"The baseball swing consists of three main phases: 1) the loading phase, 2) the launching phase
and 3) the follow through." (Van such, 2013, p.2) "Each player has their own unique style and
may sometimes make adjustments to their swing depending on the game situation, the type of
pitch, or other factors." (Van such, 2013, p.2)"However, before any of these phases are
performed, getting into the proper stance is required. Therefore, lets first identify the basic
The baseball swing starts by getting into a solid stance. Everything about a stance is based off of
personal preference and comfort. The position of "...the feet and hand positions vary from
player to player." (Van such, 2013, p.2)"A firm grip of the bat is usually preferred and the height
of the hands, as well as a distance they are in front of the body, is based on preference." (Van
such, 2013, p.2) The player's "...shoulders and hips are level in the stance position" (Van such,
2013, p.2) for balance. The stance a batter takes has to them "feel comfortable, confident and
alert in the box [so] [they] are ready to swing the bat."(Van such, 2013, p.2)
The first phase of a swing is the load and "it consist[s] of five noticeable movements."(Van
such,2013,p.3) Van such(2013) described the backwards movement of the shoulders and arms:
The first noticeable movement that takes place during the loading phase is the
backward movement of the shoulders and arms toward the catcher. This action helps
to load or stretch different muscles in each shoulder that will be released or contracted
Picking up where we left off in the last section, where the shoulders and arms were
moving backward, we also have at the same time muscles contracting along the spine
to help turn and rotate it, which includes the chest, abdomen and upper body, in the
same direction.(p.11)
After these two movements, the batter "immediately ...begins to rotate back toward the
catcher,[and] a short timing step with the front left leg begins to occur". (Van such, 2013, p.14)
As they slightly shift back they start "...creating valuable momentum". (Van such, 2013, p.15)
The fourth main movement is the cocking of their hips. This "...refers to the backward rotation
of the hips away from the pitcher and toward the catcher".(Van such, 2013, p.19) "The cocking
of the hips is driven by the momentum created by the backward movement of the shoulders
and arms, the backward rotation of the spine, and a shift in weight to the back leg".(Van
such,2013,p.19) Cocking of the hips put everything onto their backside so the batter can
transfer as much energy into their swing as possible. The last main movement of the load and
the beginning of the launching phase, is "the cocking of the wrists".(Van such,2013,p.24) "Its
purpose is to break inertia, or prevent the bat from coming to a dead stop, so as to facilitate a
rapid recoiling effect with the bat-head at the end of the players furthest backswing". (Van
such,2013,p.24) As the batter steps forward, this movement starts. This creates hip to shoulder
separation which transfers to a quick whipping swing. These movements are just suggestions
Another important aspect of a swing is timing. Timing is "...when to initiate the transition from
the loading phase into the launching phase." (Van such, 2013, p.30) The beginning of the
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timing, starts during "...the cocking of the wrists". (Van such, 2013, p.30) When "... the wrists
are cocking, or still loading, other parts of the body must have started, or entered, the
launching phase". (Van such, 2013, p.30) As the batter's stride starts to move forward their
hands should be at the farthest position. The start of the launching phase begins when "...the
hips and legs have just begun their explosive rotation back toward the pitcher". (Van such,
2013, p.30)"...The body is undergoing maximum stretch, or where the upper body is turned
farthest away from the lower body" (Van such, 2013, p.32) creating as much energy as possible.
All of these things may change due to "game situations, pitch type, or other factors". (Van such,
2013,p.2)
The second and most important phase is the launching process. The launching phase starts
when "the front leg is raised off the ground and the players weight is momentarily rocked onto
the back leg". (Van such, 2013, p.35) The front foot strike "triggers the initiation of the swing".
