, to the point that he was teaching a few of us 'minor' tips that had a big impact overall on each of us as a player. He was very anal about eliminating weaknesses before improving strengths. So, he only shared advice like that to those who were ready. The only weakness that Coach Buff had was his personality. He seemed a little bit bi-polar, or let his emotions get the best of him, and it was difficult sometimes to have him as a coach, but I still learned a lot from the guy. A LOT.
how is the team after a walk off are they more excited than a normal game? And or do the teams do celebrations after a milestone or achievement like no hitter or someone gets like 1000 hits would the team celebrate and if they do how?
Do you think people focus too much on launch angle and exit velo? I was hearing nomar talk about it and he made good points he was basically saying good hitters aren’t up there all the time thinking about getting the perfect launch angle and exit velo, but instead they put together good at bats and a byproduct of those good at bats is better exit velo and launch angles
What’s your opinion on the shift? Does it hurt the game rather than actually benefit it? Is it rude/unsportsmanlike to try and take away hits from a batter by shifting majorly?
RealStayFly it's the defense's job to get the hitter out. So no I don't think it's unsportsmanlike. And yes I think it works because the Astros excel at it and they're one of the most analytical team in the MLB today.
Jeremy Mchenry I would argue that it’s a 1v1 game between the pitcher and hitter and the rest are for back up. It’s a mind game every pitch, but it’s an interesting topic of discussion.
Have perfect, vertical backspin. Teach yourself to grab the ball and find the 4-seam grip while catching, making the transfer, and throwing the ball. Start slow with it, make yourself familiar with it. Every throw I made was 4-seam, no matter how short of time I had to make the throw. It gets easier. Makes a world of a difference. My HS coach painted balls in half inline with the 4-seam grip. And taught to watch the line rotate vertically perfect. It's like throwing a perfect spiral on a football but making the line stay vertical. Made a world of a difference on my throws and helped my accuracy tremendously because it nearly eliminated ball drift.
157dodgers With just this tip, I was able to throw about 200 feet to over 300 feet accurately, on a crow hop of course. Added roughly 100-150 feet of accurate, flatter throwing distance over the course of a few months. Long toss became so much more enjoyable. Also helps increase velocity too because it forces you to throw more proper to get that vertical back spin. Without a nearly perfect back spin, your throws lose momentum from the drift when throwing long distance.
My coaches always tried teaching me to swing down on the ball but I honestly never listened just because it doesn't make sense. anyone with common sense would know that hitting something flush or head on is how you'll get the most contact and power into it.
Spin is useful when attempting to fool, i.e. pitching, or to do something ballistically (without spin) impossible i.e. landing a tennis ball right behind the net.
Cricket uses spin like baseball and Association Football like tennis. Spin also creates stability and ease of catching. Try throwing a knuckleball to 1st for the ground out, and see what happens. Baseball and Gridiron Football uses it this way.
Spin effects the distance you can put on balls hit, also, tells you where you are making contact on the ball. Watch slow motion contact videos of the pros. You'll see what I'm talking about. I think there is a video floating around UA-cam that I watched several years ago about how much spin effects a hit ball's distance. By as much as 50 feet or more in some cases I think is the number.
I was just talking to my son about “backspin” and then, this video pops up. He was hitting to me in the outfield today and every ball had the knuckleball effect.
Tony Gwynn, one of the purest hitters of all-time, was a big proponent of tee work. He preferred to hit wiffle balls off the tee, because it was easier to tell if he was making solid contact. According to Gwynn, if he made solid contact the wiffle ball would act like a knuckleball off the tee and he could hear air going through the ball; however, if he didn’t make solid contact it would spin and create a different sound. Gwynn’s objective was to hit the ball squarely. When the ball was spinning he would make adjustments to his swing.
This is great and makes total sense. Where does all this "swing down on the ball" info originate? I suppose Charley Lau taught this in his Art of Hitting .300 book. With so many little league and PONY coaches believing that you must swing with a downward trajectory to be successful, how do you convince them otherwise?
