If you enjoyed our hitting talk and want to learn more, click the link below to check out our new course explaining our step-by-step system to building an elite swing and over 25 drills! antonellibaseball.mykajabi.com/buildingtheeliteswing-lp
I have been having this problem. I am 17 years old and I hit my first homerun about 2 weeks ago. Recently I got into a slump and I am popping everything up to 3rd, short, and left field. All my coaches say I am dropping my back shoulder, but they didn't really explain to me what that even meant. Glad I found this video. I am going to have to video tape myself when I get to practice today.
A good drill for someone with a very loopy swing is a two tee drill with the front ball higher than the back one, but the back one is a ball and a half lower than the front one. It teaches proper barrel path.
"THE SLIGHT UPSWING IS BEST." See page 47 illustration of "The Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams and John Underwood - slight upswing mirrors trajectory of the incoming pitch - affording opportunity for consistent contact in the sweet spot of the ball, on a plane elevated above infielders' reach. When ball is contacted in the sweet spot of the barrel of the bat - with this slight upswing - physics takes over and the pitcher's energy plus the hitter's energy, is imparted to the ball on a driving, aerial trajectory that carries the ball to maximum distance - a Home Run. The back shoulder then, must always be lower, to achieve this launching trajectory for the ball. Look at Ted in the illustrations, back shoulder is lower and has to be, to accomplish a slight upswing. Note in the last seasons, Barry Bonds was hitting a home run every ten (10) at bats. Bonds used a short, light controllable bat on a slight upswing - just like Ted Williams decades before. Solid contact on the barrel of the bat is more important than swing speed. The pitcher's energy alone is more than enough to hit crisp line drives - and yes, home runs - with solid, centered contact of the ball, on a slight upswing trajectory. See Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series, Game 1, Ninth Inning, Walk Off Home Run, for a key example, of maximum harvest of pitcher's energy, with the physics of a slight upswing trajectory. In this case, the hitter could not deliver much energy, due to tender leg injuries. [Kirk as a left hander, pulled the ball, well over the right field fence of 330', even with a tailing slider on the outside half of the plate - exactly the correct pitch to deliver defensively. The energy of the pitch alone, combined with sweet spot contact of the barrel of the bat, in slight upswing, was sufficient to achieve a winning physics for the hitter.] In the batting cage, practice solid contact of the ball on a slight upswing, swinging slowly at first, but always with solid controlled contact on the ball, gradually adding more swing speed and ball speed, over the course of ongoing practice sessions. When ball contact becomes inconsistent, return to slower speeds, recover solid contact, then move through the speed regimes, with refined contact skills, always with the slight upswing. It takes 1,500 repetitions for muscle memory to be established, due to the process of myelination of the neurons & other cells in the brain. Ultimately, work up to the ball speeds you expect to use in game play, achieving repetitive, solid contact, allowing the physics to work in your favor. As Ted rightly identified then, this becomes the winning "Science of Hitting". It is your recipe for success & enjoyment at all ages and all levels of play in baseball. The application of these principles becomes the entry way, to increased competence in hitting, which opens access to higher levels of competition. God bless you. And God bless America. _____
You don't even know what have you done , I'm a cricket player and was one of the best batsman my friends had and suddenly I couldn't connect the ball in middle and they won't even let me bat and it has been a year , I've been so depressed about my batting and this relapse really broke me and it kept getting worse and worse and I don't know how many videos I watched just to figure out what I was doing wrong and in the end a baseball video helped me spot that my back shoulder was above my front shoulder . Thank you very much sir!!!!!
It's hilarious how every other sport that involves hitting a ball (Tennis, Golf, Cricket, Table Tennis, Squash) all agree that a proper swing involves both weight transfer and body rotation, but baseball still says swing down on the ball with just your arms.
Thanks for this info! Last year I was consistently hitting deep and getting on base at least 3 out of 4 times at bat. I had a very high on base average. However, I started listening to everyone telling me this year that I'm dropping my back shoulder when I get ready to swing hard. Due to that, I have been focused on trying to keep my back shoulder up higher than my leading shoulder which has caused my on base avg to drop big time! 1 or 2 on bases each game v/s almost every time at bat last year. I have been hitting shallow pop flys every since I have been trying to focus on changing the way I swing. It seems to have taken my concentration off of the ball, the power of my swing, and etc b/c I'm so focused on not dropping my shoulder when I load up. I'm going back to last year's swing based on your video and getting back to hitting deep balls on the fence again!
