Re-Thinking Swing Path
Last month marked a remarkable event for a once in a lifetime baseball player. That player was Joey Votto of the Cincinnati Reds. On April 19th, 2019 Joey Votto popped out to first base while playing against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In Votto's 6,828th Major League at bat, this was the first time he had done this. This is truly remarkable. So you may be thinking, well what is the big deal? The big deal is because this is such a normal thing for a hitter on any level to do. But if you are a baseball fan, you know that Joey Votto isn't normal, he is a hitting machine. And yes, this is coming from a die-hard Pirates fan. But even though Votto plays for a hated rival of the Pirates, I do enjoy how he hits.
So what exactly makes Joey Votto so different? The answer is his swing path. Many young hitters are taught to have a swing path that is a one size fits all approach to hitting. In other words, the hitter is taught to have one ideal swing path that will attack each and every pitch being thrown by the pitcher. Now think about this, as a hitter does this make logical sense? Do you think that a hitter will have a similar swing for every single pitch being thrown at him. Visualize pitches low and away and up and inside of the hitter. The angle of the bat would be different wouldn't it? But let's get back to Joey Votto. What makes Votto so successful and so different from other professional hitters is because he has different bat angles on different pitches, compared to other hitters.
You may be thinking, well in order to have different bat angles for each pitch, doesn't this mean that the hand path should feel different for each and every swing? The answer is no. Efficient hand path should feel smooth and without restrictions. For any efficient swing to occur, two things must happen. The first thing that should happen is proper balance. The balance at foot strike should feel even. To put this to numerical terms, the balance should be 50-50. The second thing should be hand path. The hand path should feel smooth and biomechanically allow for the hitter to feel long and strong through contact.
Knowing these two aspects for an efficient swing, what two things cause for a weak pop up to first base? You guessed it, improper balance and an ineffective swing path. Now you may be asking, well what has Votto done better than nearly anyone else? It is his swing path, pitch recognition, and timing.. The data is quite shocking really and will challenge "facts" on hitting. Joey Votto has a more vertical bat path than most Major Leaguers. For example, on high pitches Votto has a vertical bat angle of 35 degrees on high inside pitches, 34 degrees for high-middle pitches, and 33 degrees of vertical bat angle on high outside pitches. The league average for vertical bat angles for the same pitch locations are 24 degrees, 22 degrees, and 21 degrees. On middle-inside pitches Votto has a vertical angle of 45 degrees, middle-middle vertical angle of 37 degrees, and middle-outside vertical angle of 35 degrees. The league average of vertical angle on these same locations are 32, 30, and 28 degrees. On low-inside pitches, Votto has a vertical bat angle of 48 degrees, on low-middle pitches Votto has a vertical angle of 39 degrees, and 37 degrees for low-outside pitches. Conversely, the league average for these same locations are 39, 36, and 33 degrees. This is eye-popping. This even challenged my thinking on hitting. Even though this challenged me, this is useful to understand to improve how we as coaches think about efficient bat angles and swing path.
Although vertical angle plays a crucial role in Votto's success, it isn't the only factor. Votto is attacking these high-inside pitches much earlier than the average player. Therefore, Votto's balance and pitch recognition, along with bat path are elite compared to most Major Leaguers. Here is an example of Votto having success on a high inside pitch. Make sure to slow down the video to take note of his vertical bat angle, timing, and pitch recognition. Here is the video: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=f93e5c4e-4c9a-403f-b326-93b8a2292db7.
Now let's look at the difference of Votto's swing on the fateful pitch that caused Votto to pop out to first base. Here is the video:https://www.mlb.com/video/votto-s-1st-ever-popup-to-first.
Notice the difference in Votto's timing and how his bat path is flatter than his typical vertical bat angle on this pitch.
Now that we have studied what makes Votto so different than most Major Leaguers, how can we train hitters to improve their bat path like Votto. There is a batting tee that helps the hitter find his proper bat angle on each specific pitch while also allowing the hitter to feel his proper hand path. That product is the quant tee. The quant tee is different from the standard tee, by having the hitter swing with a more vertical bat path. The quant tee causes the hitter to have swings that are similar to the kinds of swings you will see while watching a Major League game on television. This batting tee is being used by several Major League teams currently and can be used well with Blast Motion technology. This tee will help your hitters become more efficient with their swing paths and become more effective at the plate.
You may be thinking, well in order to have different bat angles for each pitch, doesn't this mean that the hand path should feel different for each and every swing? The answer is no. Efficient hand path should feel smooth and without restrictions. For any efficient swing to occur, two things must happen. The first thing that should happen is proper balance. The balance at foot strike should feel even. To put this to numerical terms, the balance should be 50-50. The second thing should be hand path. The hand path should feel smooth and biomechanically allow for the hitter to feel long and strong through contact.
Knowing these two aspects for an efficient swing, what two things cause for a weak pop up to first base? You guessed it, improper balance and an ineffective swing path. Now you may be asking, well what has Votto done better than nearly anyone else? It is his swing path, pitch recognition, and timing.. The data is quite shocking really and will challenge "facts" on hitting. Joey Votto has a more vertical bat path than most Major Leaguers. For example, on high pitches Votto has a vertical bat angle of 35 degrees on high inside pitches, 34 degrees for high-middle pitches, and 33 degrees of vertical bat angle on high outside pitches. The league average for vertical bat angles for the same pitch locations are 24 degrees, 22 degrees, and 21 degrees. On middle-inside pitches Votto has a vertical angle of 45 degrees, middle-middle vertical angle of 37 degrees, and middle-outside vertical angle of 35 degrees. The league average of vertical angle on these same locations are 32, 30, and 28 degrees. On low-inside pitches, Votto has a vertical bat angle of 48 degrees, on low-middle pitches Votto has a vertical angle of 39 degrees, and 37 degrees for low-outside pitches. Conversely, the league average for these same locations are 39, 36, and 33 degrees. This is eye-popping. This even challenged my thinking on hitting. Even though this challenged me, this is useful to understand to improve how we as coaches think about efficient bat angles and swing path.
Although vertical angle plays a crucial role in Votto's success, it isn't the only factor. Votto is attacking these high-inside pitches much earlier than the average player. Therefore, Votto's balance and pitch recognition, along with bat path are elite compared to most Major Leaguers. Here is an example of Votto having success on a high inside pitch. Make sure to slow down the video to take note of his vertical bat angle, timing, and pitch recognition. Here is the video: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/sporty-videos?playId=f93e5c4e-4c9a-403f-b326-93b8a2292db7.
Now let's look at the difference of Votto's swing on the fateful pitch that caused Votto to pop out to first base. Here is the video:https://www.mlb.com/video/votto-s-1st-ever-popup-to-first.
Notice the difference in Votto's timing and how his bat path is flatter than his typical vertical bat angle on this pitch.
Now that we have studied what makes Votto so different than most Major Leaguers, how can we train hitters to improve their bat path like Votto. There is a batting tee that helps the hitter find his proper bat angle on each specific pitch while also allowing the hitter to feel his proper hand path. That product is the quant tee. The quant tee is different from the standard tee, by having the hitter swing with a more vertical bat path. The quant tee causes the hitter to have swings that are similar to the kinds of swings you will see while watching a Major League game on television. This batting tee is being used by several Major League teams currently and can be used well with Blast Motion technology. This tee will help your hitters become more efficient with their swing paths and become more effective at the plate.
Blog Notes:
Quant Tee Website: https://hittingtech.com/
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