"7 Stations" – There were two very unique stations that are part of this program that made a significant impact.  The first was a functional strength station using the BatSpeedChain and TorsoBurner to help players work on the correct swing specific movements at game speeds and get a variable resistance workout at the same time.  This type of training has seen huge speed gains in tennis serve speeds, as much as 30%.  Check below for some of the results we saw in hitting a baseball.

The second new station was the Small Balls and the NOS Timing Trainer.   This station used the NOS Timing Trainer to work on bat lag, one of the key functional skills involved in creating speed.  The XLR8 timing balls and the NOS together also increased players "Sweet Spot Awareness" by having hitters working to hit a golf ball sized foam ball with a golf ball on the end of the NOS. 

"Test Results" – Tee Test Results --The beginning cumulative average bat speed of the team was 85 MPH with an exit velocity off the tee of 87.4 MPH.  After the workouts and the analysis, the average bat speed increased to 89.7 MPH with the average ball exit speed jumping up to 91.9 MPH for an average increase of 105% for both bat speed and ball exit speed off the tee.

Live Test Results --  The beginning Top Live Exit Speed was 91.83 MPH (average of all hitters’ Top Speeds) and an Average Live Exit Speed of 71.76 MPH (cumulative average of live exit speeds).  After the detailed video analysis and three weeks of workouts, the average Top Live Exit Speed went to 94.7 MPH and the Average Live Exit Speed went to 86.9 MPH.  The Top Speed increased 103% overall with some players increasing exit velocity as high as 112%, while the Average Speed increased an amazing 121% across the board with some totals increasing as high as 140-155%. 

"100 MPH Club" – We started with two guys with live exit velocity of 100 MPH.  After the three week training session however, the two existing members of the 100 MPH Club went to 103 MPH and 104 MPH and there were seven new members added to this exclusive class with some players reaching Top Speed increases as high as 12%.  Unlike pitching velocity which takes time to develop, hitters can experience these types of increases virtually overnight. 

"Fall Game Statistics" – Making speeds go up off the tee is great and even in BP with live pitching but the real proof of whether something works is in game statistics.  Check out this Extra Base Hit Study.  Keep in mind this is not meant to directly compare professional season statistics or Division I collegiate seasons with a fall Junior College season, this merely indicates that Pierce is on the right track implementing these swing concepts into game at bats.

EBH = Extra Base Hits (2B - 3B - HRs)
EBHA = EBH/Hits
EBHAN = EBH/At Bats

The Pierce team EBH totals are much improved even though their team batting average is down a bit when you compare to last season’s total but in the fall there are players getting at bats that will not likely see a lot of playing time in the regular season.  So we also took a look at their top 9 fall performers to get a better idea as to what the up coming season stats might look like.  What we see is very impressive, again it’s just the fall but nonetheless, a very impressive sign that things are heading in the direction planned; more EBHs without sacrificing batting average.  In fact, the batting average of the top 9 hitters is well above the JC average, 18% higher.

 "Babe Ruth's 7 Perfect Flaws" – If Babe Ruth played in today's game, hitting instructors would most likely point out many issues in his swing that they felt would prohibit power and consistent contact. Their likely criticisms, too much head movement, too long of a stride, a hitch in the swing and a few more that had he listened, would have cut down both his power and .342 lifetime batting average.

"Babe Ruth Stride Length" – Babe Ruth was a tremendous power hitter that took advantage of all of the forces at his disposal to create enough power to hit home runs in an era when that just wasn't done very often. One of the main forces used is weight shift. He had possibly the most pronounced weight shift of all time. This clip shows his stride length and some description as to why it was a very good thing.

"Babe Ruth Stride Length" – Weight shift is one of the major forces at work in the swing and Babe Ruth took this to new heights. This video will show a sample of one of the most pronounced weight shifts of all time.

"Anatomy Of A Babe Ruth Home Run" – This analysis uses video measurements to help explain some of the innovative techniques that Babe Ruth used to generate so much power.  Understanding the science of optimal ball flight will help us see how Babe's swing produced so many home runs.

