How could there be a greater looking Baseball Player than Mike Trout? 

Not only does his face and body “talk-the-talk”, but already his ability and demeanor have proven, to even the most “cynical” of critics, that he is quite capable of ‘Walking-the- Walk”.   There isn’t any thing on the baseball field, or any “playing field”, that he isn’t capable of doing to the highest level of performance. The only aspect of his game that I (personally) wish that he would change is his penchant for sliding “head-first” into bases. I say this for the “selfish” reason of my being deprived of seeing him play when he is on the “disabled list” with jammed or broken fingers, hands, arms, neck, or some other upper body injury that is sure to occur at some time or other. I know he can slide feet first , so why not and lessen the injury potential.

Since this article is primarily on “Batting Proficiency”, I will henceforth cease from the voluminous rhetorical references to Trout’s superlative abilities in areas of running, fielding, throwing, base-stealing, hustle, team-spirit, universal fan-appeal, and commercial notoriety, etc., etc.

Mike Trout seems to be a good hitter, not only from a phenomenal standpoint (big, strong, and quick reflexes), but also gives the appearance of being a “smart-hitter”(knowing what to look for in the “count”). He doesn’t seem to find himself at a disadvantage by taking the Pitcher’s first-pitch fastball for a strike (at least much of the time). Because he can easily go to the opposite field, most pitchers can’t slip a fastball by him, nor can they “off-speed” him away (normally). Even with his “leg-kick” stride, which usually leaves a batter vulnerable to off-speed pitches, he generally stays with a pitch in the strike-zone, and with his short, quick swing is able make solid contact (a good deal of the time), especially the low strike.

As I have described a “good-hitter” as a “smart-batter” who looks for a pitcher’s mistake, and capitalizes on it, and a “great-hitter” as “one” who can hit a pitcher’s best pitch with regularity, Mike Trout could easily fit into “both” categories. Right now I would describe him as a “good-hitter” normally, and a “great-hitter” when the Pitcher’s best pitch remains in the strike-zone (like Grienke’s perfectly placed outside corner fast-ball in the All-Star Game). He can legitimately take a first-pitch fastball right down the middle because he isn’t afraid of a pitcher’s awesome “breaking-pitch”. He can hit “anything in the strike-zone! But, when the pitch looks like it is coming over the plate, and breaks into the dirt, that is one of the only times he looks to be vulnerable as a batter. The only other time he appears to be vulnerable is on the high, inside fastball, a little above the strike-zone. ( That is because of his high stance and high bat, the position from which all his power is generated in downward direction, and toward the plate. On that high pitch his body drives his bat down under the ball on a majority of swings, or he is jammed. Most of the time he takes the high pitch, which attests to his astute judgment. )

The main reason he is vulnerable to those types of pitches is his “high leg kick”. Although it appears that he has terrific eyesight, any movement of the head and eyes is at least a “slight-margin-for-error” when a ball is thrown at speeds of 80 to 100 MPH while transcending innumerable horizontal planes. Since Trout has a keen eye and an almost flawless discernment of the “strike-zone”, the only reason he swings at hard sliders in the dirt (or away) is because his perception (as well as the “2-strike complex”) wrongly informs him that the pitch is about to be a “low-strike”. Before he realizes, he is swinging at a pitch outside or below the strike-zone. And the only reason for it is that for the moment his visual acuity was skewed.

The only practical reason for this momentary distorted view is the slight dis-lodgment of the mechanism for visual stability, the head and eyes, due to the high leg-kick stride and “glide” toward the plate. Novice fielders who have the occasion to chase fly-balls or pop-ups while running full-speed will verify how the ball sometimes seems to play tricks on them, and make them difficult to catch, because while running the head is usually bobbing and distorting their vision. “Hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing to do in all of sports” (because of all the variables to be put in order). So, would it not be reasonable to presume that any head movement, while batting, is a natural deterrent to the most efficient practice of hitting of a baseball?

