One of the most commons errors in hitting instruction amongst players, former players, parents, and coaches is the confusion between style and technique.
Should the back elbow be up or down?
Should the hands be high or low?
Should the feet start close together or far apart?
Should I stride or should I not?
Should I stand tall or crouch?
Should the weight be back or forward?
Should I have a high leg kick or not?
Should he/she be waggling the bat or hips?
The answer to all of these questions is quite simple. It doesn't matter!... UNLESS...(I'll get to the unless in just a moment)
None of those things matter prior to launching the swing. They are things of personal STYLE to the individual hitter. Whatever makes them comfortable in the batters box that they like to do is their style. Often players pick up style from watching their favorite major league players. The problem with this is...(here comes the "unless") if a player has a style or has adopted a style that prevents them from getting to the swing launch position "on time", then their style must change. For example, if a player wants to waggle their bat over their head like Gary Sheffield, but can't get their swing started on time as a result, then their style is killing them. If it does not effect their swing technique, then leave them alone!
The only thing that matters is technique. That is what they do from launch to contact to finish. These are three top Major League hitters with differing styles, but universal technique. Video pictures of these players demonstrating their individual styles I talk about here and their universal hitting technique can be seen on my website at
www.HitItHere.net/showme .
Derrek Lee(Chicago Cubs): Style - High pronounced leg kick and long stride, elbow up high
Cliff Floyd(New York Mets): Style - Medium high leg kick and stride, back elbow down
David Ortiz(Boston Red Sox, then w/ Minnesota) very little and; low leg kick, little stride, elbow medium high
ALL OF THEM: Technique - Watch them all as they.. after they stride to a balanced position, they begin to rotate to launch their swing. Their swing is launched from around the armpit(highest point of the strike zone; why launch from a higher point that's not a strike?); Front elbows working up; back elbows(no matter where they "were") tuck in close to the body in the perfect slot for the back elbow; no forward movement and rotating around their axis after establishing their balance point when the front foot has planted and the healed dropped; hips leading the hands; matching the plane of the pitch; staying inside the ball; sitting on their back leg and sitting behind their axis.
Though their styles are different, their technique is universal. It should come as no surprise to anyone, that great all hitters ALL DO THE SAME THING(in technique) and ALL GET TO THE SAME ADVANTAGEOUS HITTING POSITIONS AFTER THEY HAVE LAUNCHED THEIR SWING.
As you will notice with a lot of players I teach, I eliminate their "style" initially so that we can focus only on technique. For example, I bring their hands down close to the ideal launch position and I have them go ahead and start with their back elbow tucked in close to their body. This is only really for teaching purposes. However, many of them get so comfortable with this new position that they make this their style. I say great, then there are less moving parts and they can stay compact and straight to the ball. BUT, I will not mess with them if after learning the technique if they want to insert their own pre-swing style.
One last thing... check out the picture of Shoeless Joe Jackson(one the game's greatest EVER hitters) Does this position look familiar? This is where I put players to begin with to initially eliminate their style in order to learn the proper technique. Babe Ruth said he learned to hit from watching Shoeless Joe. Read about him on this website
www.shoelessjoejackson.com . He was amazing!
Keep working hard and get a good pitch to hit!
Why not swing like the best hitters in the game?