Many fluctuations in Bryce Harper – and the swing of Nick Kurtz. How many clubs should be in the bag?
In spring 2013, former Washington National Hit Coordinator Rick Schu was collecting iconic fluctuations from the DVD of Ken Burns’ “Baseball” series, a Christmas gift for his wife. He explained to the Washington Post that he wanted some of the best volatility cuts ever, one of the most effective ways to collect them over a decade ago.
He is hit by something as he watches grainy black and white video: Does Bryce Harper have the same swing as Babe Ruth?
He lined Ruth and Harper side by side and noticed that they took similar strides, and the front side landed the same stiff front side as their hind feet left the ground. Their hips, then the bats, were vaguely not.
“They also have the exact same swing at the touch point,” Shu said. Publish a work As the writer Adam Kilgore describes, it is based on the “beautiful swing” described by Harper’s “Adam Kilgore”.
Harper did not land on the cover of the 16-year-old Sports Illustrated as he sprayed the line drive on the field. Arguably, he became the most popular prospect in the 21st century because he hit a nuclear weapon. This swing made him the first overall draft pick to become the NL MVP at the age of 22 in 2010, which allowed him to meet incredible expectations.
A few weeks ago, I asked Harper how his swing changed from his early career. Harper said his maximum power swing wasn’t much, his “A” swing changed, but he now has multiple fluctuations.
“I think for me, I have more clubs,“Harper said. “Sometimes I have to do toe kicks, when I do leg kicks, and how I do two hits. So, I have those clubs in my schoolbag, right? Just like a golfer has seven irons, pitch wedges or drivers. I’m one of the people in the game, they went from one day to another. ”
How many swings should Do players have one?
How much training economy should be used to develop something else besides trying to fire balls into the air? How long should a person like Harper get rid of this delicate brutal swing?
However, there is a trade-off in adopting different approaches.
To be clear, Harper is still one of the best batsmen in the game. No one will argue. But his highest home run season returned in 2015 (42), which is also his best sport in playing (.649), pull percentage (45.4%) and WRC+ (192). He has fewer than 25 home runs in the season (7), rather than exceeding that threshold (6).
Maybe Harper should have hired his driver more often.
Although his two-hit Woba improved to .307 last year from .239 in 2023, it fell to .267 this season, down from his career mark (.289).
After soaring last season, his overall exposure rate is actually below this year’s career average.
When (if any) should batsmen stay away from their “A” swing? How long should they get rid of the intention to cause harm?
I raise this question on two very different but excellent batsmen at Club A this season: Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz.
Wilson has one of the shortest volatility in the Grand Slam, and has been at the top or near the hit rate rankings all season thanks to his elite eye-hand skills and excellent strikeout rate. (He broke his IL on July 29 with a forearm fracture).
He said his contact skills were honed in his backyard batting cage when he was a kid, he said.
“My dad always wanted me to strike,” Wilson said. “He was very competitive with me. Just learning how to hit these things when I was 10, 12, and that helped me become the batsman I am today.”
Wilson said he had two fluctuations: his regular swing and his two-shot method.
“There are two clubs in the bag,” Wilson said. “With two strikes, I just got behind the ball. Try fouls and fouls.
Wilson is one of the shortest volatility in the league. It’s even shorter than the other counts (6.1 feet), than the two strikes (5.9 feet).
On the other end of the original power spectrum is Kurtz, In a game on July 25, he became the 20th major league player. Since June 1, WRC+ (223) has led the major. He played only 71 games, entered Saturday’s game and took the lead with MLB in 23 home runs.
Kurtz said he had a club: his driver.
He swayed with such force that his batting helmet often fell off his head, revealing his wavy hair.
His swing length (7.7 feet) was the same as two strikes, the same as when he was leading in the count (7.7 feet).
Driveline’s two core hits aim to improve bat speed and bat path.
The greater the bat speed, the better the bat path, and the better the offensive performance.
But that doesn’t mean that bats can only train to hit the ball to the side of its pull, or may be defined as a “swing.”
Stokey wants the batsman to increase their wrong profits. After all, it’s hard to be completely on time with every swing. This means having a swing or swing type that can adapt in real time and damage all parts of the field is a benefit.
Stokey said it would be beneficial to create different types of ball flights in training.
When on Driveline, the batsman is usually given various goals. They don’t always focus on slamming the ball to the side of their pull.
“While we’re talking about the speed of the bat and pulling the ball into the air, you’ll be surprised how many times we hit it,” Stoke said. “Back up the contact points, bring the ball deep to deep, and do well sequenced so that you can maintain the posture and pick up the barrel on the plane behind it…hard and low to the relative field – it will help them reverse engineers, giving them an effective way to have a good path when grabbing the ball in front.
“A lot of them are back to the way to add to your mistakes as a batsman.”
Consider the case of Rocky Mountain outfielder Jordan Beck, who worked with Driveline last offseason. He said he was curious, “to understand other paths that I don’t know or understand.” What he learned was that his Bat Road entered the area too steeply.
“It’s like I have a shorter window that can play the ball into the air,” Baker said. “We try to give ourselves a longer window and play the ball into the air. The best guys will be deep in the air or in front.”
These include various ball flying targets.
The best batsman can work even if the swing collapses, such as being captured in front of the replacement, or resisting the slider that darts enters the shadowed area at a distance of two hits.
All swings collapsed. The average bat speed of MLB had two strikes, dropping at 1.5 miles per hour.
Consider Mookie Betts whom Mookie Betts worked closely with in 2023.
Bats’ speed training is the focus of the offseason entering the season, and that year Betts enjoyed a two-inch/hour peak in terms of export speed, which was the key to his success.
But with Bates, there is also an important change in thinking style.
“What you’re with him is ‘man, your ball-to-ball skills are so good,” Stoke said. “A lot of times you’ll see players with good bat-to-ball skills that they don’t want to swing and miss. So while Mookie doesn’t have a poor chase rate, he will expand on the edge of the shadow area and wield the ball on the ball and slow down and in order to throw the ball into it.”
Even the best batsmen in the game may not have the right mindset because they belong to the power contact spectrum.
“It’s really important for his 2023 season that the approach is very simple,” Stoke said.
They focus on the internal crushing court, Bets performed well and got as many of the best swings as possible. Electrical contact.
“‘Don’t be afraid to swing and miss it. Because as the count gets deeper and deeper, your bats are so good at ball skills, so you won’t be stuffed.” “‘As many swings as you can, because you have the ability to influence the baseball, the ball hits crazy.” …Man, don’t slow yourself down to play before two hits. ”
“The shift in mindsets has a big difference in performance throughout the season. There is a big difference in ability and ability to cause damage throughout the season.”
In 2023, Betts set a career high (39) on home runs, increasing the batting average and increasing the WRC+ from 144 to 165. He also lowered his strikeout rate. He finished second in the NL MVP vote.
Bates is already an excellent player, but using golf analogies, attracting his driver more frequently, bringing him to a greater level. One of Betts’ strengths is curiosity. Despite his past, he has been seeking to get better.
Of course, the blow is very personal.
Stoke said Giancarlo Stanton should have less worries about swing and disappearance than Luis Arraez, because he would cause losses when connected. Some bats can probably benefit from having more clubs in their bags, too.
However, there is no substitute for building a better engine and getting into the “swing” as much as possible.