Mike Trout (or any “good hitter”), if he would like to become a “Great Hitter”, would have to eliminate as many margins for error as would be possible. Mike’s biggest “margin for error” has to do with his lack of complete “visual acuity” because of two things: 1) his high bat and high-stance; and 2) his high leg-kick stride. Since even the slightest degree of movement of head and eyes diminishes maximum efficiency to that same degree, the lateral, vertical, and horizontal movements that Trout’s body displays will degrade the accuracy of his swing to that same degree.

It is reasonable to assume that Mike Trout (as well as Miguel Cabrera) could easily be considered a “great-hitter” because he has been known to hit the best of pitchers “best pitch” (Grienke in 2015 All-Star Game) on many occasions. Mike Trout may some day become a “Great-Hitter”, but because of his inconsistency in applying “perfect-mechanics” he is not yet as great as he would like himself to be.

Most (if not all) batters relegate themselves to vulnerability to the greatest “margin-for-error” in the entire batting regimen.  What is the only way to assure oneself of readiness to swing his bat? The front foot must be planted! The only place where “timing” can be disrupted is in the stride. The batter never really knows when to put his foot down. Therefore, never pick up the front foot. Simply generate the needed momentum prior to swing by readying the hips to bring the shoulders, arms, and bat to the ball. By not striding, any batter will see the ball with utmost clarity, and allow for much better contact, no matter how strong he is.” But a player with the power and precision of a Mike Trout would eliminate the greatest deterrent to batting proficiency if he would not stride. If he never raised his front foot, his batting acumen would be closer to flawless!

One thing to always remember, when trying to appreciate the ultimate power of the swing, is that, once the front foot is planted firmly all power is initiated by quick turning of the hips instigated by the driving back bent-knee, the leg of which never straightens. This principle is elaborated upon in an article entitled, “Inertia: Power from the Back of the Bus”, dated 9/13/13, on this website, www.johnpaciorek.com.

If anyone was not convinced that Mike Trout is the Best “all-around” player in Major-League Baseball, then, the 2015 All-Star Game should have made that fact ultra-clear. Not only did he spark his American League team to victory with his “lead-off” Home Run in the first inning off the National League’s “premier-pitcher”, Zack Greinke, but with his subtle brilliance in other areas of play secured an historic honor of being the first Major-League player to win back to back MVP awards in the All-Star Games; and at the tender age of 23 years.

His performance in the All-Star Game is simply a “post-script” to the essay you have just read. His line-drive Home-Run to Right Field against Greinke demonstrated his ability on one “At-bat” to hit the “Best-Pitcher’s” best pitch (“on the ‘black’, out-side corner fast-ball”), while striking out  his next time up on a “best” pitcher’s (Cole) hard, outside slider, completely outside the strike-zone. The “subtle-brilliance”, to which I referred earlier, is when Mike miss-hit a Clayton Kershaw pitch, and beat out what would have been an easy double-play to any one other than himself. He later scored, and helped ignite a rally that proved consequential to the Game’s outcome. The irony to this exceptionally honorific occasion is that it could’ve gone in a diametrically opposite direction if Greinke had thrown that, or  any other, “best” pitch outside the strike-zone. The “gods” certainly do seem to favor Mike Trout, and rightly so – even if does “take a first-pitch fastball strike, right down the middle”.

There is no better Baseball player than MIKE TROUT! But if he would like to be the Game’s “Best Hitter”, he will have to do a little better job at “REDUCING – HIS – MARGINS – for – ERROR”.

*Uhrehara made the mistake of placing his “best-pitch” within the strike-zone, and “low” in the strike- zone, to boot!

The Best! That They can Be? 

