A conversation with @kozy_shack yesterday got me curious about how pelvis and torso rotation at contact vary across pitch locations.
I looked at our @DrivelineBB mocap data from 42 right-handed MLB/MiLB hitters.
The findings were intuitive, but useful to see laid out. 👇
I looked at our @DrivelineBB mocap data from 42 right-handed MLB/MiLB hitters.
The findings were intuitive, but useful to see laid out. 👇
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All of this makes a lot of sense.
Up and in generally calls for contact farther out front, and in our data we see more torso rotation.
Down and away is typically met deeper, before the torso has turned as far.
Up and in generally calls for contact farther out front, and in our data we see more torso rotation.
Down and away is typically met deeper, before the torso has turned as far.
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For me, this adds context when evaluating how a hitter turns.
Before deciding someone needs more or less torso turn, I want to consider pitch location and depth of contact.
These are useful patterns to understand, rather than positions every swing has to match.
Before deciding someone needs more or less torso turn, I want to consider pitch location and depth of contact.
These are useful patterns to understand, rather than positions every swing has to match.
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Bay Liskey retweeted
Behind in the count, Snell has to come in.
Pitch 4: changeup in the zone, foul.
Pitch 5: slider in the zone, foul.
Pitch 6: curveball in the zone, foul.
Three in-zone pitches, three different looks, three competitive swings.
Pitch 4: changeup in the zone, foul.
Pitch 5: slider in the zone, foul.
Pitch 6: curveball in the zone, foul.
Three in-zone pitches, three different looks, three competitive swings.
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Bay Liskey retweeted
The whole at-bat in one picture.
In the zone: 7 pitches. Bauers swung at 6.
Out of the zone: 4 pitches. He chased 1.
Snell never got him to expand. Every pitch pushed Snell back toward the plate.
In the zone: 7 pitches. Bauers swung at 6.
Out of the zone: 4 pitches. He chased 1.
Snell never got him to expand. Every pitch pushed Snell back toward the plate.
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Bay Liskey retweeted
Pitch 1: slider in the zone, taken for a strike.
Pitch 2: changeup in the dirt - take
Pitch 3: four-seam low - take
2-1. Bauers doesn't offer at either miss, and now Snell is behind.
Pitch 2: changeup in the dirt - take
Pitch 3: four-seam low - take
2-1. Bauers doesn't offer at either miss, and now Snell is behind.
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Bay Liskey retweeted
Snell has shown him everything, and Bauers has fouled off all of it.
Pitch 11: 97.8 mph four-seam over the middle.
109.4 mph off the bat, 34 LA, 412 ft. Go-ahead 2-run home run.
Pitch 11: 97.8 mph four-seam over the middle.
109.4 mph off the bat, 34 LA, 412 ft. Go-ahead 2-run home run.
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Bay Liskey retweeted
Snell in 2026: 1.90 ERA and a 31.8% K rate in 9 starts.
He gets there by living off the plate. Only 41% of his pitches were in the zone (MLB avg 47%). Chase him and you lose.
Vs lefties: 96 mph four-seam with 18.6 in of ride (50% usage) and a slider with a 58% whiff rate. Uses % of the time.
He gets there by living off the plate. Only 41% of his pitches were in the zone (MLB avg 47%). Chase him and you lose.
Vs lefties: 96 mph four-seam with 18.6 in of ride (50% usage) and a slider with a 58% whiff rate. Uses % of the time.
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“Sell out for the fastball up.”
How would I prepare hitters to execute that commitment in pregame BP?
Start with the elevated fastball, then mix in pitches that challenge the approach. Caminero’s cutter swing is a good example of a decision I’d still support.
How would I prepare hitters to execute that commitment in pregame BP?
Start with the elevated fastball, then mix in pitches that challenge the approach. Caminero’s cutter swing is a good example of a decision I’d still support.
Against Misiorowski, I’m telling my hitters to sell out for the fastball up. Feel over top of everything.
