Hitters must have or develop a mechanism in their swings that allows them the adjustability to transfer from launch to contact on demand in the blink of an eye.
Swing duration (bat head launch to contact). Impulse control (yes!) is, too. It’s not, and should never be, a trade-off between path/power or accuracy/consistency.
In MLB baseball, too many low-variability, non-adjustable swings cannot compete against elite pitching. Hitters with substandard movement patterns that try to guess right and MATCH their low-variability, NON-ADJUSTABLE SWING TO their prediction are getting exposed and overwhelmed by the evolution of pitch design.
The data allows the analyst to examine the situation in depth and provide answers and solutions for the coaches and players. Every swing offers many degrees of freedom and combinations of movement. Analyzing the data can be grueling just by looking at the arm combinations and the swing’s last segment.
• Three (3) joints in each arm – the shoulder (humerus), the elbow (forearm) and the wrist (hand).
• Figuring out the direction of movement, the degree of each movement in all six (6) joints, and how they coordinate and interact.
• Whether each segment is accelerating or decelerating and in what sequence, order, and degree.
• Comparing what the lead arm is doing with the top-hand arm.
• Transfer mechanics are the key indication of the entire movement pattern. Most everything is captured and can be analyzed to answer all these critical questions.
Texas Rangers’ Evan Carter (32) is congratulated on his two-run home run by manager Bruce Bochy, left, and hitting coach Tim Hyers, right, in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Arlington, Texas. Leody Taveras also scored on the shot. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Hitters must have a SWING DESIGN in their toolbox to hit a pitcher like Derrick Cole: lower arm slot, high spin, great extension, 100 m.p.h., love velocity up and in, lots of swings and misses, pitch release closer to the hitter, and it does not come down/drops less/seems to defy gravity.
Some of the ideas hitters can work on deliberatively in practice to build a motor program for the 4-seam fastball are posture, less hinge in the back knee, flatter barrel in the set-up, a shrug of the back shoulder—level shoulders—and getting his top hand forearm vertical and his back elbow even with or above the incoming pitch.
Once a hitter SEES, recognizes, and perceives that it is a 4-seam fastball, he executes this motor program that has been well-practiced and is “automatic”—no conscious thought. Motor programming is combatting effective velocity and different pitch spins and shapes. It gives the hitter a “TIMING BUFFER” to recognize the pitch and execute the swing.
EVERYTHING ADDS UP! Everything that “adds” a few milliseconds benefits adjustability. Getting a few milliseconds from pitch recognition and getting a few more from being able to control, regulate, and even delay swing onset, ALL ADDS UP. MILLISECONDS ARE WORTH MILLIONS TO HITTERS!
THE SECRET IS UNLOCKING THOSE MOTOR PROGRAMS AND APPLYING THE RIGHT MOTOR PROGRAM TO THE RIGHT PITCH AND IN THE RIGHT SITUATION.
CONCLUSION? Hitters should be able to access motor programs PRACTICED DELIBERATIVELY BEFOREHAND for each type of pitch:
• There is no time for sequential execution of all tasks necessary for pitch recognition and swing execution – that’s thinking slow.
• It’s an ongoing “refinement of anticipation “ – “feed-forward” – thinking fast – where the brain and peripheral nervous system constantly compare images of what is expected based on past experiences, compared to real-time sensory input.
• The goal of practice is to have your swing automated within the context of the hitting plan so you can “see the ball & hit it hard,” which takes lots of game experience, simulated practices, and precise protocols.
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Mike Lotief, President/C.E.O. of Swing Attractors.
