Hinging Knee

[icjerk]

Hey Guys!

Does the back leg always hinge the same amount no matter where the pitch is? I had read (somewhere) that you should hinge more for a lower pitch but that doesn't seem to be the case on clips I view. I hear more about adjusting the bat, of course, to the plane. And bending at the waist. But does the rear leg ever hinge more? Like in this clip of Becky Marx, she looks like she is adjusting to the low, inside pitch by leaning and arms, right?

http://imageevent.com/siggy/hitting/...=0&w=4&s=0&z=9

Go easy on me here! Newbie & woman! I'm a "lurker" and really trying to learn more about hitting for my daughter. I appreciate you guys and your advice. I read what y'all have to say, and then study clips until it makes sense to me. Sometimes it is the "making sense" that I have a problem with!

Thanks,
Lisa

[fungo22]

Go easy on me here! Newbie & woman! I'm a "lurker" and really trying to learn more about hitting for my daughter. I appreciate you guys and your advice. I read what y'all have to say, and then study clips until it makes sense to me.

We always go easy on newbies and women, especially those who want to understand. It's the old dogs who've been around forever and who ought to know better and who don't seem to care that we get kind of tough with.

Does the back leg always hinge the same amount no matter where the pitch is?

What the hell do you mean by "back leg hinge," woman?

I hear more about adjusting the bat, of course, to the plane. And bending at the waist. But does the rear leg ever hinge more? Like in this clip of Becky Marx, she looks like she is adjusting to the low, inside pitch by leaning and arms, right?

Just kidding above, by the way. But I'm not sure what you mean by back leg "hinging." Please clarify.

Miss Marx is doing a great job of bending over to hit that pitch. And yes, it looks as if she is having to make some adjustment with her arms. But she has used her posture to put her bat close to the right path so that hand/arm adjustment is minimal.

Sorry it took us so long to reply. And welcome to the public arena.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Hey Guys!

Does the back leg always hinge the same amount no matter where the pitch is? I had read (somewhere) that you should hinge more for a lower pitch but that doesn't seem to be the case on clips I view. I hear more about adjusting the bat, of course, to the plane. And bending at the waist. But does the rear leg ever hinge more? Like in this clip of Becky Marx, she looks like she is adjusting to the low, inside pitch by leaning and arms, right?

http://imageevent.com/siggy/hitting/...=0&w=4&s=0&z=9

Go easy on me here! Newbie & woman! I'm a "lurker" and really trying to learn more about hitting for my daughter. I appreciate you guys and your advice. I read what y'all have to say, and then study clips until it makes sense to me. Sometimes it is the "making sense" that I have a problem with!

Thanks,
Lisa

By "hinge" do you just mean how much bend is in the back leg? In the power L?

Most of it just depends on the hitter's stance and how large of a stride they take. A hitter who stands with little knee bend isn't going to have a deep power L in general, and if they end up with one, chances are their head has moved far too much to be a successful hitter.

[Mark H]

Most of it just depends on the hitter's stance and how large of a stride they take. A hitter who stands with little knee bend isn't going to have a deep power L in general, and if they end up with one, chances are their head has moved far too much to be a successful hitter.

Is this what you're talking about?

http://www.theswearingens.com/mick/swing.htm

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Is this what you're talking about?

http://www.theswearingens.com/mick/swing.htm

Yeah pretty much. Notice how his back foot ends up moving about 8 inches because of the momentum of his stride. Obviously he's a rare hitter, but most hitters wouldn't be able to have that much head movement and have much success.

Had he started with his feet a little more apart and bent his knees a bit, he could have taken a shorter stride and been able to sit back a little longer before committing. Maybe he thought he needed that momentum, but he was a strong boy.

[fungo22]

Ruth had more head movement than Mantle. Aaron had quite a bit as well, especially into contact. I'm not convinced it's a big problem.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

Ruth had more head movement than Mantle. Aaron had quite a bit as well, especially into contact. I'm not convinced it's a big problem.

Vertical head movement causes many more problems than horizontal. Most successful hitters need to keep the vertical movement to a minimum. For example Jeter's initial setup is nearly straight up, but when the pitcher goes into his windup, he crouches down and his head doesn't move vertical from there.

[MSandman]

Anyone have any video clips of Jeter?

[jsiggy]

Looks like a fair amount of head movement to me.

[Mark H]

Anyone have any video clips of Jeter?

I've got several. Tell me where to send them.

[Mark H]

Sultan,

The discipline I decided long ago to impose on myself was to conform my ideas and beliefs to video of elite hitters as best I could "see" what was happening. I recommend this as a rule.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

The clip you show of Jeter is after he's already set in his crouched position. There's very little head movement that I see. Just the natural movement caused by diving out over the plate and by setting his front foot down. Mark, whatever works for you. I prefer to use personal experience, but it is interesting to see the clips you guys throw up as confirmation of my beliefs.

[jsiggy]

The clip you show of Jeter is after he's already set in his crouched position. There's very little head movement that I see. Just the natural movement caused by diving out over the plate and by setting his front foot down.

I added a few frames to the front of the video. Didn't make much difference in the head movement... anything prior to that would have nothing to do with the swing. I see the vast majority of his head movement occuring with his tilt, but I don't see how this head movement correlates at all with what you said previously:

Jeter's initial setup is nearly straight up, but when the pitcher goes into his windup, he crouches down and his head doesn't move vertical from there.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

I added a few frames to the front of the video. Didn't make much difference in the head movement... anything prior to that would have nothing to do with the swing. I see the vast majority of his head movement occuring with his tilt, but I don't see how this head movement correlates at all with what you said previously:

I didn't have a video to look at when I made that comment. Just going by a mental image of him. I was only saying that his largest vertical head movement comes before he's even set for the pitch; and we agree it has nothing to do with the swing, so it doesn't matter.

Once he's crouched down a bit more, he's set, and as the ball approaches he stays very quiet with his head, until he makes his intitial movement. Then it has no choice but to move, but the only vertical movement it makes is from him staying down on the ball with his head.

It really shouldn't even be an issue. This isn't a problem with most MLers, cause they wouldn't make it to that high of a level with a lot of vertical head movement anyway.

[jsiggy]

A photo with some graphics showing where Jeter's eyes are at various stages.

• Top left (top blue line in all photos) on the first frame of the clip
• Top right (green line in all photos) as he starts his stride
• Bottom left (red line in all photos) at heel plant
• Bottom right photo (lower blue line in all photos) at contact