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Today we’re looking at David Ortiz’s swing.
Big Papi was one of the most terrifying hitters to root against—ever. This dude came through in the clutch every single time and spoiled just about everything my Yankees were trying to do for a very long time.
The first thing that jumps out to me about his swing is his signature hand pump. This is something that’s often coached out of kids in the United States, but many extremely high-level players have some version of a David Ortiz–style hand pump. It’s not a bad movement—it’s a movement that can be really effective for proper sequencing.
The second thing that stands out is the way Papi hinges early to prepare for a low pitch. Different hitters do this differently, and in today’s MLB, when most pitchers are trying to dominate the top of the zone, you see this type of low-pitch preparation less than you did during the 2000–2015 range. However, this load type can still be very effective when applied at the right time.
Big Papi was a beast—and now he’s become a really fun TV personality.
David Ortiz Career Stats & Accolades:
• Career Batting Average: .286
• Home Runs: 541
• RBIs: 1,768
• Hits: 2,472
• OPS: .931
• World Series Titles: 3 (2004, 2007, 2013)
• 10× All-Star (2004–2008, 2010–2013, 2016)
• 7× Silver Slugger Award (2004–2007, 2011, 2013, 2016)
• World Series MVP: 2013
• ALCS MVP: 2004
• Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame & Number Retired (#34)
• Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: 2022 (first ballot)
Today, we’re looking at Natasha Watley. She was both a slapper and a hitter who would take a normal stride and swing. I won’t pretend to be a coach who can train slapping well, so for our purposes, we’ll evaluate her standard stride and swing—which is super high-level.
Her forward move looks great. The start of her rotation looks great. Her barrel turn looks great.
The one thing I usually like to see a little more of—especially from lefties—is more rotation at the end of the swing. Typically, this is easier for left-handed hitters since they can just continue to rotate and then run to first base, as the base is in the same direction as their rotation.
Great swing. Amazing hitter.
Natasha Watley Career Stats & Accolades
• Position: Shortstop / Left-handed slapper and hitter
• College: UCLA (1999–2003)
• Career Batting Average at UCLA: .450
• Hits: 395 (UCLA all-time leader)
• Runs: 252
• Stolen Bases: 158
• Olympic Gold Medalist: 2004 (Athens)
• Olympic Silver Medalist: 2008 (Beijing)
• 4× First-Team All-American
• National Champion: 2003 (UCLA)
• UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee
• Softball Hall of Fame Inductee (NFCA)
• One of the first African-American women to play for Team USA in softball
The 13u boys went 2-0 today. Props to the man Liam Skelly for walking it off!
We can’t forget how incredible a hitter Sammy Sosa was. This guy was neck and neck with Mark McGwire in the home run chase.
I love the simplicity of his loading process. He does all of his backward movement very early, followed by a simple forward move to launch his swing. I really like this pattern as an alternative to a leg kick.
As a coach, I certainly don’t have a problem with leg kicks—but I do have a problem with hitters who get stuck on their backside and can’t flow into their swing properly. A poorly functioning leg kick is often the cause of that.
A Sammy Sosa-style loading pattern can be a great solution to fix that issue.
Sammy Sosa Career Stats & Accolades
• MLB Career: 1989–2007 (Rangers, White Sox, Cubs, Orioles)
• Career Batting Average: .273
• Home Runs: 609
• RBIs: 1,667
• Hits: 2,408
• Runs: 1,475
• Stolen Bases: 234
• OPS: .878
• NL MVP: 1998
• All-Star Appearances: 7× (1995, 1998–2002, 2004)
• Silver Slugger Awards: 6×
• Home Run Titles: 2× (2000, 2001)
• Three 60+ HR Seasons: Only player in MLB history to do it (1998, 1999, 2001)
Today, we’re looking at Roberto Clemente.
It’s swings like his that made me rethink hitting back in 2013. At the time, everyone was saying, This is what you have to do in your swing.
• You need to stay back.
• You need to get into your back hip.
• You have to keep your hands inside the ball.
Well, Clemente basically does none of those things—and he’s still one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
What he does do:
• He moves his pelvis forward during his stride without swaying backward.
• He rotates his spine aggressively.
• He keeps his head on the baseball.
If we’re being honest, these are the three most important things in hitting. You can do a bunch of other things that are considered “incorrect” and still hit incredibly well if you do these three things.