The concept that many coaches believe is that a fly ball/pop-up is an easy out. So, they teach to put the ball on the ground, the player has to field it, use correct feet work, transfer the ball to the throwing hand, set their feet, throw the ball accurately and quick enough, and first baseman has to be touching first while catching the ball. All of those things have to fall in pace for efficient groundouts. Fly balls, all the player has to do is be fast enough to get under the ball and read the ball properly to make the catch. And those are all true for Little Leaguers, but in HS and above, they should make ALL groundouts. A ball on the ground usually has a higher chance of coming in contact with the infielders than a ball to the outfield does with outfielders. So, with an 'upward' trajectory on the swing will put the ball, more times than not, in the outfield with solid contact. The more balls hit to the outfield, the higher chances of base hits. That is all you need to convince them. Sure fly balls are 'easier' to catch, in a sense, but baseball is an analytical game of probability. Stats prove that more base hits are made from line drives/fly balls to the outfield because why? The outfield is about 3-4 times larger (I'm sure how much bigger, but that's the guess I'm going to make) than the infield. More times you put it out there, the more holes it will find. You have basically 3 narrow paths on the ground to the outfield, and it has to be hit hard to get through those holes.
what are your opinions on metrics/the increased focus on them? like the focus on throwing harder, increasing exit velocity and launch angle, and stuff like that
sorry if you already answered that!
I like it! Thanks for watching!
Runners in scoring position and less than 2 outs, or any other hitting situation to where I needed to put a ball deep in the outfield, I just closed my wrists slightly, lining up the second set of knuckles more. It's a very subtle grip change. Doesn't take much. This manipulates a very slight barrel drop without me trying to 'aim' the barrel to a certain part of the ball. This increased my chance to put the ball deeper in the outfield to move the runners on an extra base hit or sac fly. I never was a power hitter, but I hit nukes in practice 😂😂, but my batting avg was .485 my all 3 years on Varsity in Texas 4A ball 11 years ago, so I would like to believe it worked for me. Point is, I never had to manipulate my swing, ever. It's like a pitcher. Same arm slot, arm speed, just a different grip on the ball to manipulate the ball without having to think about trying to manipulate my attack on the ball lower. Doing this allowed me to not think about my swing, but just attack the ball the same way I would if I was just trying to get the ball in play for a base hit. This is what I was taught my freshman year by an All-American, So I would think he knew what he was talking about. Walked on at college in '07 but a 70 mph head on wreck end my career when someone decided to drink and drive. Oh well, life happens but sometimes you can't help but wonder, what if...
I completely understand what you are saying, but when this coach has a great coaching record who is very knowledgeable with understanding mechanics, etc. and had the ability to increase multiple player's hitting abilities throughout HS. You tend to listen to a guy like that and more cases than not, he knows what he is doing. Also, I was extremely careful who I let pour information into me. I didn't listen to just anybody. Not that I knew it all, but I tried my best to absorb only the best advice I can be given. In the end, after he showed me the little tip, not only did my slugging jump up, but batting average, RBIs, and OBP went up altogether with runners in scoring position situations. Those were notable stats that helped our team from leaving a lot of runners on base in the end of an inning, etc. I don't think this was a very popular taught tip, simply due to the fact that most HS coaches are more concerned with contact for power, game situations, etc. They really don't get too far into teaching the details. Coach Buff, per say, had us established the fundamentals very well, not all HS teams are fundamentally sound, to the point that he was teaching a few of us 'minor' tips that had a big impact overall on each of us as a player. He was very anal about eliminating weaknesses before improving strengths. So, he only shared advice like that to those who were ready. The only weakness that Coach Buff had was his personality. He seemed a little bit bi-polar, or let his emotions get the best of him, and it was difficult sometimes to have him as a coach, but I still learned a lot from the guy. A LOT.
how is the team after a walk off are they more excited than a normal game? And or do the teams do celebrations after a milestone or achievement like no hitter or someone gets like 1000 hits would the team celebrate and if they do how?
Yes definitely more excited. Usually loud music and a lot of talking in the clubhouse after the game. Thanks for watching!
Your opinion on a reliever starting a game?
people that teach swinging down on the ball did poorly in physics.
Haha! Thanks for watching!
We practice ball movements in bunts. Matt are you talking about hitting the ball out the park? Or just for power? Or placements?
Hitting for a higher average and power. Thanks for watching!
