Question for hitting coaches

[st.cronin]

I was at the batting cages today, and sometimes when I am hitting I imitate some major leaguers stance, partly for fun, partly to see what it does. I've found that Bernie Williams/Jeff Bagwell's stance works fairly well for me at times, but I've never understood why - I assume it has something to do with balance. It's been a long time since I had any coaching (I'm 32 and my last organized ball was high school.) I was always a very good low fastball hitter. The 'peas at the knees' approach didn't work with me - I usually slapped them to center for a single, or sometimes hit them a little harder than that even. The way to get me out was hard breaking balls (sliders) and high heat.

Anyway, today I tried Dwight Evan's stance - toes pointed in, knees bent, a low crouch. I didn't go so far as to drag my bat across my back; I kept it vertical over my back shoulder (which is my normal position). The results were astonishing; line drive followed line drive. I was hitting with MUCH more power than before.

So, my question is: What does Dwight Evan's awkward stance DO? Why does it work? If anybody has any insight on the technical implications of Dewey's style, I'd be curious.

[kcchief19]

It sounds like the short-term results for you were the same reason Dewey used it.

Based on your description, It sounds like you may usually have had too upright of a swing that was depriving you of your power. Power doesn't came from the swing at the arms -- it comes from the hips and the legs. It sounds like what you were generating a bit more power from your legs by standing less upright. You are probably also generating a flatter swing allowing you to make better contact -- the ol' Charley Lau theory at work. It also may be allowing you to shift your weight more at contact allowing you to generate some power.

Swings are funny things. When I played I would do the same thing by experimenting with different swings. I was always tall and big, so squatty stances never really worked for me; I lost too much balance and power. Being a Royals fan, I copied George Brett's swing and had a lot of success with it. I taught myself to switch hit and I was a much different hitter from different sides of the plate. Right handed, I had a hard time with pitches inside, particularly down and in, but I could hammer anything belt high or up. Lefty, I could hit pitches at the belt for line drives, but anything hard and above the belt would get me. But low pitches I could do anything I want with them.

[st.cronin]

It sounds like the short-term results for you were the same reason Dewey used it.

Based on your description, It sounds like you may usually have had too upright of a swing that was depriving you of your power. Power doesn't came from the swing at the arms -- it comes from the hips and the legs. It sounds like what you were generating a bit more power from your legs by standing less upright. You are probably also generating a flatter swing allowing you to make better contact -- the ol' Charley Lau theory at work. It also may be allowing you to shift your weight more at contact allowing you to generate some power.

I figured somebody would say legs/power but the stance makes me feel like I'm not using my legs at all, compared to my normal stance. It feels like I'm all arms - it's actually a VERY uncomfortable swing, but the results were amazing, despite my feeling so awkward. You may be right, though.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

I thought this was about Spreewell...

[Logan]

I equate my stance/swing from when I played ball to Mike Piazza's. Very steady. Upright. Very little movement, and always the same form.

And I could jack it out 400 ft to right-center too.

[Balldog]

I figured somebody would say legs/power but the stance makes me feel like I'm not using my legs at all, compared to my normal stance. It feels like I'm all arms - it's actually a VERY uncomfortable swing, but the results were amazing, despite my feeling so awkward. You may be right, though.

I am to young to even remember Dwight Evans stance, I remember him playing but don't remember the stance. So I had to look it up...
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/autoweek/auto11.jpg

Looking at his stance it does not look all that unusual. Looks like he has good balance and good hand placement.

First thing we want is the kids to be comfortable and relaxed when they are at the plate. I'm guessing if you faced live pitching you wouldn't do very well with that stance, its much easier to hit off the pitching machine when you have a general idea of where the pitch is going and the speed is always within a few MPHs of each other. I'm saying this because you stated that it was uncomfortable, very rarely does being uncomfortable lead to any kind of success.

Also, you should be hitting with your hands not your arms. Your top hand should take the bat directly to the ball.

Do you inward rotate before swinging? It's a slight movement (less than an inch) of the hands backwards, if you do this you can add additional power.

I'm not sure if I agree that much with the legs=power, while it does to some point but if you have quick hands you can generate a lot of power using just your hands.

[dawgfan]

I'm not sure if I agree that much with the legs=power, while it does to some point but if you have quick hands you can generate a lot of power using just your hands.

First off we need to remember that the key thing here is bat speed. The faster the bat head whips through the hitting zone, the harder the ball will be hit. From there, additional factors are follow-through and the angle of the bat meeting the ball. Also, the density and stiffness of the bat itself plays a part.

If you think about a swing, there are multiple things happening - using your arms you bring the bat around, but if you just stood still at the plate and only moved your arms you wouldn't generate much bat speed (and thus power). When you add in the twisting of the torso that originates in your hips, you get much greater bat speed, because of the additive effect of the arms being carried around as the torso rotates. Part of that torso twisting is derived from your legs and how they are planted. Most swings also incorporate a weight shift from the back foot forward, and that also comes from your legs.

I don't know enough about the muscle groups to know how much the leg muscles play a part in the hip swing when swinging a bat, but I suspect they play a major part.

Now, swinging is a reactive process, so you don't always swing the bat the same way - you have to make adjustments for the speed and location of the pitch. In this way, quick hands make these adjustments much easier.

[FrogMan]

I thought this was about Spreewell...
I had a similar thought, although I thought "why would he want to hit a coach?" and "what does he want? to know where to hit to hurt him the most?" :D

FM

[Travis]

Even though the stance/swing may feel awkward, the foot position you're using now may be the biggest reason you're seeing better results. Might be just a more natural body position for you to be able to generate more power even though it may not feel that way. It's a very individualistic process to find the best way to get your weight transfer at the right time and in the most efficient manner. I've found personally that having my back foot angled slightly with toes pointing back to the catcher while keeping my front foot straight both to start and after stride gives me my best transfer.

[st.cronin]

Even though the stance/swing may feel awkward, the foot position you're using now may be the biggest reason you're seeing better results. Might be just a more natural body position for you to be able to generate more power even though it may not feel that way. It's a very individualistic process to find the best way to get your weight transfer at the right time and in the most efficient manner. I've found personally that having my back foot angled slightly with toes pointing back to the catcher while keeping my front foot straight both to start and after stride gives me my best transfer.

The last few nights I've been experimenting and I think foot position is exactly it. I had always stood with my back foot horizontal to the pitcher, and front foot pointing more or less at first base. Switching to a stance with the toes almost pointing at each other seems to help me for some reason.