Terrific material. Also, notice how, just prior to contact, his head and chin dip down slightly. That permits him to not only track the ball onto his bat, but presses his weight forward into the ball. Trea Turner, Freeman, Will Smith and many others do this. Aaron, Ripken and Griffey, Jr. did so in the past, to name a few.
He was really bad in the majors until this year. 2 teams got rid of him for nothing last year. The power was always there in AAA but it never really translated to MLB until this year. I hope he keeps it up! Would be a really great success story, and another trade the A's can make for prospects at the deadline.
@@Benisuber1 he was terrible in the mlb with the padres. his power numbers are surprisingly incredible right now and I'm happy he made that adjustment for himself
Love that baseball players actually get into details and techniques they aren’t super vague or don’t care about getting too nerdy like basketball or football
Even though he isn't on the Twins anymore I'm happy Brent is finding success with the A's. Great guy and definitely deserves all the success he is having. Put in the work and it's paying off. He's also easily been the best guest I have seen on the show as evidenced by the reactions from everyone to having him on. Go Brent!
Similar golf reference is how mookie betts swings, he does so well every year because he lifts the ball with that coil wind up that generates smooth power to lift the ball.
Yup! When he says he’s “on the fastball,” that means he’s anticipating a fastball’s coming based on the count, the pitcher’s usage percentages and body language, or other factors. He’ll gear up for the fastball and react to spin if it’s a pitch in the zone he wants to hit. Alternatively, being “on breaking balls” means that he’s anticipating spin on the next pitch, and will try to react to a fastball in the zone if the pitcher throws that instead. Most hitters hit off of the fastball and react to the breaking ball because “being on the breaking ball” is a much tougher approach since so many pitchers have great breaking stuff backed up by 95+ mph fastballs that are really difficult to catch up to for hitters that aren’t anticipating them coming. It’s normally easier for hitters to keep their hands back ready for the fastball and adjust to hit a slower pitch, versus anticipating a slower pitch and trying to speed up their bodies to hit a faster pitch. Does that make sense?
You have less than 0.4 seconds to decide and execute multiple things: 1. What is the speed of the pitch? 2. Where is the pitch located? 3. What is the spin of the pitch/will the pitch break? 4. If the ball is in the strike zone: complete the swing and deliver the barrel of the bat to the ball, with power. There are hard limits to the capability of the human body that even the most intense practice and training can never change. Think of the amount of time it takes the light to get onto your retina, then have that electrical signal travel through your nerves to your brain where it can decipher and make a decision on the 3 factors that I laid out, and then send the correct signals along your nerves to the muscles to actually swing or not. Even though it seems like it is instantaneous, these processes follow the laws of physics that create a minimum amount of reaction time in human beings. The most obvious spot for improvement is in training your brain to decipher and make a decision more quickly, and that is what the thousands of at bats that players take each year help to improve. Studies show that visual reaction time can not improve to be faster than 120ms, and the average MLB player is closer to 140ms. That same MLB player would take 150-200ms to contract the muscles and explode into a swing, with the bat arriving in position to hit the ball at the end of that time frame. You may have noticed that every player starts the swing as soon as the pitcher starts his throwing motion; they do not wait until the ball has actually been thrown or they would never be able to swing in time. We already have 50% - 75% of our time dedicated to just seeing and swinging. Now we are left with about 150 ms or less to: see how fast the pitch is, where exactly it is going relative to the invisible strike zone that we are defending, and how much it will break either sideways or downward. We have to analyze all of those factors and then execute regularly or someone else is going to take our job. Realistically, the only way to be successful in that is to study how the pitcher attacks a batter in various different counts. (i.e 0 balls, 0 strikes or 3 balls, 1 strike, etc) Once you have studied enough, then you can make an educated guess on what pitch the pitcher is going to throw, and sometimes also where they would throw it. To give a specific but generic example: 2nd inning, baserunner on first, 2 out and the count is 3 balls, 1 strike. Classic coaching would have a pitcher throw a fastball at the bottom of the strike zone, on the edge of the plate away from the batter. Reasons being most pitchers are most accurate with their fastball, so they should hit the zone and not give up a walk that puts a baserunner in scoring position as well as the possibility of a ground ball that allows your fielders to play defense behind you. If you are an MLB hitter, you know everything that I just wrote here and a billion times more. They are also aware that if you know a fastball is coming, it is usually the most consistent pitch to hit because of it's lack of movement, and that they can always slow down to try and foul off a slower, unexpected breaking or off speed pitch. The best thing you can do then in that specific example is to "sit on" a fastball down and away, since trying to figure out what pitch is coming and if it's a strike in less than 150ms is almost impossible. Other game scenarios, like the ones Rooker described, might cause you to be "on" a breaking ball instead of the fastball. This is generally less ideal because you can not usually catch up to foul off a fastball if you are waiting on a slower pitch. Every at bat is esentially a small chess match and you would find that almost all successful MLB hitters do a lot more of their hitting with their brains than they do with their bodies. Sorry for the length of the response!