From a purely physical standpoint, Paul Goldschmidt doesn’t seem as imposing as the other 4 “bats-men” above. But as the truer representative of mechanical correctness, he reduces the “margins for error” better than the others, and therefore holds the top stop for “Batting Proficiency”. Although both he and Giancarlo Stanton initiate their addressing of the pitcher with hands and bat held high above the right shoulder, before delivery of the pitch they bring the bat to a more reasonable position below the shoulder by dropping the elbow closer to side, thus creating a lower center-of-gravity. From there they are both ready for the initial stages of the swing.

Where Giancarlo initiates the action of the swing with an obvious stride   Goldschmidt raises his front foot slightly from his starting position and immediately replaces it to the ground before the pitch is made . With his front foot already in place, he needs only for the ball to come into his hitting zone where all he has to do is drive his back bent-knee and back hip forward, braced by the straightening front leg which assists in opening the front hip.   As the hips are turning by the application of force of the muscles of the groin, abdomen, and quads, the torso and shoulders have flattened the bat and together with the arms and hands are bringing it to the contact point with power and precision.

As the hips and back bent-knee drive forward, the front leg automatically straightens to keep the vertical  axis of the body erect and intact as well as assure that the power elicited from the back-side allows the bat-to-ball contact to be with full force. (See 9/13/13 article – Inertia: Power from the Back of the Bus.)

Paul Goldschmidt will be a notch above Miguel Cabrera in visual acuity as long as “Miggy” continues to stride (even minimally) and allows head and eye movement to occur. When the pitch is in route and the batter’s foot is in the air, the batter does not know exactly when and where to put the foot down. That little hesitation is a margin-of-error that Goldschmidt has almost (not completely) eliminated, because his foot is already down (at least partially). His only flaw is in the fact that his front foot is not yet planted firmly to the ground. Because the heel is up, his weight is not equally distributed. He sometimes begins the swing with the weight slightly on his back side, preventing the power surge of the back hip from being optimally quick and complete.  The other day on TV, I watch him hit a double into the left-field gap with just that kind swing. IF his foot had been planted completely, the same trajectory would have carried the ball over the fence.

Most good, precision hitters seem to instinctively know that if their hands are holding the bat on or over the bottom knob, the “instrument” for hitting will be slightly heavier during the swing than if a batter “choked-up”. The hitter who insists on holding the bat on the knob or over will find himself “just missing” pitches slightly away, and fouling them straight back, while the “smart-hitter” who “chokes-up”, at least slightly, will almost always have better “bat-control” and make better contact since the bat and  extended arms will not feel the added weight and go under the pitched ball. Examples of “Hitters” who “choke-up” are: Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Joe Morgan, Don Mattingly, Paul Goldschmidt, Hank Aaron, Tony Conigliaro.  Those current hitters whose batting proficiency would improve if they’d reduced this particular “margin for error” are:

 A-Rod, Puig, Pujols, Hanley, Mark Reynolds, and “This-Guy”- 

With everything that Paul Goldschmidt does correctly, he could be even better if he’d do the following: 1) Start here- – to eliminate any superficial excessive movement. 2) Have his front foot planted at that same point, at an angle of 120 degrees-at which the swing would begin simply by driving the back bent-knee and hip forward. The front knee will straighten automatically to stop the forward momentum of the body, thus keeping the “vertical axis” intact. (Read article: “Inertia… 9/13/13)  3) He already does everything else perfectly.

Coming Soon: Part 4 – Bryce Harper

The Best! That They can Be? 

On any given day, it would appear to me that Miguel Cabrera is the most difficult batter for a pitcher to get out. His body is poised and steady. His powerful torso and shoulders are ready to apply the finishing touch to any kind of pitch that the mounds-man’s arsenal can supply. His knees have their slight bend and his arms and hands are fully equipped to navigate his bat with short and precise accuracy to the high-velocity projectile that would subjugate any lesser artisan of bats-man-ship.

