South Alabama Game Thread

[Smitty]

Guys we should have expected this… Our RPI was 125, USA's was 98.

[cbrunt29]

Guys we should have expected this… Our RPI was 125, USA's was 98.

We won't be in spitting distance from the ncaa tourney

[ScottH]

Guys we should have expected this… Our RPI was 125, USA's was 98.

The interesting thing is if one of our ending series is against a bubble NCAA SEC team (I'm too lazy to see who we end the season with) and our RPI stays crappy it could mathematically hurt them to play us or god forbid slip up and lose to us.

I don't recall us having an RPI like this 30 plus games in sans maybe Cohen year 1.

[RougeDawg]

I agree with shortened or no stride approach with 2 strikes but throwing your hands is only good for trying to be defensive and fouling off a pitch that you were probably fooled on. It causes casting and a downward swing that you will miss the ball or hit weak grounders at a too high of percentage. By throwing the hands at the ball the bat is in the hitting zone a much smaller amount of time and is not on the plane of the pitch. Your timing with this technique has to be spot on to even get a piece of the ball since you are coming from a downward angle. Not to mention you can't throw them far enough to reach low and away. Your hands have to stay above and inside the ball. If we go back to alum bats and AstroTurf (which is when this was taught mostly, 40-30 years ago) you could get away with this technique more but not today.

Maybe our definition of throwing hands differs. The best baseball "swings" technically is not a "round motion" that most people envision in a swing. Proper baseball "swings" are simply pushing "throwing" your hands from point A to B in a straight line motion from where they start to the point you want to make contact. The proper swing more resembles a bench press motion to the point of contact and the only actual swing motion is the natural follow through after contact. And the follow through of a proper swing finishes out in front of the body and back up over the front shoulder. This ensures full extension at contact. Watch any decent power hitter on TV and you'll notice their hands continuo out in front of home plate after contact and finish high over their shoulder. You rarely see someone with a "gate" swing that finishes with the bat wrapping around their mid torso, have much power or average for that matter.

[Really Clark?]

Maybe our definition of throwing hands differs. The best baseball "swings" technically is not a "round motion" that most people envision in a swing. Proper baseball "swings" are simply pushing "throwing" your hands from point A to B in a straight line motion from where they start to the point you want to make contact. The proper swing more resembles a bench press motion to the point of contact and the only actual swing motion is the natural follow through after contact. And the follow through of a proper swing finishes out in front of the body and back up over the front shoulder. This ensures full extension at contact. Watch any decent power hitter on TV and you'll notice their hands continuo out in front of home plate after contact and finish high over their shoulder. You rarely see someone with a "gate" swing that finishes with the bat wrapping around their mid torso, have much power or average for that matter.

You have stated a couple of things that make me believe you are as advocating strickly linear mechanics which if you look at video of the best hitters you will find that they do not take their hands from point A to point B (very old fundamental for linear hitting). But let's start with a pretty good hitter from the 70's and see what he did. Now I don't agree with all of this particular guy's teachings. But in a high level swing (including the vast majority of hall of fame players) you are rotating to contact not a linear arm path.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Huda3vQUPN4

Now there are linear components with your lower body to generate power but your hand path is not straight to the ball it's circular.

[Really Clark?]

Josh Hamilton. Note he drove the ball opposite field with power.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb3j2WUaAco

I am not advocating any teaching done on the videos just posting for visual of the rotational swing that high level swings have.

[Really Clark?]

Will Myers. Note outside pitch and he is not throwing or taking his hands to the ball. He is still using rotational swing and CHP.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2BG86G7xNY0