Now let’s talk about the challenge of hitting. This part got expanded quite a bit, but timing and how mechanics relate to time was a huge theme.

There is a lot of discussion about swing vs hit. I do believe both are skills, but they are related. Mechanics is how you move. When you move, your rhythm, you flow...That is very important with hitting.

I believe timing is a huge missing piece with a lot of tech. It is what makes using tech difficult and can lead to problematic conclusions. The timing constraint and the adjustable nature of hitting is amazing. It’s also why some pitching and golf principles go out the window.

Hitting is a reaction, but hitters have to do everything they can to control their input. When you are younger it isn’t as big of a deal, but as competition rises the demand for an approach gets higher and higher.

When I wrote, “what is involved in mechanics” that was about looking at different swing styles, different loads, different bat paths and understanding how those “characteristics” allows or prevents performance against the moving ball challenge.

My #1 goal with hitters is always to educate. Because if you understand how you want the bat to move, you can begin to look at body movements (and timing of movements) that create the bat movement.

Then you can try to layer in technology to measure things and determine what metrics are good and bad for the model of the swing you believe in. If the underlying model is bad, your use of tech will be flawed. It’s a slippery slope.

It’s especially slippery when objective data like “bat speed is good” or “exit velocity is good” can lead you to swing training that might make you a worse hitter. High level players are also elite athletes.

Bat speed and exit velo are good, but those are more “check the box” metric for me compared to other aspects of timing. Does bat speed create a high level player, or does a high level player have the athleticism that creates bat speed. C students don’t get into Harvard.

The gravity part... you can only keep your foot in the air for so long if you are moving forward. A ton of great hitters move forward with their front foot in the air. That gravity constraint is related to timing.

This was more relevant when “get the foot down early” was a prominent cue, but there is still value. Look for what the pelvis is doing as the pitchers arm is coming forward.

The @STR0 style leg lifting & hesitation moves create problems if you have big moves. If you go big, also make sure you know how to make your move smaller. Also, I think up/down/up moves by the pitcher should be illegal. Hesi is fine.