Christopher, If you are thinking about anything other than seeing the ball and hitting it hard you will screw yourself. Work on your swing in the cages and trust your swing in the games. What level baseball do you play? You look 30 but sound like a 10 year old when it comes to hitting
Thanks Matt. Good info. I'm former pro player for 8 years in the minors. My daughter is loosing the barrel and disconnected for now until we fix. I have done lessons for years myself but I'm always up to learning more and this helped me teach. Thank you! Always learning thanks for the tip and we will work on it.
Thanks for this video my coaches kept telling me to stop dropping my back shoulder and have this flat kinda east to west bat path but I knew that wasn't the case, thanks for the better understanding
Thank you. My daughter started dropping the barrel before her swing 2 months ago. Nothing I tried fixed it. Those 2 pointers immediately eliminated it. See if it stays fixed next time out but so good to see her good swing again.
Awsum ,I work with my son a lot , 16 u and it's hard to figure out why a few balls are flying out to right field and the majority are driven. And we or I think it's a shoulder problem . This makes a lot of sense. Great stuff thanks Matt. Keep up the good vids.
Matt I’ve watched a lot of your videos but some how I missed this one. And that’s a shame because this is definitely one of the best I’ve seen. You touched on several issues that I regularly see in young hitters. One of those being that when players hear “get on plane with the ball”. Or anything about “launch angle” they create this swing with a very steep (upward) bat path. Yes I know slow motion video shows us that good hitters have a slightly upward bat path. But I talking excessive. And the result is swinging under a lot of balls. In the players mind they are swinging “on plane” but in reality they aren’t. This is why I believe certain phrases like “stay on top” can help some hitters. It’s “feel vs real” right. But some hear stay on top but it leads to bad form like you demonstrate. Great video. Thanks.
Another thing I personally noticed that helps me is to choke about a half inch on the bat. Not because it's too heavy but because I feel like I have more control over the bat's path and it gives me the ability to make mid-swing adjustments that I can't make when not choking up mid-swing.
I think the bottom arm/hand is responsible too. A weak bottom forearm will struggle to keep knob in path causing bat barrel to drop below the zone - even if the other mechanics evidence correct form. I’ve seen this in my 9 year old. Giving the matter some thought, I can also see why a weak load could contribute to the left hand forearm taking on more weight.
The only time the back shoulder shouldn't drop is if the pitch is shoulder height or above. Otherwise it will ALWAYS drop. The lower the pitch the lower the back shoulder drops (and more side bend).
This isn't really related but as a kid playing baseball I was NEVER told that I had to keep my back elbow up. So it would point down and I couldn't get any lift on the ball. When I taught myself to keep the back elbow up, I could actually start hitting but by then I was then done with baseball after years of disappointment.
About time I found this video bc I’ve always been told stop dropping your back shoulder then I’d see there shoulder and start to get confused on what they mean then I started getting a strait batting stance which made my frustrations worse
Hi Matt you mentioned another video in this video you had just put out, can let me know the link to that video? Thanks for all your teaching videos. I would love to find this kind of in-depth training like yours or Bobby Tewksbary’s in my area for my boys
Any advice or drills for a young player who seems to be collapsing his back when he swings? My middle boy swings fairly well for his age (7), but has started collapsing his back when he swings, like a "c" shape (he's a right-handed hitter). I'm not sure how to help him to stop!
My highschool baseball coach always told me to step through with tight foot and to lead with my back should and it worked fine for me but what about someone else could it work for them as well ?
If you enjoyed our hitting talk and want to learn more, click the link below to check out our new course explaining our step-by-step system to building an elite swing and over 25 drills!
antonellibaseball.mykajabi.com/buildingtheeliteswing-lp
Found out a really bad habit that causes this too...
Bending your spine/hip area in when your swinging
I have been having this problem. I am 17 years old and I hit my first homerun about 2 weeks ago. Recently I got into a slump and I am popping everything up to 3rd, short, and left field. All my coaches say I am dropping my back shoulder, but they didn't really explain to me what that even meant. Glad I found this video. I am going to have to video tape myself when I get to practice today.
A good drill for someone with a very loopy swing is a two tee drill with the front ball higher than the back one, but the back one is a ball and a half lower than the front one. It teaches proper barrel path.
EXACTLY. How frustrating is it to hear that constantly?! Teammates misdiagnosing is VERY annoying.
Another great video, man. Keep it up!
Amazing timing that this came out right when I noticed I do this
"THE SLIGHT UPSWING IS BEST."
See page 47 illustration of "The Science of Hitting"
by Ted Williams and John Underwood - slight upswing
mirrors trajectory of the incoming pitch -
affording opportunity for consistent contact
in the sweet spot of the ball,
on a plane elevated above infielders' reach.