These two at-bats show the challenge of getting to elevated velocity paired with a smart usage of secondary pitches.
Caminero does great here against a brutal arsenal.
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With a machine, I’d prioritize relevant velocity and location, mixing in secondary pitches where possible.
With coach-thrown BP, I’d vary pitches around the same attack window. Speed and movement will be harder to reproduce, but hitters can still work through decisions.
With coach-thrown BP, I’d vary pitches around the same attack window. Speed and movement will be harder to reproduce, but hitters can still work through decisions.
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I’m watching ball flight and spray, and pairing that with how the hitters feeling for the day.
That feedback guides the remaining swings. I want them leaving BP with experience of the challenge and a clear commitment.
More on that process: bayliskey.com/writing/pregam…
That feedback guides the remaining swings. I want them leaving BP with experience of the challenge and a clear commitment.
More on that process: bayliskey.com/writing/pregam…
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Bay Liskey retweeted
Travis Bazzana says the fear of striking out actually makes you strike out more
“I feel like I always had, deep down, confidence and belief in myself. But freshman year, I definitely rode some waves where my confidence would dip a little bit. I’d still be confident, but my lly change, my plan at the plate, on defense, my mental state. My confidence would dip, but it was like the confidence dip would throw off where my thoughts were at as a whole.”
“Freshman year was up and down. I’d ride waves where I’d punch out the first at-bat of the game, and then I’d be worried about getting to two strikes later in the game because I didn’t want to punch again. It was that fear of striking out. And you obviously end up striking out more, at least I thought I did, because I ended up swinging at all these one-strike pitches because I’m like, ‘I just got to swing.’ They throw something in the dirt and I’m like, ‘I got to hit it,’ and I’d play foul it off or whatever it was.”
“So I think being worried about striking out just threw me off in little bits freshman year because I had such high expectations for myself. I always do. But once the older guys kind of stepped up and showed what they could do and I was struggling, I was like, ‘Damn, I just kind of lost some confidence,’ and rode it up and down.”
“The biggest change, once I learned where I was weak freshman year, my biggest weaknesses, and I worked on them, I felt like I’d made the adjustments I needed swing-wise. Then I talked to all the people close to me about what the approach adjustments were going to be and where I was making myself struggle, where I was getting myself out offensively freshman year.”
“I was chasing heavily in hitter’s counts. I’d get 2-0, 3-1, and I would swing at things that I would never swing at, out of the zone, because I’m thinking to myself before that pitch when I’m struggling, ‘Now’s my chance to hit the double, hit the home run. I have to take advantage of this fastball right here. I have to.’ And then I’d swing at something terrible because I was trying to do too much versus just being on time.”
“The other part of it was I’d get to one strike and I’d also swing at a very high clip and maybe be way too contact-oriented with one strike versus getting a pitch to drive and actually do damage because I was trying not to get to two strikes.”
“I talked to the people I needed to, figured out a more clean, consistent approach in the box, and I had a clear, consistent, confident plan most of the time when I went to the plate. That was what propelled me as much as the swing stuff propelled me.”
“I was this much better freshman to sophomore year as a talented player, but my mental game, my consistency, my ability to consistently go out and perform because of where I was at here and my routines and everything, I got that much better at that.”
“So my numbers were exponentially better as a player, but really it was just a combination of two things. It wasn’t just the physical. Everything just kind of clicked together.”
“I feel like I always had, deep down, confidence and belief in myself. But freshman year, I definitely rode some waves where my confidence would dip a little bit. I’d still be confident, but my lly change, my plan at the plate, on defense, my mental state. My confidence would dip, but it was like the confidence dip would throw off where my thoughts were at as a whole.”
“Freshman year was up and down. I’d ride waves where I’d punch out the first at-bat of the game, and then I’d be worried about getting to two strikes later in the game because I didn’t want to punch again. It was that fear of striking out. And you obviously end up striking out more, at least I thought I did, because I ended up swinging at all these one-strike pitches because I’m like, ‘I just got to swing.’ They throw something in the dirt and I’m like, ‘I got to hit it,’ and I’d play foul it off or whatever it was.”