(Van such, 2013, p.35) Once the batter's front foot has landed, the hips begin "opening ...
toward the pitcher" (Van such, 2013, p.39) while keeping their hands back. "This turning, or
opening, of the back right hip toward the pitcher is caused by powerful contractions in the
External Hip Rotators" (Van such, 2013, p.40). "...The players front left leg is stiffening and the
knee starts to extend or straighten out..."(Van such, 2013, p.45) "This stiffening and
straightening of the left knee and leg produces a force in the left hip acting in the opposite
direction as the right hip..." (Van such, 2013, p.45) "As a result, a short, compact and explosive
pivoting action across the players pelvis is created that carries up the spine". (Van such, 2013,
p.45) Think of it as the back knee is collapsing towards their front leg. "...The left arm and
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shoulder will pull on the bat-handle throughout the swing", (Van such, 2013, p.49) and "...the
right arm and shoulder will push on the bat- handle ...throughout the swing". (Van such, 2013,
p.50) This whipping action causes bat lag, which allows the bat to stay on plane with the ball for
The last and most underrated phase is the follow-through. It "...takes us from the contact point
with the ball to the natural ending of the swing". (Van such, 2013, p.62) The batter's hips "...are
visible, or open, to the pitcher"(Van such, 2013, p.62) and the "players chest is completely
turned and rotated around to the point where it is now facing down the third base line and
cannot go any further". (Van such, 2013, p.65) Their left hand's "...pulling action continues on
after contact all the way through to the end of the swing" (Van such, 2013, p.66) while their
right arm's "...pushing action continues on after contact". (Van such, 2013, p.67) Eventually, the
batter's "...wrists and forearms [will] rollover after contact" (Van such, 2013, p.68) into a
"...pronated position at the end of the swing" (Van such, 2013, p.68) which will help slow and
These are the three main movements to create an ideal swing. These steps are only
Baseball has been one of the most technology resistant sports over the years. Now, the MLB
has greatly increased the amount of technology used. Since 2014, the MLB has used instant
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replay to decrease the number of umpire mistakes. So far, it has been a great success! 89% of
all plays are now reviewable. If either a manager or a player argues with the umpire over strikes
and balls, which are not reviewable, they are susceptible to getting ejected from the game. It
happens quite often. Another advancement in technology use is the creation of Statcast.
Statcast is state-of-the-art technology that can measure pretty much anything that happens on
the diamond at any given time. The technology has been installed in all 30 major league fields
and can track the movements of the ball or a player. Now coaches, scouts, and players can go
deeper into the metrics of hitting and pitching. Swing trackers have developed greatly in the
past couple years. Now they can be placed over the knob of your bat to gather the metrics of
your swing, such as exit velocity, bat speed, and launch angle. The information is sent wirelessly
to an app thats downloaded onto your tablet or smartphone. The goal of the swing trackers is
to help players at any level adjust their swing. These trackers are also quite affordable for many
There are many of advantages of technology use in baseball however, there are also some
disadvantages. The main advantage is that there will be fewer umpiring mistakes. If an umpire
makes a mistake on a call it can be overturned depending on if the opposing team challenges
the call. However, instant replay will lengthen the game time. Previously on average, a
ballgame would last 3 hours but now with instant replay it's become much longer. Due to this,
the MLB has found ways to speed up the game. Some examples would be a shorter
pitching/infield warmup, and by limiting the number of mound conferences per pitcher. The
calls made by umpires are all judgement plays. Not every call is correct or going to be in your
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favour. It's the nature of the game. Technology also helps players get better. They can watch
video of themselves and find small hidden flaws that might not be found by the naked eye at
game speed. The problem with this technology is that it is very expensive. Not everyone can
afford equipment like this to get better. Some rely on hard work and lots of repetition. The
players that can afford the gear have a bigger advantage over the ones who can't. Nowadays
technology is so advanced, baseball games can be streamed online to your phone. Social media
also plays a big role in the increase of technology use in baseball. Fans and players can display
Bibliography
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Depta, L. (2013, October 21). The Top Five Technological Advancements in MLB History.
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Mochari, I. (2015, April 23). Major League Baseball Initiates a New Era of Analytics: Major
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Wolfersberger, J. (2015, May 27). The Future of Baseball Technology, Part One: The Internet of
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