Vlog 63 - A New Understanding of the First Part of the Baseball Swing

Today's swing instruction teaches the first part of the swing as a stiff and still movement.  Richard Schenck says you should be "still as a stature."  Why do they say this?  The thinking is that by being still you can be faster from the start of the swing to contact.  Ok, so why do you have to be still though?  Have you ever thought about that?  Can't you be moving while you decide to swing?  Of course you can, and this is a key concept that today's instruction is missing.   Hitters today are remaining completely still and firing quickly from a still position.  Not a good idea.  You are going to get late front humerus compression if any at all, and you are likely going to be very disconnected at contact.  It's like a golfer starting from the top of his backswing.  I mean, you could do it.  But why?  Obviously you are going to have much more power if take a backswing.

This beginning move should not be fast!  The very first 1/5 of the opening of the shoulders should be slow.  Getting this beginning move right does two things: 1.  It provides the body with a front arm dominant structure where the barrel starts to flatten and the front humerus starts to compress.  This is where the swing veers off into front arm dominance or back arm dominance, and by doing these things, you are choosing front arm dominance - you have made a choice.  Make sense?  Once the front humerus begins to compress and the barrel drops, there's no turning back.  And 2. It provides you a brief moment where you are at once building up momentum but you can also still choose to not swing, again, as opposed to remaining completely still and firing open from there.  

By being still prior to your swing, you are going to be susceptible to waving at off-speed pitches.  Why?  Because it takes a lot to get a body going when it's still, and then to pump the breaks it takes even more.  But if it's already moving, it doesn't take much to simply pump the breaks.

This beginning portion of the swing is basically disrespected in today's swing instruction.  It's overlooked.  And hence power and consistency are not as high as they could be.  It's part of the reason why hitters' swings look so machine-like these days and why their swings often lack the beauty of those who connect a backswing to their forward swing.