When ball is contacted in the sweet spot
of the barrel of the bat - with this slight upswing -
physics takes over and the pitcher's energy
plus the hitter's energy, is imparted to the ball
on a driving, aerial trajectory that carries the ball
to maximum distance - a Home Run.
The back shoulder then, must always be lower,
to achieve this launching trajectory for the ball.
Look at Ted in the illustrations,
back shoulder is lower
and has to be,
to accomplish a slight upswing.
Note in the last seasons, Barry Bonds was hitting
a home run every ten (10) at bats.
Bonds used a short, light controllable bat on a
slight upswing - just like Ted Williams decades
before. Solid contact on the barrel of the bat
is more important than swing speed.
The pitcher's energy alone is more than enough
to hit crisp line drives - and yes, home runs -
with solid, centered contact of the ball,
on a slight upswing trajectory.
See Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series, Game 1,
Ninth Inning, Walk Off Home Run,
for a key example,
of maximum harvest of pitcher's energy,
with the physics of a slight upswing trajectory.
In this case, the hitter could not deliver
much energy, due to tender leg injuries.
[Kirk as a left hander, pulled the ball,
well over the right field fence of 330',
even with a tailing slider
on the outside half of the plate -
exactly the correct pitch to deliver defensively.
The energy of the pitch alone,
combined with sweet spot contact
of the barrel of the bat,
in slight upswing,
was sufficient to achieve a winning physics
for the hitter.]
In the batting cage, practice solid contact of the ball
on a slight upswing, swinging slowly at first,
but always with solid controlled contact on the ball,
gradually adding more swing speed and ball speed,
over the course of ongoing practice sessions.
When ball contact becomes inconsistent,
return to slower speeds,
recover solid contact,
then move through the speed regimes,
with refined contact skills,
always with the slight upswing.
It takes 1,500 repetitions for muscle memory
to be established,
due to the process of myelination
of the neurons & other cells in the brain.
Ultimately, work up to the ball speeds
you expect to use in game play,
achieving repetitive, solid contact,
allowing the physics to work in your favor.
As Ted rightly identified then,
this becomes the winning
"Science of Hitting".
It is your recipe for success & enjoyment
at all ages and all levels of play in baseball.
The application of these principles
becomes the entry way,
to increased competence in hitting,
which opens access to higher levels
of competition.
God bless you.
And God bless America.
_____
x x all that typing for 2 likes
You don't even know what have you done , I'm a cricket player and was one of the best batsman my friends had and suddenly I couldn't connect the ball in middle and they won't even let me bat and it has been a year , I've been so depressed about my batting and this relapse really broke me and it kept getting worse and worse and I don't know how many videos I watched just to figure out what I was doing wrong and in the end a baseball video helped me spot that my back shoulder was above my front shoulder . Thank you very much sir!!!!!
Great!!! Good luck!
So refreshing to hear a former major leaguer preach against the "down to the ball" nonsense.
It's hilarious how every other sport that involves hitting a ball (Tennis, Golf, Cricket, Table Tennis, Squash) all agree that a proper swing involves both weight transfer and body rotation, but baseball still says swing down on the ball with just your arms.
Tysm I’ve had this problem for 2 years and I’ve never gotten any good advice on this besides this video
Thanks for this info! Last year I was consistently hitting deep and getting on base at least 3 out of 4 times at bat. I had a very high on base average. However, I started listening to everyone telling me this year that I'm dropping my back shoulder when I get ready to swing hard. Due to that, I have been focused on trying to keep my back shoulder up higher than my leading shoulder which has caused my on base avg to drop big time! 1 or 2 on bases each game v/s almost every time at bat last year. I have been hitting shallow pop flys every since I have been trying to focus on changing the way I swing. It seems to have taken my concentration off of the ball, the power of my swing, and etc b/c I'm so focused on not dropping my shoulder when I load up. I'm going back to last year's swing based on your video and getting back to hitting deep balls on the fence again!
Christopher,
If you are thinking about anything other than seeing the ball and hitting it hard you will screw yourself. Work on your swing in the cages and trust your swing in the games.
What level baseball do you play? You look 30 but sound like a 10 year old when it comes to hitting
This is outstanding ... may have just helped me with a guy that is disconnected and popping everything up. Thanks!!
Thanks Matt. Good info. I'm former pro player for 8 years in the minors. My daughter is loosing the barrel and disconnected for now until we fix. I have done lessons for years myself but I'm always up to learning more and this helped me teach. Thank you! Always learning thanks for the tip and we will work on it.
Excellent point regarding the posture and spine angle.
