mash the bug: A
term used with young hitter’s to remind them to pivot on their back
foot as if they were mashing a bug.
Click for Illustration
Click Red Dot for Drills
to Develop a Back Foot Pivot
mechanical
couple: A
mechanical principle defined as two opposing parallel forces causing
rotation about a fixed axis. When applied to a bat, (push, pull action
of the hands) tremendous bat head velocity can be developed. See extension.
Click for Illustration
motion:
A
term used interchangeably with movement.
muscle
memory:
A term used to describe a learned movement pattern or habit. By performing
the same movement pattern repeatedly, more effective nerve muscle connections
are made. These new connections repeat more efficiently each time used.
Research from motor (movement) learning specialists
indicate that repeating the
same action 3,000 to 5,000 times, or performing a task approximately
30 minutes for a period of 21 days is necessary to create muscle memory.
After developing muscle memory, the new action is automatic and can
be performed without conscious thought.
off-speed
pitch: A
grouping of pitches, excluding the fast ball, that are used to deceive
hitters by disrupting their rhythm and timing. These pitches are slower
and change planes.
number
knuckles: A
method of teaching young hitters how to properly grip a bat by assigning
numerical values to joints in the fingers. The joints made by the finger
and the hand is (#1), the middle knuckles (door
knocking knuckles) are (#2), and the end joints
of the fingers are numbered (#3). Aligning the middle knuckles, #2’s,
or thereabouts, puts the bat out in the fingers and gets it out of the
palms. Granted, you see different grips from professional hitters, but
this method seems to help hitters who don’t have professional abilities.
Click for Illustration
on
your heels: A
phrase that describes the position of a hitters weight being back on
the heels as opposed to the balls of the feet. This makes it more difficult
to pivot on the ball of the back foot, thus reducing back hip action.
Hitter’s will compensate for failure to pivot by opening the front shoulder,
attempting to drag the barrel through contact.
opposite
field: See
backside hitting.
palm up,
palm down: A
phrase that describes the position of the hands at contact. The bottom
hand is palm down, pulling back on the knob, while the top hand is palm
up, pushing the barrel through contact. See mechanical
couple and extension.
Click for Illustration
pivot:
A
term used to describe a rotational movement around a point.
pivot
on back foot: A
term used to describe the rotation on the ball of the back foot as the
heel lifts off the ground and moves to a point above the ball of the
foot. This pushing action against the ground causes the ground to push
back with the same force (Newton's Third Law of Motion). That force
moves up through the back hip, assisting in trunk rotation.
Click for Illustration
Click Red Dot for Drills
to Develop a Back Foot Pivot
plate
coverage: A
term used to describe the hitter’s ability to effectively reach any
pitches in the strike zone with the barrel of the bat during a swing.
Click for Inside Pitch Illustrations
Click for Outside Pitch Illustrations
Click for Proper Distance From Plate Illustrations
Click for Too Close To Plate Illustrations
Click for Too Far From Plate Illustrations
power
base: A
term used to describe the position of a hitter after his striding foot
has contacted the ground, while keeping his hands and weight back. The
hitter’s front side is loaded and ready to make an aggressive move toward
the ball.
Click for Illustration
premature
extension: see
barred arm.
pull:
A
term used to describe the direction of a batted ball to the same side
of the field he takes his stance upon. Example: a right-handed hitter
pulls the ball when he hits it anywhere from the left-center gap to
the left field line.
quiet
eyes: A
term used in conjunction with keeping the head still so the eyes can
function properly in picking up, identifying, and tracking the ball.
Click Red Dot for Drills
to Develop a Quiet Head
reach:
A
term some hitting instructors use to describe the stride. “Reach” conveys the thought of staying back with the hands and weight, and to “reach”
with your big toe on your stride foot.
Click for Illustration
Click Red Dot for Drills
to Develop a Stride
release
point: The
position where the ball is released from the pitcher’s hand. The release
point will vary from pitcher to pitcher, and may even vary within the
same pitcher on different type pitches. A good hitter or coach can tell
what pitch is coming if pitchers use different release points for different
pitches. As the pitcher’s motion begins, the hitter moves his eyes to
the release point to pick up the ball out of the pitcher’s hand. See
fine centering.
Click for Baseball Release Point Illustration
Click for Fastpitch Softball Release Point Illustration
rotational:
A
term used to describe a angular motion in which body parts move at the
same angle around a line in space (axis of rotation).
rotational
method: A
major hitting method that involves the rotating of body parts about
the longitudinal
axis of the body in order to develop bat speed. This method transfers
energy from the ground up through a system of levers, integrating linear
aspects (weight shift) as well as the rotational action of the hips
and trunk to conserve angular momentum. This tremendous force that is
gathered can be applied out through the chest, arms, hands, and bat
head as extension occurs through contact. See extension.
Click for Stance and Inward Turn Illustrations
Click for Stride/Separation and Hips Clearing Illustrations
Click for Contact Position and Extension Illustrations
Click for Follow-through Illustration
rhythm:
A
term to describe an underlying motion in a hitter that is used in the
used for several purposes. Rhythm is used as a timing mechanism to overcome
inertia that leads a hitter into a load. It is also used to help a hitter
avoid pre-swing tension.
Click Red Dot for Drills
to Develop a Rhythm
separation:
A
term used to describe the two separate actions that occur in the swing:
(1) the stride, and (2) the weight shift. As a hitters rhythm takes
him into his load, his striding foot reaches forward
landing big toe first. This occurs simultaneously with the loading of
the front side, hands, and bat head. The hitter is now in the power
base position ready to go forward. This step must be separate from
the weight transfer, because it establishes a post on the front side
to receive the weight. As weight begins to move forward, the front heel
goes down simultaneously with the back heel lifting to pivot, while
the bottom hand pulls the knob. The back knee rotates inward to a position
ready to push the back hip from the back foot pivot. Separation must
occur for an effective weight transfer against a firm front side already
in place. Failure to have the striding foot in place would result in
a lunge.
Click for Stance and Load Illustrations
Click for Stride and Bottom Half Weight Shift Illustrations
Click Red Dot for Drills
to Develop Separation
short
front arm: A
term that is used to similar to maintaining an angle in the front arm,
avoiding barring out or premature
extension. Some hitters shorten their front arm (keep their front
elbow bent) on an inside pitch in order to keep their hands inside the
ball. This shortens the swing arc so they can get the bat head to the
inside pitch quicker, since it has to be contacted further out front.
Click for Illustration
shoulder
to shoulder: A
term that describes the position of the head starting inside the front
shoulder and finishing inside the back shoulder remaining relatively
unchanged in position during the swing.
Click for Illustration
shoulder,
high front: A
phrase that describes the position of the front shoulder in relation
to the back shoulder while a hitter is taking his stance. Beginning
with the front shoulder high normally results in a lifting or uppercut
type swing plane.
Click for Illustration
stance:
A
term used to describe the placement of the hitters feet in the batters
box. Stance also could mean the initial starting position of the swing.
Click for Illustration
stance,
close your: A
phrase used instructing a hitter to move his front foot closer to the
plate, which would close his front side to the pitcher (show more of
his back to the pitcher).
Click for Illustration