The Baseball Observer Jan-Feb 2016 vol 6 | Page 47

The Holy Grail - How to find Optimal BBS

The first thing players must come

to terms with is that they are not professional baseball players.

Pro players like contact hitter

Ichiro Suzuki or power hitter Mike

Trout have put in many more years perfecting their hitting mechanics,

their mental approach and strength training vs. high school players and college players.

Your goal each year should be to get stronger, get more efficient and build a more consistent and repeatable swing and increase your bat speed. It will automatically create opportunities for you to swing a longer and heavier bat.” (Rusty Trudeau, Baden Sports)

With that said it comes down to the player choosing the right bat. You can start with the suggested bat size chart (weight and length by age) – but only as a guideline. The key is the bats balance. “First find a bat that feels comfortable in your hand. Then place the barrel of the bat on two fingers and find where the bat balances on those two fingers,” states Dr. Russell. "The closer to the end of the bat – the more end loaded and it will be heavier to swing (large MOI). The closer to the center of the bat the more center balanced and will swing easier (lower MOI)."

Dr. Russell suggests, “A player needs to think about what is important to them. Am I a contact hitter or a power hitter? But remember, you will have more

control of a lighter bat. If you have good mechanics and are stronger then try a heavier bat.”

So if you are considered to be a

power hitter, you should look at

a bat that is a couple ounces

lighter (using the suggested bat

size chart) but more end loaded.

If you’re more of a contact hitter,

then consider the suggested bat size

from the chart – but it needs to be

more center loaded.

“ "It’s about control of the swing and

putting the bat where it needs to be to hit the ball. It’s about what you need to do to swing the bat as fast as you can through the strike zone with good control and mechanics”, according to Dr. Russell. “Start with a lighter bat (more center balanced) and work on weak mechanics and strength – then move to a heavier bat as mechanics become better and repeatable and the player gets stronger."

Keep in Mind

Increased speed

• Each mph of bat speed increased

equals approx. 6-8ft. further in

distance

• Every additional mph of pitch speed

only increases a batted ball 1 foot.

• Faster bat speed allows the batter

the ability to wait a little longer on

a pitch to react

• Being able to wait even a couple

extra milliseconds longer allows the

pitched ball to travel about 5 extra

feet so more chance to see the type

and location of the pitch

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COVER ARTICLE

Too light is counterproductive. Too heavy is death.