Baseball thoughts wanted.

[swoosh_stang]

I figured this was the best place to get advice on helping my son and step son with their swings.

They are 8 and 7 respectively, both playing their first year of baseball. Playing coach pitch, we're far enough into the season that they are starting to get into it, both getting good enough at throwing and catching that they are starting to enjoy the game.

With that said my questions are regarding batting.

1. Are they too young to actually try and get them to have a good swing or should I be focusing more on just getting the bat on the ball?

2. They are both right handed, who in the majors, in your opinion has the best right handed swing? Who has the best swing over all?

3. What other tips do you have for improving their batting skill.

I played 1 season of little league when I was a kid, broke my hand and lost interest. I've played lots of soft ball, so I can help them throwing and fielding, but the actual hitting, I need advice.

 

[ModMike1572]

1. A little of both. Thats a pretty young age to teach them proper mechanics, but it doesnt mean you cant try. Getting their timing down and putting the sweat-spot on the ball is probabely the most important. If you have time, do lots of hitting drills. Soft-Toss against the fence, wiffle ball, hitting off a tee, etc... All these things will get their timing down and improve hand-eye coordination.

2. Derek Jeter. But teach them how to switch hit. Trust me.

3. I dont even know where to begin: Thats the perfect age to start teaching them how to NOT be afraid of the ball. I'm serious. Any little kid is going to get plunked sooner or later in the batters box and it could effect their swing and overall mechanics. This is the time to teach them how to turn away from the ball with their butt and back.
Get yourself some wiffle balls or any type of soft ball and pitch to them in the yard or something. If you can get them to be confident and not afraid in the batters box, they will smash the ball, and you wont have to worry about those weak little swings.

If you were closer I'd be happy to go to the batting cage and work with you guys. Theres just so much to learn when it comes to hitting and its hard over the internet. If you have any other questions or need advice in a particular area, ask away.

 

[swoosh_stang]

Mike, what do you think of Evan Longoria's swing?

I've noticed something that is common among mlb hitters, and Evan is a good example, he starts with his back elbow high, but during the swing it drops to his waist.

Swing Analysis - Evan Longoria

http://www.baseball-intellect.com/the-swing-of-evan-longoria/

Is this proper mechanics? I have always heard to keep your back elbow up and swing level.

 

[venom_inc]

I would not worry about mechanics yet. If this is their first years playing, just focus on contact. If they like the game, they will naturally want to learn more. There are also classes you could sign them up for if they seem interested. I went 4-5 years for pitching classes.

 

[g00se]

With hitting, don't teach them to "squish the bug." If you look at almost ANY major league swing, their back foot is barely on the ground and sometimes its off the ground a smidge. Also, keep the back knee directly over or in front of the back foot throughout the swing. This might be too advanced, but putting a ball between their thighs or knees so they have to pinch their knees together to hold the ball in place, then having them hit off a tee or softoss will teach them to keep their back knee in and generate power from lower half.

Many of the guys start from completely different places (open stance, close stance, hands high, hands low, elbow up, elbow down) but once their swing gets going, everything is in similar spots. Manny Ramirez has one of the purest swings I've ever seen. Also Pujols, A-Rod when he was with the Rangers, and Tony Gwynn if you can flip the image around.

Sidenote: Always protect your sons arms. Its early now, but something to remember.

Hope that helps.

 

[ModMike1572]

Mike, what do you think of Evan Longoria's swing?

I've noticed something that is common among mlb hitters, and Evan is a good example, he starts with his back elbow high, but during the swing it drops to his waist.

Swing Analysis - Evan Longoria

» The Swing of Evan Longoria

Is this proper mechanics? I have always heard to keep your back elbow up and swing level.

To be completely honest with you, I would stay away from Evan Longoria's approach and swing. That open stance he uses is not going to help any young hitter out. They need to be concentrating on keeping their feet shoulder width apart and staying balanced. Dont get me wrong, Evan Longoria is rediculously talented, but that loooong swing through the zone would be hard to teach a young hitter. Not only that, but in that first clip, his back shoulder is ducking a lot (like you noticed). It looks like he's participating in the home run derby in that clip which might have something to do with it, but with an approach like that, you are going to see a lot of fly balls, and you dont want that from a young developing hitter. You see major leaguers doing this because they are 6'3 230 lbs and are trying to hit the ball 500 ft.

Thats why I said Derek Jeter's approach is a good one to mimmick. He has a nice short swing, and can turn on an inside pitch, as well as take an outside pitch to the opposite field. He hits EVERYTHING on the ground, which is much better. Fly balls are worthless. In little league, when you hit a ball on the ground, the fielder has to field the ball, and make the throw, rather than just camping under it for an easy out.

Interesting stat for Jeter: He has a ground ball rate of near 75%. He rarely ever hits fly balls, and when you are hitting it on the ground, they find holes, hence his career .315 AVG, and multiple 200+ hit seasons.

Bernie Williams was another one. He had a great approach at the plate. Thats what you want to teach, is a nice simple stance.

One of my coaches once gave me some advice that ended up working extremely well for me. He had me standing shoulder width apart with my feet, my elbows angled downward (you should act like there is a plate of glass that you can rest your elbows on to keep them even so you dont raise your back elbow and pop balls up), and keep the bat at a 45 degree angle, knees slightly bent in an athletic position. Concentrate on hitting everything back up through the middle. Be quick to the inside, and on the outside pitch, let the ball travel through the zone and poke it the other way.

Like I said, its not easy explaining through the internet, but I hope that helps.

 

[swoosh_stang]

Thanks for the input guys, gives me a lot to think about.

 

[SLVRBLT]

Im maybe going old school but I always like Ted Williams and Dimaggio's swing.

 

[stangin99]

IMHO, do not have your kids model a professional players swing. Most of them have generally poor swings(and counter with incredible natural ability), and even the ones that do, you would probably only exaggerate their swing in order to attempt it.

Teach them the proper mechanics. MOST little league coaches teach improper mechanics. Lots of versions of soft toss(front, side, behind), and hitting off a tee will help the most. Grab something like a swift stick and use it a lot.

Bat speed is key in hitting. Get a quick, short stroke and your kid will be a great hitter.

 

[HEMI LOL]

tee work, tee work and more tee work. then soft toss, then batting practice. then situational hitting. short quick stroke, tell them to cut the ball in half, that will produce some great swings right there. steady head, not to much top hand, quick as possible to the ball.

and if they can try to have them switch hit. the common problem with that is that although some can switch hit, most shouldnt becuase they suck from one side of the plate or the other.

im a dead pull "power" hitter, or the kind of hitter you dont want to be. i cant hit the other way, and i cant hit the low and away breaking pitch. its my natural swing. throughout later baseball life coaches have been trying to get me to go the other way, its not happening. as a result i had to wait for my pitches and hope to spoil the away off speed pitch. give my any kind of 4/2 seam, cutter slider and i can crush it. change/curve/slurve im walking back to the dugout. unless i cheat and throw the barrel at it.

my point being, let them develop their own swing, then tune it. if this was done when i was young, maybe and a BIG maybe i could be playing AAA ball now. its of no use to try to get a kid to swing like anyone else. i see this all the time, kids trying to look like (name the famous player).

teach them to work pitchers, ala manny. teach them to take away the plate and make pitchers throw what they want. teach them to learn patterns and how to see ball spin ect. if you can pick up what a pitcher is throwing early enough you can crank on it.

and the best swings in baseball are;

young Griffey
manny(maybe one of the best right handed hitters swing)
olerud
young andrew jones
a-rod(i hate to say it)
reggie jackson

i also like evan longoria, joe mauer