Swing Like a Big Leaguer

There are many, many theories about the proper swing mechanics. The reason for this is because a baseball swing is a very complex, unique motion. It really is unlike any other movement involved in sports. You can watch a major league game on television and everyone's swing will look different because they know what works for them. That's why every coach, player, instructor, etc. has their own philosophy on the mechanics of the swing. As a simple way to look at the baseball swing the sequence should be load, stride and swing. The load and stride need to be comfortable for each hitter. Some people feel comfortable with a big leg kick, while others prefer a simple small stride forward. Either way, the load and stride should act as timing devices that allow you to generate power. But, my focus is on what happens after the load and stride, the actual swing. Some people focus on "staying inside the ball" or "squish the bug" or "hit the ball deep," but within the last year I've realized that most great hitters do one thing in common.

Great hitters start there swing with their back knee driving forward. The focus is that the back knee drive should be the first thing to fire after your load and stride. When your back knee starts the swing it puts the rest of your body in a great position to deliver the bat to the ball. One big problem that people have when they try this is that their front shoulder will fly open which will decrease power, plate coverage, and consistency. As we look at this video of A-Rod posted below you will see his big leg kick followed by his back knee driving forward, but his shoulders stay on the ball. You will see when he makes contact his back knee is fully engaged and driven forward which allows him to maximize his power.

Now I want to look at a different type of hitter, Joe Mauer, who hits to all fields for average and can hit the ball out of the park. As we see in this video of Mauer's swing, his back leg starts the swing and when this happens his hands slide forward into the slot position. This allows him to deliver the bat to the ball with ease, staying inside the ball and getting great extension. Mauer gets his bat on path with the ball so early in his swing and that is why he can hit the ball deep and drive the ball to all fields.

Albert Pujols is probably the best hitter in baseball (Mauer and Rodriguez are also in consideration). His set-up is much different than Rodriguez and Jeter's, as Pujols has a very wide stance, but we will see that he generates his power from his strong base. We see Pujols has a compact load and stride. As you could have guessed, the first thing to fire is his back knee. You will see Pujols' bat angle change as he starts his swing. As he starts his load and stride his bat is angled at that catcher, but when his back knee starts his swing, his hands stay back, but his bat angle changes and starts to get on the proper swing plane. He even drives his backside so well that his back foot slides forward ever so slightly. Again his back knee is fully driven forward on contact.

Now, some people will do this in their swing and not realize, which is great. Some people's back knee doesn't drive forward and start the swing like it should, but you can change that. In the video below I am hitting off a tee working on driving my back knee. As you see I load and stride, fire my back knee forward while keeping my hands back. This puts my body into the correct position and will hopefully train my body to do this when I take a full swing. This is a good drill to do off a tee or with side/front toss.