Thank you!!! This ie EXACTLY what was wrong with my son's swing. Always getting disconnected from his swing. This video was hugely helpful
Thanks for this video my coaches kept telling me to stop dropping my back shoulder and have this flat kinda east to west bat path but I knew that wasn't the case, thanks for the better understanding
Thank you. My daughter started dropping the barrel before her swing 2 months ago. Nothing I tried fixed it. Those 2 pointers immediately eliminated it. See if it stays fixed next time out but so good to see her good swing again.
Awsum ,I work with my son a lot , 16 u and it's hard to figure out why a few balls are flying out to right field and the majority are driven. And we or I think it's a shoulder problem . This makes a lot of sense. Great stuff thanks Matt. Keep up the good vids.
Great explanation! This will help my 11 year old with this issue.
Great job matt...where were you when i was young and needed help with my hitting to get to the next level...lol
He was still a baby learning to walk
Great video it makes a lot of sense ,turn the barrel around the hands and the shoulders go with the bat angle
i needed this
Such good content!
Matt I’ve watched a lot of your videos but some how I missed this one. And that’s a shame because this is definitely one of the best I’ve seen. You touched on several issues that I regularly see in young hitters. One of those being that when players hear “get on plane with the ball”. Or anything about “launch angle” they create this swing with a very steep (upward) bat path. Yes I know slow motion video shows us that good hitters have a slightly upward bat path. But I talking excessive. And the result is swinging under a lot of balls. In the players mind they are swinging “on plane” but in reality they aren’t. This is why I believe certain phrases like “stay on top” can help some hitters. It’s “feel vs real” right. But some hear stay on top but it leads to bad form like you demonstrate. Great video. Thanks.
Another thing I personally noticed that helps me is to choke about a half inch on the bat. Not because it's too heavy but because I feel like I have more control over the bat's path and it gives me the ability to make mid-swing adjustments that I can't make when not choking up mid-swing.
Elliot B Barry bonds was a big advocate of choking up as well!!! Your in good company.
I think the bottom arm/hand is responsible too. A weak bottom forearm will struggle to keep knob in path causing bat barrel to drop below the zone - even if the other mechanics evidence correct form. I’ve seen this in my 9 year old. Giving the matter some thought, I can also see why a weak load could contribute to the left hand forearm taking on more weight.
Great video and instruction, appreciate it!
The only time the back shoulder shouldn't drop is if the pitch is shoulder height or above. Otherwise it will ALWAYS drop. The lower the pitch the lower the back shoulder drops (and more side bend).
This isn't really related but as a kid playing baseball I was NEVER told that I had to keep my back elbow up. So it would point down and I couldn't get any lift on the ball. When I taught myself to keep the back elbow up, I could actually start hitting but by then I was then done with baseball after years of disappointment.
Great stuff
About time I found this video bc I’ve always been told stop dropping your back shoulder then I’d see there shoulder and start to get confused on what they mean then I started getting a strait batting stance which made my frustrations worse
Awesome! Good luck to you!! Thanks for watching and commenting!
Cool video!
What are your thoughts on Trea Turner???
Hi Matt you mentioned another video in this video you had just put out, can let me know the link to that video? Thanks for all your teaching videos. I would love to find this kind of in-depth training like yours or Bobby Tewksbary’s in my area for my boys
Keep it up Matt love da vids
I got my first bbcor it was a little heavy but I’ve never hit this many pop ups in a cage before
Wry similar to an uppercut to the body in boxing. You don’t throw that punch by just extending you arm at a downward angle
Any advice or drills for a young player who seems to be collapsing his back when he swings? My middle boy swings fairly well for his age (7), but has started collapsing his back when he swings, like a "c" shape (he's a right-handed hitter). I'm not sure how to help him to stop!
My son's head is fall to first base side, he is a righty and it's almost parallel to ground
May I call you Maestro? Great video!
My highschool baseball coach always told me to step through with tight foot and to lead with my back should and it worked fine for me but what about someone else could it work for them as well ?
what helped me to stop droping my back shoulder is to sit in my legs more and get the bend in my hips.
Nice tips 🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks!!! Thank you for watching our stuff and commenting!
Can I get something from one of your plate crate videos please plus I’m a big fan of you
It's amazing how little "conventional knowledge" has to do with how MLB hitters actually hit.
Right hand batter
Gunshots at 4:47? 6:26? 6:40?
nope
You should teach us the spine tilt lol
1
3rd
I first read this and was like what?????? Trrricksy.. That ain't right..
3rd like
I will sacrifice my own life for Pakistan
Im pretty sure Barry Bonds back shoulder was lower than his front shoulder.Just sayin.😁
Yes, he is actually saying that the back shoulder needs to be lower
He also did steroids that why I don’t respect him or Sosa or mark
Tysm I’ve had this problem for 2 years and I’ve never gotten any good advice on this besides this video