Rotational vs Linear

not any difference between the softball swing and the baseball swing.


I have been saying this for years.... and met with MUCH resistance.

 

I have too. I remember when I first started a knock on me was that I taught a baseball swing. Being young it used to make me mad and I would say baseball has been around 125+ years and I do not want to mess with history, since we are both hitting something round with something round. Now I try to explain it a little better but deep down I want to say the same thing I used to say.
Scott Miller
www.gaptogapsoftball.com

 

The best hitters in the game are combinations of both. Rotational physics multiplies power while linear physics simplifies control. If you get too much of either, you will suffer. The key is what the arms and hands are doing in relation to the core.

Linear tracking of the hands while the core rotates, disconnects the bat from the rotation therefore reducing energy transfer. The reduction in energy can be dramatic.

Conversely, maintaining highly rigid connection to rotation yields the most powerful swing, but is only good for pulling the ball. Such a swing has great difficulty with pitch placement on the outside.

The best hitters maintain strong core rotation while making minor alterations to the tracking of the hands to compensate for pitch location. A more linear hand path disconnects the bat from rotation, slowing it down and allowing a contact point deeper in the zone with a bat angle that's good for the opposite field. A less linear hand path speeds the bat up enabling it to get around on the inside pitch.

Candrea and Slaught definitely do not teach "linear" hitting. While they don't quite describe it this way, what they teach yields the same results. They are the ones who first coined the term "connection". Too many programs are having too much success using their methods for one to argue against rotational hitting.

 

I think every great major league hitter is rotaional. If you go to englishbey hitting,go to the forum,then mlb,then touch em all you will see the hitters from the front and the side.I think you will see that the hands and back knee are connected.This makes the hands go in a circular motion.You will notice that the front leg locks.That is what starts the back hip.Just my two cents.

 

software

Sorry I missed this part of your post. I do not have his software personally but I have used it. It is a great program, but I am to cheap to get it and just use frame by frame breakdown. Coach Candrea and Slaught came up with the verbage and break down. I will tell you that Coach Candrea is the Best hitting softball coach in the country. The amount of data that he carries around with him to help his hitters prepare is mind blowing. He has his laptop but has to carry around extra hard drives to hold the video of his hitters video and the video of pitchers they will be facing. Team USA has the most prepared hitters in the world. Coach has made players that were good in college and on top of the game to a whole new level. The software, swingright, has helped him do that. Of course you can give a Monkey a great computer and it does not mean that it can turn it on. It still takes someone that knows the swing to use the software but it does make it easy.
Scott Miller
www.gaptogapsoftball.com

 

Swings

Those are great videos of great hitters, hitting the ball well. To me the hitters are not rotational. Yes, they get their hips through the ball, the have a big finish but all of them stay on plain before the ball and long after the ball. They all transfer weight negative and positive. That is the reason why I started this thread, to learn why throw90 do you see them as rotational. I am not calling you out I am just wanting to understand how we both can look at the same thing and come to different conclusions. I do not see the rotational side please expand on what you see. If you look at Frank Thomas swing the only way that ball leaves the yard is that he was at a good connection and so therefore he was able overcome bad timing and still be able hit the ball out. Frank is a guy who's back foot will leave the ground because of weight transfer, how is that rotational.

 

Which is which?

Am I understanding rotation hitting to be hitting the outside of the ball? As in being a pull hitter?

And linear hitting is keeping the bat through the plane of the ball longer? Linear being hitting the inside of the ball?

Weight shift occurs in both styles--right?

It seems to me that you would use a combination of those two styles (if there are two styles).

What I'm teaching is a weight shift (not a lunge, though) and keeping the bat through the plane of the ball instead of in and out of the zone too quickly.

The latest Candrea video I have seems to show a slight mix. When he talks about it, it is like I'm trying to teach. When Lovieann Jung was swinging it appeared more rotational (at times).

It might be that when you're breaking down the swings in the video some of the results could be a reaction or timing of the ball that may vary from one at bat to another.

 

If you go to rotational hitting 101 and look at Pete Rose they show his swing from above.It shows dots of his hand path.I used to think that the swing was arod running through your body but I think this will show you that the hands and back knee are one.I know this sounds crazy but I think Rose swing shows the true swing.

 

When you talk about the back foot leaving the ground I think that comes from the front leg being stiff.Eveybody has a sride which is a linear movement but my understanding of a rotation is created by the circular path of the hands.If you look at the back elbow it is in a L postion and against the side.If the ball is outside it stays in the same position you just let the ball get deep so you dont over rotate on your backside.If you work off a tee I think you will see that you can do this and hit the ball with alot more power.

 

If the hands work in a circular pattern I do not see how you can keep a ball that is on the inner half of plate in fair terroritory. Also the back elbow is in an L postion but it is not against the side there is space between the elbow and the side. I know this seems like a moot point but this is what allows the back elbow to stay on plain and drive through the ball. I am not questioning that I can get on a tee and throw my frontside around a ball and feel powerful. The problem with that is that why I am feeling powerful is that I am using big muscles that are not as important as the small ones in a swing. Think of the movie Happy Gilmore how many of us that try to play golf said man I am going to try that approach before I hit a ball I can crush it. But in reality when you tried it the Marshall of the course almost kicked you off because the group to side almost died because your ball hooked three holes and hit grandma drinking tea.
To me what is interesting about this debate is we are all looking at the same thing and coming up with different conclusions. So let's say Frank Thomas,6'5" 250lbs is rotational and he can hit aff the front foot or the back foot and hit around balls, does that mean that your DD can do the same thing. My thing is with the combo style that it does not matter what size you are the bat will work for you and you can drive the ball no matter where it is pitched.