So annoying this dude didn’t make it consistently to the majors way earlier on. Good for him to stick with it! Dude should have been making million+ a year 4 years ago
The great Rafael Palmeiro in his sworn testimony before the United States Congress: ”I never used performance-enhancing drugs, PERIOD !” 🧐 😲😳😬 🤣😂🤣 😉 ⚾️⚾️⚾️ ROGER, The LOS ANGELES DODGER
here's the players who have led the league in OPS for the month of April over the years, and how their season went: 22: Jose Ramirez (6.0 WAR, MVP-4) 21: Mike Trout (1.090 OPS, injured after 36 games, still made All-Star) 19: Cody Bellinger (8.6 WAR, MVP) 18: Mookie Betts (10.7 WAR, MVP) 17: Ryan Zimmerman (.930 OPS, MVP-20) 16: Bryce Harper (fresh off one of the best offensive seasons of all time, did dip to a _mere_ .814 OPS in '16 though) 15: Adrian Gonzalez (4.6 WAR, MVP-19) 14: Troy Tulowitzki (5.7 WAR, MVP-25 despite playing
MLB Network does amazing coverage. My favorite of the major sport networks in America
And it’s not even close really, nba is atrocious and NFL is just so big it’s hard to really wrap your arms around it, it’s just not as genuine imo
NHL on TNT kills it
And it’s probably the least watched. Crazy
Guys great. Good character and phenomenal play this season
Terrific material. Also, notice how, just prior to contact, his head and chin dip down slightly. That permits him to not only track the ball onto his bat, but presses his weight forward into the ball. Trea Turner, Freeman, Will Smith and many others do this. Aaron, Ripken and Griffey, Jr. did so in the past, to name a few.
Great catch
This dude’s a stud. People have been sleepin on him for too long
On mlb the show 22 I traded for him and that’s what got my attention he held down CF for me team and did great in Simulation
He was really bad in the majors until this year. 2 teams got rid of him for nothing last year. The power was always there in AAA but it never really translated to MLB until this year.
I hope he keeps it up! Would be a really great success story, and another trade the A's can make for prospects at the deadline.
@@Benisuber1 he was terrible in the mlb with the padres. his power numbers are surprisingly incredible right now and I'm happy he made that adjustment for himself
what? He wasn’t anything impactful until this year, look at his stats man. No one was sleeping on him because he wasn’t that great in the majors.
Twins fan here, happy for Brent! Wish we could've given him more of a chance!
What a stud. Keep it up Brent!
Love that baseball players actually get into details and techniques they aren’t super vague or don’t care about getting too nerdy like basketball or football
You guys need to have d-ro put on all the sensors and fancy stuff teams use to analyze swings.
Pause that, run that back, stacked.. rip this, toe tap, gassed.. stuck that, stick that guy, smoked him.
Cement mixer 0-2 in the middle of the dish 😂
Even though he isn't on the Twins anymore I'm happy Brent is finding success with the A's. Great guy and definitely deserves all the success he is having. Put in the work and it's paying off.
He's also easily been the best guest I have seen on the show as evidenced by the reactions from everyone to having him on. Go Brent!
Watched him crush some baseballs in person when he played at State. Glad to see another Dawg doing well in MLB
Similar golf reference is how mookie betts swings, he does so well every year because he lifts the ball with that coil wind up that generates smooth power to lift the ball.
Can anyone explain what the “on” fastball or “on” breaking ball means?
The breakdown going on in a batters mind at each plate appearance is amazing
Yup! When he says he’s “on the fastball,” that means he’s anticipating a fastball’s coming based on the count, the pitcher’s usage percentages and body language, or other factors. He’ll gear up for the fastball and react to spin if it’s a pitch in the zone he wants to hit. Alternatively, being “on breaking balls” means that he’s anticipating spin on the next pitch, and will try to react to a fastball in the zone if the pitcher throws that instead. Most hitters hit off of the fastball and react to the breaking ball because “being on the breaking ball” is a much tougher approach since so many pitchers have great breaking stuff backed up by 95+ mph fastballs that are really difficult to catch up to for hitters that aren’t anticipating them coming. It’s normally easier for hitters to keep their hands back ready for the fastball and adjust to hit a slower pitch, versus anticipating a slower pitch and trying to speed up their bodies to hit a faster pitch. Does that make sense?
It means that is what they are looking for at that moment.
You have less than 0.4 seconds to decide and execute multiple things:
1. What is the speed of the pitch?
2. Where is the pitch located?
3. What is the spin of the pitch/will the pitch break?
4. If the ball is in the strike zone: complete the swing and deliver the barrel of the bat to the ball, with power.
There are hard limits to the capability of the human body that even the most intense practice and training can never change. Think of the amount of time it takes the light to get onto your retina, then have that electrical signal travel through your nerves to your brain where it can decipher and make a decision on the 3 factors that I laid out, and then send the correct signals along your nerves to the muscles to actually swing or not. Even though it seems like it is instantaneous, these processes follow the laws of physics that create a minimum amount of reaction time in human beings. The most obvious spot for improvement is in training your brain to decipher and make a decision more quickly, and that is what the thousands of at bats that players take each year help to improve.