Do you think people focus too much on launch angle and exit velo? I was hearing nomar talk about it and he made good points he was basically saying good hitters aren’t up there all the time thinking about getting the perfect launch angle and exit velo, but instead they put together good at bats and a byproduct of those good at bats is better exit velo and launch angles
Yes in game for sure. I think a lot of that talk is for practice. Thanks for watching!
Congrats on getting verified
Thanks!
Not me trying to understand what the terms mean a day before my physical ed exam
And this kinda did help me out
nice video. a problem I run into with the younger players trying to get the ball in the air is uppercutting at it
Yes there is such a thing as being too much up to the ball. Thanks for watching!
Can you talk about whether or not to guess at pitches in certain counts during an at-bat?
I have a video on that. Thanks for watching!
Need to get you a tee! Jarrett says hello!
Hey mat
Do you think the take out slide is clean or dirty ?
It can be both. Some are fine and some cross the line I think. Thanks for watching!
What’s your opinion on the shift? Does it hurt the game rather than actually benefit it? Is it rude/unsportsmanlike to try and take away hits from a batter by shifting majorly?
RealStayFly it's the defense's job to get the hitter out. So no I don't think it's unsportsmanlike. And yes I think it works because the Astros excel at it and they're one of the most analytical team in the MLB today.
Jeremy Mchenry I would argue that it’s a 1v1 game between the pitcher and hitter and the rest are for back up. It’s a mind game every pitch, but it’s an interesting topic of discussion.
yeah! do a video on defensive shifts.
RealStayFly maybe I should have worded it better. It's the defense's job to back the pitcher up and get the out when the ball is in play.
My dad and my coach also tell me to swing down but I still hit slightly up!
it worked i hit a monster grand slam
Awesome!!
Who does a MLB team's Laundry? If a player has his pants/jersey dirty, I'm assuming there's someone that cleans dirty uniforms after each game
Clubhouse staff does it. Thanks for watching!
make a video about host families?
Will do!
I remember being in little league having coaches all throughout tell us to chop down at the ball. Shit never made any gadamn sense.
how to throw farther
Have perfect, vertical backspin. Teach yourself to grab the ball and find the 4-seam grip while catching, making the transfer, and throwing the ball. Start slow with it, make yourself familiar with it. Every throw I made was 4-seam, no matter how short of time I had to make the throw. It gets easier. Makes a world of a difference. My HS coach painted balls in half inline with the 4-seam grip. And taught to watch the line rotate vertically perfect. It's like throwing a perfect spiral on a football but making the line stay vertical. Made a world of a difference on my throws and helped my accuracy tremendously because it nearly eliminated ball drift.
Jeremy Mchenry I like this 👌🏾
157dodgers With just this tip, I was able to throw about 200 feet to over 300 feet accurately, on a crow hop of course. Added roughly 100-150 feet of accurate, flatter throwing distance over the course of a few months. Long toss became so much more enjoyable. Also helps increase velocity too because it forces you to throw more proper to get that vertical back spin. Without a nearly perfect back spin, your throws lose momentum from the drift when throwing long distance.
I am a baseball fan, and I'm watching these videos to try to understand why things that happen on the ball field happen.
My coaches always tried teaching me to swing down on the ball but I honestly never listened just because it doesn't make sense. anyone with common sense would know that hitting something flush or head on is how you'll get the most contact and power into it.
The trajectory of the ball is mostly the linear momentum not the spin. I agree.
Spin is useful when attempting to fool, i.e. pitching, or to do something ballistically (without spin) impossible i.e. landing a tennis ball right behind the net.
The exact point I was going to make. The only sports putting a spin on a ball is useful are tennis and soccer.
Cricket uses spin like baseball and Association Football like tennis. Spin also creates stability and ease of catching. Try throwing a knuckleball to 1st for the ground out, and see what happens. Baseball and Gridiron Football uses it this way.
Spin effects the distance you can put on balls hit, also, tells you where you are making contact on the ball. Watch slow motion contact videos of the pros. You'll see what I'm talking about. I think there is a video floating around UA-cam that I watched several years ago about how much spin effects a hit ball's distance. By as much as 50 feet or more in some cases I think is the number.
1st love ur content
Thanks!!! Thanks for watching!
I was taught to swing down.
Me too! Thanks for watching!