"Babe Ruth Rotational vs Linear Mechanics" – Babe Ruth hit invented home run hitting as we know it.  In an era when there was no one doing that, he hit more home runs than entire team totals.  To do this, he optimized the use of forces and mechanical movements.  This clip shows him working on a batting practice swing that exaggerates both rotational and linear swing mechanics.

"Babe Ruth Had A Hitch In His Swing?" – Yes, by all definitions, Babe Ruth had a big hitch.  This clip shows why this is a very good thing.  Using a 54 oz. bat in a "Dead Ball" era forced him to have to get inventive.  The "Hitch" was his way of creating power, enhancing his body timing as well as his timing of the pitch.

"The Forces At Work In Babe Ruth's Swing" – Babe Ruth had serious "Pop" and this analysis helps uncover some of the mechanical forces at work.  

Visual Effects – The speed difference of the fastball inside and change up inside is a major factor in the success of the pitcher to keep hitters off balance but the often overlooked element of this attack is the visual deception that is created.  Depending on the movement of each pitch of course, the change up if located inside, tends to share the same line of flight as the fastball inside for the first 1/3 of the way to the plate.  This makes it very difficult to identify and react to.  Even when change up is "Hung" inside, hitters at the Major League level do not have a great average against this pitch.  Why?  In 2004, hitters hit .050 on this pitch due to the fact it didn't happen very often for one and also due to the fact that the "Hung" change up was hit hard foul.  When in play, it is rarely hit hard.  When you look at all the factors, the change up inside to like handed batters is a very "Filthy" habit that hitters will not react well to.  

"Frontloading" – This is a term from the education world that refers to giving students key terms, concepts, definitions and directions for some type of curriculum in advance.  This gives students a head start on learning.  This vLog shows an example of a day's practice schedule done in this format.  The drills are described as to why, where, how many reps and the key focus points of each drill.  This is all done on non-practice time so practice time is used more efficiently.  For you private instructors, this saves valuable time in short lessons as well. 

Visual Focus – To be a great hitter, you must see the ball, identify the pitch traits and react within a finite time frame.  This requires great vision or does it?

Sport Science – On the peripheral vision piece on a recent Sport Science episode, they talked about what part of the eye is used for tracking movement (the outside portion) and which focuses on color and details (the inside portion).  When a hitter focuses too finely, the portion of the eye that detects motion and speed is not engaged as needed.  This does not allow the hitter to "drink in" the  pitch information correctly to help their timing judgment.  This video describes the contrast between "camera mode or still shot mode" and "video mode". 

Solution – Bat lag is a tough skill to master because it is hard to describe and harder to think about during the swing.  The answer in this case is a device with a few drills that actually make the casting worse momentarily.  Hold on, I know that sounds crazy, but muscles tend to oppose the force used against them.  A physical therapist when working with a person that has lost use of a muscle and is in re-hab, will push against the muscle to get it to push back.  This opposing tendency is alive and well with the use of a new product on the market.  The NOS Timing Training Device is end loaded and tends to make the hitter cast the bat head early.  The wrists however, when this happens begin to fight back and the effect is much the same as the physical therapist sees.  When the hitter gets a bat in hand, the casting tendency is lessened.  This is exactly what happened to Sawyer. 

After –We did some very uncomfortable drills to help him stretch some rubber bands and to firm up at impact.  Although he felt stiff and rigid, there was a significant increase in the first day.  His exit speed was at 79 MPH before we left Atlanta.  In the following couple of weeks, his exit speed was as high as 86 MPH.  About a 21 MPH increase in a very short period of 3 weeks. 

Time Training is the study of timing as it relates to the hitter/pitcher confrontation.   This is a brand new way to look at the art of hitting instruction.

Effective Velocity is the study of speed and what effect location has on actual reaction time of the hitter.  The first real scientific approach to pitch sequencing with major league data and over 8,000 amateur at bats to prove the validity.

Hitting Is A Guess is the mechanical study of the baseball and softball swing.  By the use of objective measurement, hitters can test their swings to see where they stand, pinpoint the trouble areas and make the adjustments needed to improve their performance.

The vLog will focus on the newest discoveries with each of these unique studies.