The problem with most hitting instruction is that there’s little prioritization when comparing different movements. Certain movements are more important than others—just like counting is more important than algebra. If you don’t have the fundamentals, the rest of the system fails to function.
I love how Clemente works through his front leg on almost every swing you can find. He gets a little wild with how much his back foot moves when he swings—I wouldn’t recommend that for most athletes—but his ability to unweight his back foot to initiate his swing is elite.
Clemente died too young. He still had so much more to do in his life.
Roberto Clemente Career Stats & Accolades
• MLB Career: 1955–1972 (Pittsburgh Pirates)
• Career Batting Average: .317
• Home Runs: 240
• RBIs: 1,305
• Hits: 3,000
• Runs: 1,416
• OPS: .834
• Gold Gloves: 12× (1961–1972)
• All-Star Appearances: 15×
• NL MVP: 1966
• World Series Champion: 2× (1960, 1971)
• World Series MVP: 1971
• National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee: 1973 (first Latin American player inducted)
Clemente wasn’t just a legendary player—he was a humanitarian, dedicating his life to helping others. His legacy goes far beyond baseball.
The thing that always amazes me about Bryce Harper’s swing is how much control he has over his core.
You can see it in the stride phase—his pelvis and chest are pretty closely aligned. Then, as he gets into heel strike, you can see how much separation he creates between where his pelvis and chest are pointing. He rotates at such a high level—it’s crazy.
Honestly, he’s been doing this since his junior college days, where he absolutely dominated.
Pretty great-looking swing on this Opening Day home run!
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Today, we’re looking at Eddie Murray’s swing.
You’ve got to love the simplicity and function of both his right-handed and left-handed swings. He has a smooth forward move with no backward movement in either swing. Back is wack!
He does a great job of creating stretch across his core in both swings. This allows his barrel to turn deep and working through the ball.
Eddie Murray Career Stats & Accolades
• MLB Career: 1977–1997 (Orioles, Dodgers, Mets, Indians, Angels)
• Career Batting Average: .287
• Home Runs: 504
• RBIs: 1,917
• Hits: 3,255
• Runs: 1,627
• OPS: .836
• Gold Gloves: 3× (1982, 1983, 1984)
• Silver Slugger Awards: 3×
• All-Star Appearances: 8×
• World Series Champion: 1983 (Orioles)
• National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee: 2003 (First-ballot)
Let’s take a look at Jeff Bagwell’s swing.
Bagwell has the smallest forward move I think I’ve ever seen from a good hitter. Does he move forward? Yes. Is it a minuscule amount? Also yes.
Let’s ask ourselves why he’s able to do that.
His initial foot positioning is so far outside of where his hip sockets are that he doesn’t need to move forward much at all to create an angle where his leg can leverage against his pelvis.
Think about it this way: if you’re standing with your feet directly under your hip sockets, how much are you going to be able to use your legs to help turn your pelvis faster? Answer: not much.
This is why pitchers stride out a long way—because they’re able to get their femur on an angle so that when they push against the ground, it spins their pelvis. Hitters need to do the same thing, but to a lesser degree.
Because Bagwell starts so wide and is able to stay very externally rotated with his femurs, he avoids moving forward as much as 99% of hitters.
It’s a very unique strategy—one I wouldn’t recommend—but he was obviously an excellent hitter.
Jeff Bagwell Career Stats & Accolades:
• MLB Career: 1991–2005 (Houston Astros)
• Career Batting Average: .297
• Home Runs: 449
• RBIs: 1,529
• On-Base Percentage: .408
• Slugging Percentage: .540
• OPS: .948
• Hits: 2,314
• Runs: 1,517
• Stolen Bases: 202
• MVP: 1994 National League MVP
• All-Star Appearances: 4× (1994, 1996, 1997, 1999)
• Gold Glove: 1× (1994)
• Silver Slugger Awards: 3×
• National Baseball Hall of Fame Inductee: 2017
We’re teaming up with @nkpadg to offer a hitting camp on March 31st and on April 1st. We’d love to see you there! You can find a link to sign up in our bio!
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Hitters will:
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Look at their swing on playback and receive expert advice on how to improve it.
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Use Hittrax to evaluate/improve their results.
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Hit off a pitching machine to improve their timing and barrel accuracy.
Today we’re looking at Adrian Beltre. This is one of his signature “drop to your knee” home runs. God, I used to love watching these — he was such a fun player.
