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Demonstrations for Baseball and Fastpitch Hitting and Swings

We have accumulated a list of important demonstrations related to hitting all in one handy reference.

Stance and Grip

Line Up the Rings
Line Up the Rings
aka Box Grip
aka Offset Grip

Door Knocking Knuckles
Mattingly not using Door Knocking Knuckles

Swing - Coil Phase

Chipper Jones Coil
Chipper Jones Coil Move

Paul Molitor Elbow Down
Paul Molitor Elbow Down
Only known MLB player

Swing - Swing Forward Phase

Chipper Jones swing to hip
Chipper Jones Swing to Hip

Chipper Jones swing - hip to contact
Chipper Jones Hip to Contact

Chicken Wing Fault

Linear Swing - Sue Enquist

Power V at Contact
Cal Ripken
Not optimal for most people

Adrian Gonzalez - Elbows Get 7 inches closer together during the swing

Drills and Tee Placement

Typical 2 Tee Drill (don't do this)
by SwingSmarter.com

Good Tee Placement (after stride, ball of front foot)
by Mike Scott Baseball

Bat vs. Ball

Bat Ball Collision by Dr Alan Nathan

Swing Plane and Where to Hit the Ball

Sports Science Swing Angle (L) line drives (R) distance

Optimal Ball Strike Location

The Swing Plane
by Paul Nyman

Hit the Top of a Ball
Dr Alan Nathan

Hit the Bottom of a Ball
Dr Alan Nathan

Ted Williams Science of Hitting p.63
Swing Path
(The bat path is right, but on the top 'Williams Stroke',
the blue color starts too late and extends much, much too far)

Swing Path Jason Giambi

Swing Path Bryce Harper Nov 2010 BP
h/t Yardbird HSBBW

Swing Path Manny
h/t BlueDog HSBBW

Instructors

These are listed here only because they are often quoted and mentioned by others.
  • Kevin Long, Yankees hitting coach, demonstrating what he does with ARod, Swish, and Cano. Fence drill included.
  • Tony Gwynn, San Diego State, YouTube Hitting 101 by Tony Gwynn Dec 2009 [3/2/2011]
  • Mark McGwire from 2010, Cardinals hitting coach, 2010 MLB preview: First-year Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire teaches by example
    The Cardinals hitters are learning McGwire’s philosophy to take the shortest path to the baseball with their hands before hitting through the ball and eliminating the loops in their swings and other extraneous movements. Hitting through the ball creates backspin, which allows the ball to carry…Radar was the first to convince McGwire that less movement meant less room for error. That’s when McGwire tamed his leg kick and lowered his arms and started taking a straight-line approach to the ball.
  • Don Mattingly YouTube Baseball Hitting Tips with Don Mattingly [3/2/2011]

Players