Geovany Soto's Hitting Approach

[Guest]

There are few things at work here in reference to Geo's sudden offensive production compared to last year.

 

He did change his batting stance. He is standing more upright than he has at any other time in his career. Sometimes changing your batting stance can help you mentally, and other times it can help you mechanically. Mentally, a change in batting stance will cause you to focus more than usual because you realize, subconciously, that you are doing something different. My best days at the plate in college were days after I got hammered the night before. Why? Because I focused more at the plate because I was aware that I may be a bit "slower" in my reaction than normal. Ripken, Jr. was the master at that. He had a million different stances in his career with the O's.

 

Mechanically, a taller stance can do a few things for you. Number one, it shortens your track to the ball. The taller your stance, the more of a downward track is required to make contact with the ball. If you have a downward track, you have gravity in your favor, and it increases your bat speed. Those of you who read my posts waaaay back in the day know that I used to preach that the key to hitting a baseball is time. A hitter has to determine 3 things: Velocity, location and movement. The more time you have to figure these things out, the better you will be. With gravity increasing Geo's bat speed (while ever-so-slightly), it "buys" him time to determine those 3 things. Thus improving contact, quality of contact, and plate discipline. The second thing a taller stance does for you is put you in a more relaxing position. The more bend you have in your legs, especially if it was exaggerated like 2008-2009 Geo and Soriano (for example), the more strain you can place on a body that may already be tired. Everybody who knows anything about hitting will tell you that most of the energy supplied in a swing comes from the mid-section down. The torque generated by the legs and hips provides a high percentage of the bat speed. If your lower body is tired, a lower stance can increase exhaustion and waste valuable energy in a swing, thus slowing the swing down. This isn't as big of an issue with a first baseman, who may not expend as much energy as a catcher during the course of a game or season. See: Albert Poo-holes. The best offensive catchers in modern history all had quiet, upright stances.

 

I like the change in Geo's stance, though I don't feel it is permanent. I think something that can help Geo in his swing is making sure he stays in good shape, and reducing his movement prior to his swing. Great hitters are generally quiet hitters. They have very little wasted movement from the time the pitcher comes set to the time the ball is in the air. In a day and age where almost all pitchers are throwing in the low to mid-90's with other-wordly breaking stuff, the less your body and mind have to work prior to the swing, the better off you are. If you want an explanation on that, I would be happy to give you one, but I'm sure I've gone too far already.

 

Its' good to be back on the board btw. I've been out of pocket for a few years, but it feels like old times already.

Welcome to the board! We need more people talking mechanics around here - there's plenty of us stat guys to go around. :)

[CubbieBum]

There are few things at work here in reference to Geo's sudden offensive production compared to last year.

 

He did change his batting stance. He is standing more upright than he has at any other time in his career. Sometimes changing your batting stance can help you mentally, and other times it can help you mechanically. Mentally, a change in batting stance will cause you to focus more than usual because you realize, subconciously, that you are doing something different. My best days at the plate in college were days after I got hammered the night before. Why? Because I focused more at the plate because I was aware that I may be a bit "slower" in my reaction than normal. Ripken, Jr. was the master at that. He had a million different stances in his career with the O's.

 

Mechanically, a taller stance can do a few things for you. Number one, it shortens your track to the ball. The taller your stance, the more of a downward track is required to make contact with the ball. If you have a downward track, you have gravity in your favor, and it increases your bat speed. Those of you who read my posts waaaay back in the day know that I used to preach that the key to hitting a baseball is time. A hitter has to determine 3 things: Velocity, location and movement. The more time you have to figure these things out, the better you will be. With gravity increasing Geo's bat speed (while ever-so-slightly), it "buys" him time to determine those 3 things. Thus improving contact, quality of contact, and plate discipline. The second thing a taller stance does for you is put you in a more relaxing position. The more bend you have in your legs, especially if it was exaggerated like 2008-2009 Geo and Soriano (for example), the more strain you can place on a body that may already be tired. Everybody who knows anything about hitting will tell you that most of the energy supplied in a swing comes from the mid-section down. The torque generated by the legs and hips provides a high percentage of the bat speed. If your lower body is tired, a lower stance can increase exhaustion and waste valuable energy in a swing, thus slowing the swing down. This isn't as big of an issue with a first baseman, who may not expend as much energy as a catcher during the course of a game or season. See: Albert Poo-holes. The best offensive catchers in modern history all had quiet, upright stances.

 

I like the change in Geo's stance, though I don't feel it is permanent. I think something that can help Geo in his swing is making sure he stays in good shape, and reducing his movement prior to his swing. Great hitters are generally quiet hitters. They have very little wasted movement from the time the pitcher comes set to the time the ball is in the air. In a day and age where almost all pitchers are throwing in the low to mid-90's with other-wordly breaking stuff, the less your body and mind have to work prior to the swing, the better off you are. If you want an explanation on that, I would be happy to give you one, but I'm sure I've gone too far already.

 

Its' good to be back on the board btw. I've been out of pocket for a few years, but it feels like old times already.

Welcome to the board! We need more people talking mechanics around here - there's plenty of us stat guys to go around. :)

 

Yeah this is the exact post I was hoping for when I created the thread. I am not a mechanical guy and wanted someone to break down what Soto has done.

 

Thanks Lumafia