On the nerdy side, he always seemed to have those drop-to-a-knee hits when he was seeing an off-speed pitch. I’m sure there were times he did it on a fastball, but typically it came against a changeup or curveball.
Why? Because once he landed on the ground, the ball wouldn’t be there yet, so he’d have to sink a little lower before initiating his swing. That dropped his knee even closer to the ground, which ultimately put it all the way down at his finish.
I miss watching him play. He always gave it everything he had, all the time.
Adrián Beltré Career Stats & Accolades:
• 3,166 career hits
• 477 home runs
• 1,707 RBIs
• .286 career batting average
• 4× All-Star (2004, 2010, 2011, 2014)
• 5× Gold Glove Award winner
• 4× Silver Slugger Award winner
• Led MLB in hits in 2013
• Played 21 seasons (1998–2018)
• First-ballot Hall of Famer (Class of 2024)
Congrats to Max for landing a job with the Baltimore Orioles! Any team is better with him on it. His commitment to our athletes at Ignite has been amazing, and I know that his commitment to their franchise will be extremely impactful.
Over the last couple of years, it’s been awesome to watch Max blossom into what I can firmly say is one of the best hitting instructors in the country.
Good luck, Max! Selfishly, I hope he’s working with us again next winter when the big league season comes to a close. But if I were the Orioles, I’d make him a full-time part of the franchise — it would be an absolute no-brainer.
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@glasser_baby
Frank Thomas’s was an absolute monster in his day.
There are two things that stick out to me about his swing.
1)🚫sway, from the moment he lifts up his front foot. His pelvis does not slide back at all. This is huge for basically all hitters. When your pelvis slides back at the beginning of your swing, it’s really hard to redirect it at the perfect time so your sequence can start up on time. As I’ve said many times before on our post about “Big Leagues Back is Wack”—aside from vision, moving forward during your stride with your pelvis is by far the most important thing.
2) His deceleration pattern. You’ll see “The Big Hurt” kick his trail foot back toward the third base dugout. This movement stops his pelvis abruptly, which allows his thoracic spine to take over and efficiently pass energy up the chain.
The kickback, like you see Frank Thomas doing, is a very effective move for some athletes.
A quick explanation of how acceleration/deceleration works:
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Let’s imagine that someone on a bicycle is getting pulled by a car.
(Don’t try this at home)
The person on the bike represents the hands/bat of the hitter.
The car represents the center of mass of the hitter.
In order to create tension that can be used, the car must first get going out ahead of the person on the bike. Ideally, the car would start moving, and then the bungee attached to the bike would begin to move the bicycle.
When we hit, there needs to be a positional change in order.
To put it simply:
• The hands and bat start behind the hitter’s center of mass.
• But at contact, the bat needs to be snapped out in front of the center of mass.
So, going back to the car and bicycle scenario—the only way to accomplish this is for the car to hit the brakes, allowing the bicycle to fly forward.
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This is what happens in our swing.
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The whole purpose of creating stretch in our swing is to decelerate as quickly as possible, and kicking that trail leg back is just another way to do that efficiently.
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Frank Thomas was an absolute dog, and he made this relatively unique pattern work for him at the highest levels of baseball.
Congratulations to Clara on crushing this home run!
@cj_prentiss with a double to right center.
Today we’re looking at Harmon Killebrew’s swing. The thing that jumps out to me about his swing is the separation he’s able to create between his pelvis and rib cage. Take a look at how much stretch he’s able to get.
Stretch is really important, but the only reason it actually matters is that it allows for a fast contraction, which creates a lot of kinetic energy. The stretch is the potential energy phase of the swing, and the contraction is the kinetic energy phase. Killebrew executes both phases really well.
He was an incredibly successful hitter during his time. That said, I do think he probably swings up a little too much to be successful in today’s game. Killebrew played at a time when pitching wasn’t quite as good. As a result, things like attack angle weren’t as important. It looks like he’s swinging up at a 20° or 25° attack angle in this clip, which is extremely high. In today’s game, that would probably result in swinging under the ball frequently and producing strikeout rates that are higher than ideal.
