Had to make a quick post with the Albert Pujols home run from the NLCS game 2 against Milwaukee…
I was just impressed with the way Pujols was able to maintain his hitting position and pull his hands in without rolling over (aka keeping it fair).
Pretty much looks like this:
It’s basically like walking into a real life version of a baseball catalog.
I visited Superstar Team Sports (STS) in West Palm Beach for the first time (can’t believe I hadn’t heard about it before now) last week and was impressed enough to do this little write up. STS is a baseball and softball specialty store that has everything you’d find in a catalog like Baseball Express or Eastbay, but of course you can pick it up and try it out for yourself. They have metal and wood bats, gloves, batting gloves, helmets, uniforms, footwear, training aids….you name it.
Plus, their staff members – Mike, Brian and Shawn – are incredible.
Superstar Team Sports website
STS is located in West Palm beach at 3169 Forest Hill Blvd. (take Forest Hill exit off 95 and head west).
Visit their website and check out their Facebook page which has a nice photo gallery of the shop.
Here’s a nice video clip of Justin Upton’s swing from the 2011 postseason. He crushes a 3-1 fastball to deep left field and the clip shows a couple replays from the center field and side views for a good look at his hitting mechanics (and bat flipping style!):
One of the things I like about Upton’s swing is that he generates tons of power but doesn’t have a lot of “noise”. Specifically, he doesn’t get far away from a good swing plane. Here is an illustration of what I mean, just before Upton unloads his swing:
Justin Upton swing plane
Lots of bat speed + consistent swing path = power AND consistency!
This is a nice little video from Golf Channel’s Playing Lessons with the Pros where 3-time major golf champion, Padraig Harrington, talks about creating power in his swing. Obviously, the baseball and golf swings are different, but basic principles of movement apply to both – things like stability (on the back leg), rotation, connection (although I typically think or talk about it in the forward swing for baseball rather than the back swing) and the kinetic link.
The good stuff starts around the 13:10 mark…
the Happy Gilmore drill
Hanley Ramirez is a guy that I’ve always enjoyed watching. To have his combination of size, speed and power is rare and impressive.
Here’s a look at El Nino’s swing in several different slow motion views…
click for videos
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The Palm Beach Gardens High School Baseball Team will be holding their 3rd annual Grand Slam Golf Tournament at Jupiter Country Club on Saturday October 29th, 2011.
Palm Beach's Best Baseball Store:
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