Because all of his movements are short, and “to the point”, Miguel is uniquely qualified to make contact with a pitched ball even within the confines of Batting’s most denigrating “margin-of-error”- the “stride”. In a picture as this  it is easy to see why he is most proficient at hitting the ball to all fields. To get to that point of contact from

here  he appears to lift his front foot while loading his upper body 

to take a short stride into the ball. The pitch was on the outside corner, so the fact that his hips are still the driving force that brings the torso, shoulders and bat to the contact point while the front foot has planted assures a powerful impact of optimal effect. If his hips and back bent-knee had been fully rotated as the ball reached that same spot at the plate, Miguel would either have missed it completely, as the bat would not have reached it, or the contact point would have had diminished power capacity.

In this picture, Miguel’s hips are completing their range of motion, and the torso, with shoulders , have brought the arms, hands and bat “inside” the path of an inside pitch in order to “pull” the ball. I’m assuming that the front foot is fastened to the ground, and the front-leg straightened at “contact, while a back bent-knee is moving forward with the back hip. We can also assume, because of the proper mechanics being applied, and the angle of the bat, and the trajectory of the ball, that the swing was optimally effective.

It is reasonable to assume that Miguel Cabrera could easily be considered a “great-hitter” because he has been known to hit the best of pitchers “best pitch” on many occasions. A few years ago, I was watching a Yankees/Tigers game on TV. In the 9th inning Mariano Rivera game in to “Close” with a one run lead. He was expected to face Miguel and two other batters to secure the victory, as was his unrelenting custom. It was known to all that Miguel was not at his best, suffering from a nagging injury. Rivera got two easy strikes but was unable to put Miguel away, as he kept fouling off pitch after pitch. Everyone watching felt it was just a matter of time before he makes an out, presumably striking out. Mariano threw “masterful” pitch after pitch, until finally Cabrera hit one those pin-point “cutters” over the center-field fence, much to the amazement of the commentators and all other on-lookers. Truly the mark of a “Great-Hitter”, at that moment of time.

I would like to consider Miguel as a “Great-Hitter”, but because of his inconsistency in applying “perfect-mechanics” I reluctantly consider him as a “great-hitter”. Of all the batters on my “list of 5”, Cabrera appears to have the best chance of becoming the “perfect – hitter”. My biggest hope in his advancement rests in the fact that he has in the past said the following: “When I get into slumps, I go to the batting cage and do Tee-work and Live batting while “not striding”. Then, in games, I try to follow that regimen, and my slump is gone.” My question to him would be, “then, why don’t you just practice that regimen all the time”?

“Most (if not all) batters relegate themselves to vulnerability to the greatest “margin-for-error” in the entire batting regimen.  What is the only way to assure oneself of readiness to swing his bat? The front foot must be planted! The only place where “timing” can be disrupted is in the stride. The batter never really knows when to put his foot down. Therefore, never pick up the front foot. Simply generate the needed momentum prior to swing by readying the hips to bring the shoulders, arms, and bat to the ball. By not striding, any batter will see the ball with utmost clarity, and allow for much better contact, no matter how strong he is.” But a player with the power and precision of a Miguel Cabrera would eliminate the greatest deterrent to batting proficiency if he would not stride.

The only times I ever see Miguel falter, even when he sometimes gets a “cheap” hit, is when his front foot isn’t planted early enough to twist his hips powerfully. But because he is so powerful in his shoulders, he is able to allow his arms and hands to bring the bat to the ball and send a mediocre soft line-drive to the opposite field while his weight is still on his back leg. When his front foot plants too early from his soft “leg-kick” stride, on any occasion, he still manages to rely on his shoulders to “flick” a ball over the infield or in the gap. If he never raised his front foot, his batting acumen would be close to flawless!

One thing to always remember when trying to appreciate the ultimate power of the swing is that, once the front foot is planted firmly all power is initiated by quick turning of the hips instigated by the driving back bent-knee, the leg of which never straightens. This principle is elaborated upon in an article entitled, “Inertia: Power from the Back of the Bus”, dated 9/13/13, on this website.

Coming Soon: Paul Goldschmidt