Chili Davis

[jad]

Well yes. I agree with some of that. But during his bad periods, JBJ wasn't making good contact at all--all K's and tappers. He now has a beautiful swing (but in a sense, always has; cf. Ortiz--when he swings and misses, it looks like he's swatting at the ball!) I don't understand 'slider-type' bat speed (doesn't this just mean timing does not adjust to pitch speed? I'm not sure that falls under the category 'mechanics', which is always what one hears with JBJ.) (Then again, I don't really trust 'scouting'--I guess I'm more a less a Moneyball thinker on this aspect of the baseball institution!) Obviously, there's a case to be made for 'simpler is better', and maybe that applies to his case. Even on our level, the simpler your golf/tennis stroke is, the easier time you'll have getting back to it if something goes wrong. One hitting coach I heard used to say he got hitters out of a slump by pretending to see a flaw in their swing and having them concentrate exclusively on that. Focussing them on this real or imaginary detail then would clear their heads of the clutter that was preventing their bodies from 'doing its thing'. (This of course presumes that the athlete already possesses basic skills. -- focussing on one thing is NEVER going to put my drive 300 yards straight down the fairway.)

[User Name]

Bat path and load timing issues are real things. I'm a forward thinker myself, but I've been around scouts and kids long enough to know how a moving-parts swing affects the ability to catch up to velocity, and how an inefficient bat path can create contact and swing-and-miss issues.

[jad]

Bat path and load timing issues are real things. I'm a forward thinker myself, but I've been around scouts and kids long enough to know how a moving-parts swing affects the ability to catch up to velocity, and how an inefficient bat path can create contact and swing-and-miss issues.

 

I'm wondering: check out the video on ESPN. Do you see these flaws? (And do you think JBJ actually made a conscious mechanical adjustment?) I ask because I'm wondering what hitting instructors do, and what they did (if anything) to correct a couple of streaky RS hitters in the past when they were in their severe slumps (Boggaerts, Nava, JBJ himself of course, Ellsbury ... I'm sure there have been many others, maybe even Allen Craig).

 

(Let's hope they leave JBJ alone for the time being, but I imagine teammates and coaches are treating him like a pitcher in the midst of a no-hitter.)