- Mike Ryan, Fastball USA

Place yourself in the middle of someone's swing approach and you have found the absolute most important aspect of the swing.  It's not the swing itself, it's the movement going into the swing just before the wrist un-cock.  With the hips slightly opened, watch and compare your swing to a major league swing.

The domino affect of the mid-turn and second stance create the impact of the swing.


When describing mid-turn we simply use the A,B,C's of rotation.  VERY IMPORTANT!

•     Shoulders and hips have not rotated at all
•     Hips and shoulders have rotated 1/4 turn. (Belly button to first basemen for a righty)
•     Hips and shoulders have rotated 1/2 meaning belly button to pitcher.

Mid-Turn is when the shoulders and hips get to point b. (Belly between first basemen and second basemen.)


On video we refer to a Second Stance as when the stride foot of the hitter has completely planted to the ground. Note: It's not when the stride foot initially touches the ground, it's when the stride foot completely plants to the ground.  What the upper body looks like at foot plant for major leaguers compared to high school and youth league hitters is extremely different.

I use what I call a mid-turn double turn drill which emphasizes what a hitter looks like right before the wrist un-cock.  For communication purposes refer to this as the mid-turn position.  Why is it called mid-turn?  Simply understood because the body is mid-way turned.  As the commercial says.....BRILLIANT!

Watch the elite major league hitter and you will notice as the lower body and hips rotate the hands actually stay back. FROM THE SIDE ANGLE, THE HITTERS HANDS LINE UP OVER THE BACK KNEE AS THE HIPS PARTIALLY ROTATE.


In Mid-Turn, great hitters:

1. Have little to no gap between the middle of the bat and the shoulder.  This means if you were to color or shade the gap, it would be very little to none.
2. Bat Head remains higher than the bottom of the bat.  This means the bat during the initial rotation is not level.  Many trying to teach pull the knob to the ball don't understand that keeping the bat head up and the hands back during rotation is crucial in creating more snap into the ball.  Our studies show the most powerful hitters hold the angle up the highest the longest during rotation.
3. Hands stay back during initial rotation on most pitches.  While the hips and shoulders begin to rotate there is a tension or spring keeping the hands back over the back knee, which produces a tension or spring into the swing.  The longer the hands stay back the better.
4. Barrel to spine relationship.  The top of the bat stays in line with the middle of the back at foot plant and during the rotation of the hips.  The longer you can keep the barrel with the spine the more 'pop' there is into the ball.  For younger players we exaggerate this concept by having players keep the bat head with the head or neck as the hips turn.  The reinforces the concept of bat angle during rotation staying between 1 and 2 O'clock.

If your mid-turn is off, it tells me a lot about your swing.  During the rotation keeping it in line with the spine allows you to keep the bat head up and in which is crucial in creating power into the ball.  Generally the hitters who do this well are the same hitters who don't roll the wrist after impact.  This makes hitting like a domino affect.

Results:

• We see players hit the ball harder with less effort.
• Additionally we are seeing hitters create more bat speed with seemingly less effort.

If the bat head does not stay up in the mid-turn, it creates a dragging like affect which makes hitting a line drive with distance very difficult.  The bat head not up in mid-turn also means it most likely was not up at foot plant (after stride foot landed) referred to as the Secondary Stance.

If a hitter knows and understands a good bat angle during initial rotation he or she is ten times more likely to plant with the bat head in the correct position.


This brings light to Reverse Swing Training or Backwards Chaining.  If the hitter understands the bat angle positioning right before impact, it conversely affects the movements before it.  (Foot Plant)

A common problem that hurts hitters from keeping the barrel in line with the back during rotation is improper lower body movement.

All of those who have been taught to squash the bug and simply spin on their back foot are forced to use their hands more in the swing and therefore rip the bat head away from the middle of the back and try to force the swing.

Major league hitters work from the inside half of the back foot and mostly get up on the tippy toes, which helps the upper body movement.  Those that rotate to the outside of the foot (causing over-rotation) or simply staying back too much can't get the bat head moving directly to the ball.
Test this by placing a bucket next to the back foot and watch to see if the hitter is blocked or kicks the bucket.  A hitter that stays on the inside of of his foot never kicks the bucket with the side of his or her foot.

Teaching knob of the bat to the ball is absolutely a waste if you have a hitter that does not drive off the back foot correctly.  The bottom line is a hitter cannot rotate to the outside half of the foot and expect to stay inside the ball and hit with power. Even Ted Williams was up on his big toe at the point of impact.

By focusing on the middle of the swing and the positioning of body at foot plant, makes the hitter understand the most important aspects of the swing.  Over 90% of our first time students don't look like a major leaguer at foot plant.

Why? Most have no idea of where the hands, bat angle should be at foot plant, and most of those start their top half before the foot has ever planted.

Focus more on evaluating what you look like at foot plant, and what you look like in mid-turn and then you have an awesome comparison to major league hitters.

Spend less time worrying about the stance, and loading, because that will and can fall into place by improving the middle of the swing.  (Which is by far the hardest things to see without video).

You can't force every hitter to load the same way or stand the same way.

Communicate:

• Bat Angle at Foot Plant between one and two O'clock.
• Bat head lines up with the middle of the back.
• Lower Half back foot drive (Get up on the toe)
• Mid-Turn (Barrel to Spine relationship)

This sets the table for the extension and follow through. Generally with poor extension, came poor mid-turn as well.

Suggestions are to video tape and compare yourself to major league hitters at foot plant and during the initial rotation (Mid-Turn). During drills we emphasize keeping the hitters bat angle at least to point B or to exaggerate to point C if they really struggle with it.

The bottom line is: focus on the bottom lines.