In my post about Sports Motion video software, I mentioned that I travelled to Europe to speak at the European Baseball Coaches Association (EBCA) Convention.  It was held in Vienna, Austria in December of last year, so it’s about time I made an official update about it.

The convention is sponsored in part by International Sports Group, and I was invited to speak by ISG team leader and fellow presenter, Tom O’Connell.  Each year, ISG helps organize and carry out a full roster of international conferences, and going on the trip was a great experience.

I made 4 presentations in total:

1. Major League Swing Analysis
2. Video Analysis “How-to” and Demonstration
3. Movement and Mechanics
4. Practical Bat Speed Application

There I am on the left during introductions

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Jeff General analysis, instruction, Mechanics, video

Back in the summer of 2006 there was a college player I worked with a handfull of times after he played his freshman season at a very competitive Division 1 program (they won their conference this year and competed in the NCAA baseball tournament).

We mainly did some video review and worked on mechanics as I tried to give him the information I thought he needed to put things together and make the most of his talent.  I received this text message at the end of this May:

This is P***** P***** from **U. Just played my last game and wanted to thank you for working with me.  You turned my career around.  This year I hit .365 with 11 HR and 51 RBI.  Thanks.

For more success stories, check the Results page.

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Jeff Mechanics, Videos batting, hitting, instruction, Mechanics, swing, swing path, swing plane, training, video

What follows below is information I first wrote in January 2006.  I’m reposting it because I want to have the info on the ‘new’ version of the site (rather than just the old link) and also because it’s pretty good stuff.

There’s a video clip to show the progression, and the text details a number of things:

• increasing bat velocity
• reaction training
• transition from ‘training’ to ‘hitting’
• points of emphasis for mechanics and drills
• strength training

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Jeff Bat Speed, Mechanics bat speed, batting, drills, instruction, lifting, Mechanics, power, strength, swing, training, workout

New York Yankees’ shortstop, Derek Jeter, is well known for his ability to stay “inside” the ball.  This video gives his quick explanation on what he does with his swing to handle the inside pitch:

Derek Jeter: How to Hit an Inside Fastball in Baseball – The most popular videos are a click away

Jeff Videos derek jeter, hitting, Mechanics, new york yankees, swing, video

Texas Rangers coach Rudy Jaramillo has a strong reputation as one of the top hitting coaches in the game.  In this video, he talks about the basic mechanics and fundamentals that he uses as a teaching sytem for his players.

Here’s the link to the video

These are the 5 steps:

1. Ryhthm
2. Seeing the Ball
3. Separation
4. Staying square
5. Weight shift and transfer

Jaramillo also has a DVD where he goes into more detail, adds some drills, and also reviews some video of his big league players.

Jeff Videos batting, hitting, Mechanics, rudy jaramillo, swing, texas rangers, video

I posted a link to Stack magazine on the links page and I check there periodically to go through the videos they post.  The following is one that not only shows some batting practice swings from New York Mets third baseman, David Wright, but also provides his insights into the purpose and preparation of his pre-game hitting routine:

In other words, it’s not just about getting your hacks in, but having a plan for what you’re doing.  This sounds simple, but it’s something that begins to separate players of similar talent as the competition gets tougher and level of play increases.

Jeff Videos batting practice, david wright, hitting, Mechanics, mets, swing, video

This is a hitter with a history of success, very good success, but is underperforming this year. 

These images are taken from this year and a previous year, front and side view of different swings that resulted in a HR to Left Center on fastballs in similar locations.

Each image on the left side is from this year, 2009.  The shots on the right are from last year.

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Jeff Mechanics analysis, hitting, Mechanics

USA Today just did an interactive piece showing Albert Pujols’ swing while he gives some commentary over video from different angles. Interesting stuff, check it out…

Credit: Photos by H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY. Graphic by David Evans, Alex Newman and Kristen Novak, USA TODAY.

Jeff Mechanics albert pujols, cardinals, Mechanics, swing, video

I’ve been meaning to do this (start some quick reviews) for a while and I thought this would be a good way to start….

A few years ago, I was directed to an article entitled: The Holy Grail in Speed Training by author Barry Ross.

I found the article very interesting, contacted Mr. Ross and got going on the workout. I was “retired” at the time and figured I’d give it a shot…..what I found (my personal experience) was quite interesting.  Within a couple of months, my deadlift improved from the mid-200’s to near 420 pounds while my body weight stayed the same.  For sprint work, I did 10 yard starts from a base-stealing position using an electronic timer.  Over that winter, I decreased my 10 yard time by .2 seconds.  And on the first 40 that I had timed, which was the first sprint I had run over 10 yards, my time was over .2 seconds faster than I had ever run. Pretty cool.

It didn’t take long for Barry Ross, who is a seasoned track & field and strength coach, to open his own site and release his book: Underground Secrets to Faster Running

The book outlines the concept of mass specific force, and sites some nice research studies to back up the claims.  The workout is incredibly easy from an equipment, execution and planning  standpoint, but not so easy in terms of the load/intensity used!  Basically you have to lift heavy!  With all the talk of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers, this method gets right to the point of muscle fiber recruitment and training for strength.  It is a fast, simple read that goes through mass specific force, physiology, exercise selection and workout design in a logical fashion.  Theory and application.

In addition to the lifting and running, I was hitting and throwing with a pair of minor league players and I noticed that my bat speed and throwing velocity were improving above what I had achieved in college.  Also pretty cool.  Although not excatly common-place, strength training for the posterior chain and specific swing/throw training appeared to be a great combination.

Check out Barry’s web site for more information — Bearpowered.com

Jeff Resources baseball, Mechanics, power, running, speed, sprinting, strength

Back in August, Kevin Long (Yankees hitting coach) described how he worked with Alex Rodriguez to create a more compact swing.  He gave a description of using the “net” or “fence” drill:

“You take a stance parallel to a net only a bat-length away from you. You hold the knob of the bat to your stomach to measure the distance. Then, your coach flips balls to you and you hit them — without the bat touching the net. That’s how you know your swing is more compact. The drill forces you to pull your hands towards your body as you swing — it gets you in the proper position to turn on those inside pitches.”If you watch the video closely, you can see A-Rod taking one of these swings in his recent piece with 60 minutes:

Jeff Videos alex rodriguez, drills, hitting, Mechanics, new york yankees, swing, video

Many already have a grasp on the concept of the kinetic link.  The photo below gives a brief summary:

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Jeff Bat Speed, Mechanics bat speed, instruction, Mechanics, swing

Here is the full article at Baseball Analysts.  It takes into account some sports psychology in addition to mechanics and looks at some statistical changes over the past couple of years.

Jeff Mechanics analysis, brad lidge, instruction, Mechanics, pitching, video