Harmon Killebrew – Career Stats and Accolades
• Games Played: 2,435
• Batting Average: .256
• Home Runs: 573
• RBIs: 1,584
• On-Base Percentage: .376
• Slugging Percentage: .509
• OPS: .884
• Career WAR: 60.3
Accolades:
• 13× All-Star (1959–1961, 1963–1971)
• 1969 American League MVP
• 6× AL home run leader
• 3× AL RBI leader
• Minnesota Twins No. 3 retired
• Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1984)
Miguel Cabrera was undoubtedly one of the best hitters of his generation. His effortless ability to turn the barrel around his hands was just one of the many things that set him apart. What really made him special, though, was his mastery of at-bat strategy—taking a bad swing early to bait the pitcher into throwing the same pitch again, only to sit on it and crush it when the time was right.
Who do you think was the better hitter: Miguel Cabrera or Albert Pujols?
**Miguel Cabrera’s Career Stats:**
- .311 Batting Average
- 511 Home Runs
- 1,877 RBIs
- 2,987 Hits
- 7x All-Star
- 2x MVP
- 4x Batting Title
- Triple Crown Winner (2012)
2026 INF @porter.speece has been heating up at the plate lately. He sent this one over the left field fence as part of a 3-4 game yesterday.
How can you not love Vladimir Guerrero Sr.’s swing? The two things that always stick out to me about the way he moves are: one, his hip hinge, and two, the way he turns the barrel back behind him into the zone.
His barrel turn was effortless, and his ability to match the plane of the pitch was unbelievable. He was one of the best bad-ball hitters ever—a terrifying hitter to root against.
⭐️ Vladimir Guerrero Sr. Career Stats:
• Games: 2,147
• Batting Average: .318
• Hits: 2,590
• Home Runs: 449
• RBIs: 1,496
• OPS: .931
• Stolen Bases: 181
🏅 Career Accolades:
• 9× All-Star (1999–2002, 2004–2007, 2010)
• 2004 AL MVP (with the Anaheim Angels)
• 8× Silver Slugger Award Winner
• AL Hank Aaron Award Winner (2004)
• Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018
@bruce12baseball just continuing to mash baseballs. Congrats on your first high school home run! Will is an 8th grader on JV. This ball was absolutely nuked!
Not one inside the park home run, but two! And he did it and back to back at bats! William was crushing it! He has been working hard at Ignite for the past couple years and his hard work is paying off!
Not one inside the park home run, but two! And he did it and back to back at bats! William was crushing it! He has been working hard at Ignite for the past couple years and his hard work is paying off!
Rick Macci @rickmaccitennis on the Impact of Positive Coaching
A good coach can change everything.
Burnout is a real thing in sports—it happens to parents, and it happens to kids. Do you know what increases the rate of burnout? Negative coaching.
You can tell kids what they need to work on in a positive way—one that motivates them instead of making them want to quit.
What you say isn’t what matters. What they hear is what matters.
Rick Macci @rickmaccitennis on the Impact of Positive Coaching
A good coach can change everything.
Burnout is a real thing in sports—it happens to parents, and it happens to kids. Do you know what increases the rate of burnout? Negative coaching.
You can tell kids what they need to work on in a positive way—one that motivates them instead of making them want to quit.
What you say isn’t what matters. What they hear is what matters.
Summer camps are now live! Find the link in our bio!
Sportsmanship, fun, skills, and air-conditioning—everything your son or daughter needs for a great experience!
Summer camps are now live! Find the link in our bio!
Sportsmanship, fun, skills, and air-conditioning—everything your son or daughter needs for a great experience!
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Wherever you are right now as a player doesn’t matter very much. What does matter is your habits. How frequently are you working on your craft?
If you’re working hard consistently, results will follow.
Although your improvement as an individual athlete is yours alone, it’s important to remember you’re on a team. Bringing those around you up will not only make you better—it will improve your environment as well.
Plants grow best when they have good soil and water. As an athlete, you can influence your “soil and water” by investing in your teammates.
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.
Wherever you are right now as a player doesn’t matter very much. What does matter is your habits. How frequently are you working on your craft?
If you’re working hard consistently, results will follow.
Although your improvement as an individual athlete is yours alone, it’s important to remember you’re on a team. Bringing those around you up will not only make you better—it will improve your environment as well.
Plants grow best when they have good soil and water. As an athlete, you can influence your “soil and water” by investing in your teammates.
I really like what Russell Wilson has to say here about coaching kids harder, but I do think there’s a fair amount of nuance that has to happen.