“So I think being worried about striking out just threw me off in little bits freshman year because I had such high expectations for myself. I always do. But once the older guys kind of stepped up and showed what they could do and I was struggling, I was like, ‘Damn, I just kind of lost some confidence,’ and rode it up and down.”
“The biggest change, once I learned where I was weak freshman year, my biggest weaknesses, and I worked on them, I felt like I’d made the adjustments I needed swing-wise. Then I talked to all the people close to me about what the approach adjustments were going to be and where I was making myself struggle, where I was getting myself out offensively freshman year.”
“I was chasing heavily in hitter’s counts. I’d get 2-0, 3-1, and I would swing at things that I would never swing at, out of the zone, because I’m thinking to myself before that pitch when I’m struggling, ‘Now’s my chance to hit the double, hit the home run. I have to take advantage of this fastball right here. I have to.’ And then I’d swing at something terrible because I was trying to do too much versus just being on time.”
“The other part of it was I’d get to one strike and I’d also swing at a very high clip and maybe be way too contact-oriented with one strike versus getting a pitch to drive and actually do damage because I was trying not to get to two strikes.”
“I talked to the people I needed to, figured out a more clean, consistent approach in the box, and I had a clear, consistent, confident plan most of the time when I went to the plate. That was what propelled me as much as the swing stuff propelled me.”
“I was this much better freshman to sophomore year as a talented player, but my mental game, my consistency, my ability to consistently go out and perform because of where I was at here and my routines and everything, I got that much better at that.”
“So my numbers were exponentially better as a player, but really it was just a combination of two things. It wasn’t just the physical. Everything just kind of clicked together.”
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Bay Liskey retweeted
Wrapping up our time at our Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 facility.
We’re located right next to #Birdland’s complex and we’ll be open for business in a few weeks.
Full-size baseball field with advanced Driveline-proprietary tech 🤫 coming in March 2027.
For more info: @CoolbaughDL
We’re located right next to #Birdland’s complex and we’ll be open for business in a few weeks.
Full-size baseball field with advanced Driveline-proprietary tech 🤫 coming in March 2027.
For more info: @CoolbaughDL
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Bay Liskey retweeted
I've recently been exploring the different methods that hitters use to adjust to pitches.
Here are 3 hitters manipulating their mechanics from load to downswing to create very similar mechanics in the swing phase.
Swing Phase ➡️ Full Swing
Here are 3 hitters manipulating their mechanics from load to downswing to create very similar mechanics in the swing phase.
Swing Phase ➡️ Full Swing
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Against Misiorowski, I’m telling my hitters to sell out for the fastball up. Feel over top of everything.
These two at-bats show the challenge of getting to elevated velocity paired with a smart usage of secondary pitches.
Caminero does great here against a brutal arsenal.
These two at-bats show the challenge of getting to elevated velocity paired with a smart usage of secondary pitches.
Caminero does great here against a brutal arsenal.
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The fastball also makes the cutter play.
It looks like fastball out of the hand, then gives you glove-side movement at a lower speed: 95.8 mph vs. 100.6 mph on average.
It has enough separation to produce weak contact against a hitter who is over-committed to the heater.
It looks like fastball out of the hand, then gives you glove-side movement at a lower speed: 95.8 mph vs. 100.6 mph on average.
It has enough separation to produce weak contact against a hitter who is over-committed to the heater.
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Credit to Caminero for executing an excellent approach: he got to the upper third 2–0 fastball in Game 1 for a double and just missed the 2-2 fastball in Game 5.
My read on the 1-1 cutter: Great swing decision, better pitch.
bayliskey.com/projects/advan…
My read on the 1-1 cutter: Great swing decision, better pitch.
bayliskey.com/projects/advan…
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