Studies show that visual reaction time can not improve to be faster than 120ms, and the average MLB player is closer to 140ms. That same MLB player would take 150-200ms to contract the muscles and explode into a swing, with the bat arriving in position to hit the ball at the end of that time frame. You may have noticed that every player starts the swing as soon as the pitcher starts his throwing motion; they do not wait until the ball has actually been thrown or they would never be able to swing in time.
We already have 50% - 75% of our time dedicated to just seeing and swinging. Now we are left with about 150 ms or less to: see how fast the pitch is, where exactly it is going relative to the invisible strike zone that we are defending, and how much it will break either sideways or downward. We have to analyze all of those factors and then execute regularly or someone else is going to take our job.
Realistically, the only way to be successful in that is to study how the pitcher attacks a batter in various different counts. (i.e 0 balls, 0 strikes or 3 balls, 1 strike, etc) Once you have studied enough, then you can make an educated guess on what pitch the pitcher is going to throw, and sometimes also where they would throw it.
To give a specific but generic example: 2nd inning, baserunner on first, 2 out and the count is 3 balls, 1 strike. Classic coaching would have a pitcher throw a fastball at the bottom of the strike zone, on the edge of the plate away from the batter. Reasons being most pitchers are most accurate with their fastball, so they should hit the zone and not give up a walk that puts a baserunner in scoring position as well as the possibility of a ground ball that allows your fielders to play defense behind you.
If you are an MLB hitter, you know everything that I just wrote here and a billion times more. They are also aware that if you know a fastball is coming, it is usually the most consistent pitch to hit because of it's lack of movement, and that they can always slow down to try and foul off a slower, unexpected breaking or off speed pitch. The best thing you can do then in that specific example is to "sit on" a fastball down and away, since trying to figure out what pitch is coming and if it's a strike in less than 150ms is almost impossible. Other game scenarios, like the ones Rooker described, might cause you to be "on" a breaking ball instead of the fastball. This is generally less ideal because you can not usually catch up to foul off a fastball if you are waiting on a slower pitch.
Every at bat is esentially a small chess match and you would find that almost all successful MLB hitters do a lot more of their hitting with their brains than they do with their bodies.
Sorry for the length of the response!
@GayLeno those are only a few of the things they have to think about in that moment
@@GayLeno thank you for such a great response!
12:25 He's had Al Leiter training him!
The adjustments he's talking about having made are essentially the same things Jose Bautista did to increase his OBP and OPS.
Best quote: “You were expecting a cement mixer over the middle of the plate.”
He and Vegas are the only things exciting about the A’s
What a smart hitter. Look at his bat. The only part that has real meat to it is the sweet spot. I bet that thing is a joy to swing.
Great stuff man ❤it
So annoying this dude didn’t make it consistently to the majors way earlier on. Good for him to stick with it! Dude should have been making million+ a year 4 years ago
Welcome to Braves County
Wait.. John Mayberry never played with Mark McGwire ??
John Mabry. McGwire and Mabry played together on the 2001 Cardinals.
this guys gonna get traded at the deadline to a contender, maybe Minnesota
His numbers are way down since this aired. Not sure why he would give opposing pitchers free information...
Xander Bogaerts would be a good one.
The great Rafael Palmeiro in his sworn testimony before the United States Congress: ”I never used performance-enhancing drugs, PERIOD !” 🧐 😲😳😬 🤣😂🤣 😉 ⚾️⚾️⚾️
ROGER, The LOS ANGELES DODGER
ATTN: ALL MLB PITCHERS.
Lol
You guys ruined him haha. Got him to disclose his entire approach at the plate and literally has 2 hits since this interview.
only thing left is to get a new barber
Rooker (29) has had one good month in his short 3 year career and now he’s teaching everyone on MLBN how to swing a bat? No way it can be this easy
here's the players who have led the league in OPS for the month of April over the years, and how their season went:
22: Jose Ramirez (6.0 WAR, MVP-4)
21: Mike Trout (1.090 OPS, injured after 36 games, still made All-Star)
19: Cody Bellinger (8.6 WAR, MVP)
18: Mookie Betts (10.7 WAR, MVP)
17: Ryan Zimmerman (.930 OPS, MVP-20)
16: Bryce Harper (fresh off one of the best offensive seasons of all time, did dip to a _mere_ .814 OPS in '16 though)
15: Adrian Gonzalez (4.6 WAR, MVP-19)
14: Troy Tulowitzki (5.7 WAR, MVP-25 despite playing
He has a great swing
@@ARMTOASTimpressive