Coaching kids hard and making sure that they get it right is very important. However, there are limits to that. Sports are about competition, for sure, but they’re also about the joy of it—and if we coach so hard that the joy is lost, then that’s a problem as well.
If sports aren’t incredibly fun at the younger ages, it becomes exponentially harder to weather the storm when things become extremely difficult later on. And trust me—they will become extremely difficult. Whether that’s fighting for playing time on a higher-level team or facing the threat of getting cut, the joy of youth sports will play a role in your ability to grind through the hard stuff.
It’s also important to remember that we need to understand what is developmentally appropriate. We can’t expect things from young athletes that they are developmentally unlikely to be able to deliver.
I really like what Russell Wilson has to say here about coaching kids harder, but I do think there’s a fair amount of nuance that has to happen.
Coaching kids hard and making sure that they get it right is very important. However, there are limits to that. Sports are about competition, for sure, but they’re also about the joy of it—and if we coach so hard that the joy is lost, then that’s a problem as well.
If sports aren’t incredibly fun at the younger ages, it becomes exponentially harder to weather the storm when things become extremely difficult later on. And trust me—they will become extremely difficult. Whether that’s fighting for playing time on a higher-level team or facing the threat of getting cut, the joy of youth sports will play a role in your ability to grind through the hard stuff.
It’s also important to remember that we need to understand what is developmentally appropriate. We can’t expect things from young athletes that they are developmentally unlikely to be able to deliver.
Former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson shares her thoughts on the role of parents in youth sports: The best thing a parent can do is expose their kids to every opportunity and experience that excites them.
There’s no single path to success in sports, but when parents offer encouragement and support, they help make the journey easier. Ultimately, kids will find what they love and work hard to be their best.
A parent’s role isn’t to choose the path—it’s to open the doors. 🏅💪
#SportsParenting #ShawnJohnson #AthleteMindset
Former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson shares her thoughts on the role of parents in youth sports: The best thing a parent can do is expose their kids to every opportunity and experience that excites them.
There’s no single path to success in sports, but when parents offer encouragement and support, they help make the journey easier. Ultimately, kids will find what they love and work hard to be their best.
A parent’s role isn’t to choose the path—it’s to open the doors. 🏅💪
#SportsParenting #ShawnJohnson #AthleteMindset
UConn women’s head basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, makes a great point about a growing issue in youth sports: kids trying to emulate their favorite sports star to be cool and tend to only care about their own success The truth is the best teammates are about the team, not just themselves.
Ask yourself—would you rather play alongside someone who pouts when things don’t go their way or someone who lifts others up and celebrates their teammates’ success?
I know which one I’d choose.
Be the athlete that coaches and teammates want to go to battle with, not the one who only cares about looking cool. Your attitude matters more than you think.
UConn women’s head basketball coach, Geno Auriemma, makes a great point about a growing issue in youth sports: kids trying to emulate their favorite sports star to be cool and tend to only care about their own success The truth is the best teammates are about the team, not just themselves.
Ask yourself—would you rather play alongside someone who pouts when things don’t go their way or someone who lifts others up and celebrates their teammates’ success?
I know which one I’d choose.
Be the athlete that coaches and teammates want to go to battle with, not the one who only cares about looking cool. Your attitude matters more than you think.
I love this bit from Steve Kerr: one of the hardest things for everyone involved in youth sports is understanding their role.
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Players play, coaches coach, and parents parent. When you start blending those roles, it becomes really difficult to get the results you want.
One other coaching point that all coaches should remember—though it wasn’t addressed directly but came to mind while watching this—is that yelling mechanical swing instructions from the dugout or coaching box never works. The only thing a hitter should be thinking about is whether they were early, late, under, or over the ball. As a coach, your job is simply to help the athlete understand where they missed so they can make a functional adjustment next time. No swing cue is the right solution when the game is in progress.
I love this bit from Steve Kerr: one of the hardest things for everyone involved in youth sports is understanding their role.
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Players play, coaches coach, and parents parent. When you start blending those roles, it becomes really difficult to get the results you want.
One other coaching point that all coaches should remember—though it wasn’t addressed directly but came to mind while watching this—is that yelling mechanical swing instructions from the dugout or coaching box never works. The only thing a hitter should be thinking about is whether they were early, late, under, or over the ball. As a coach, your job is simply to help the athlete understand where they missed so they can make a functional adjustment next time. No swing cue is the right solution when the game is in progress.
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