***Rotational Hitting*** Rotational v Linear

Labeled the nation's top college prospect, Alex Gordon has all the things you look for in a baseball player. He has a strong solid build, deceptive speed, a sweet powerful left-handed swing that can drive the ball to all fields, and is an emerging presence at the hot corner.

Teams fear pitching to the Junior out of the University of Nebraska. Gordon is an instinctive player who just has a feel for the game. Kansas coach Ritch Price said, "He's the best player I've ever coached against." Still, some scouts feel he can be even better! Alex put a lot of pressure on himself this year to carry Nebraska to a National Championship. He got off to a slow start, but was able to adjust his swing and get back into a comfort zone.

Things have worked out just fine too as Gordon's Cornhuskers are now ranked 4th in the nation with a 46-12 record and are primed for a run at a national title. And oh yeah, Gordon's numbers look pretty good too. He's hitting .396 with a slugging percentage over .760.

Look for Alex Gordon to play a major role in the College World Series, while he fights for player of the year honors. Being drafted in the top 5 on June 7 will just be icing on the cake.

Interesting story, I was in Colorado few years back watching a young college player as he was taking a hitting lesson with Mike and Jake Epstein. After they finished, this young player was talking about how his college coach has been riding his ass and harping on him about the way he swings. "Don't dip your back shoulder, your swinging up, get that front elbow down, Blah, Blah, Blah"...well, this young player was playing for Nebraska and was teammates with Alex Gordon, who, if you didn't notice, is dipping his shoulder, tilting back, elbow comes up and around the body and BANG, smokes the ball. Mike asked, "what do they say to Alex?" The young player replied, " nothing...what can they say, stop hitting the crap out of the ball!" Back to school boys, back to school!

A Few Years Later

Alex is now making his mark with Kansas City, and yes he is still swinging up through the ball.



	Baseball Rotational
Online Store WRITTEN MATERIAL *eBooks* How I Teach It A Thinking Hitter Laws of Physics Newsletter Psychology of Winning Rotational v Linear Links ROTATIONAL HITTING About Us Coaches College Coaches Player Training Seminars & Clinics Training Tools Video Analysis Videos / Podcast Art Prints & Posters Contact Coach Parker Home Free eBook J-pegs Newsletter	"An amazing thing, the human brain. Capable of understanding incredibly complex and intricate concepts. Yet at times unable to recognize the obvious and simple." -- Jay Abraham Have you ever really looked at what is happening in the swing process of the best players in the game. Do you know what Ted Williams meant when when he was referring to the "Ideal Impact Zone" or what it means lead with your hips or leveling the bat? Do you think weight transfer is a hitting technique? All of these questions and more are answered in the following pages and within this website. It took me a major part of my coaching career to learn what the very best players are doing at the plate and it is all down in writing here for you. What took me years to learn, master and perfect is at your finger tips. Weight Transfer First of all, weight transfer is NOT a hitting technique, but rather an element of hitting, and a major one at that. There has to be back to front movement in a players swing in order to hit with any kind of consistency and power. Sitting, squishing the bug is simply not good mechanics. Look at the back foot - players are either on the tip of their back foot, or the foot is completely off the ground at contact. This is what good weight transfer looks like and there has to be back to front motion in the swing. There is no sitting, there is no squishing. Hips / Core Turning to the ball with the hips leading the way is such a huge part of hitting and is an area that a majority of young players never fully develop. The power that is generated by the hips in a baseball swing is based on the principle of torque. The same way a golfer, boxer, tennis player and pitcher use their core muscles to turn, so do the best hitters in the game. Players need to "learn to turn" to the ball. Leveling The greatest difference between a linear and rotational hitter is their approach to the ball. Leveling is the technique that gets the bat into the path of the ball and is irrefutable as to whether it is really happening, because it is. Dipping the back shoulder, dropping the barrel of the bat level to the ball and swinging up through the oncoming pitch. The process of the elbow working up and around the body is an essential part of leveling and the only way a player can ever get the barrel where it needs to be. Whether it is Pujols on a pitch up in the zone or Big Poppy dropping down on a low one, one thing remains the same - they get "level to the ball" and they are "swinging up" through it. Ideal Impact Ted Williams wrote that the ultimate contact point is made when the barrel of the bat and ball meet at a 90 degree angle. Another term that is used to describe ideal impact is hitting with your hands "inside" the ball. A couple things have to happen to make ideal impact; one, you have to let the ball travel deep enough into the hitting zone and two, your front elbow has to move up and around your body. Take a stand and make the hitting experience for your players something to be proud of. Transfer their weight Dip in the back shoulder Front elbow goes up Swing is going up Hands are inside the ball MLB players use rotational mechanics. The very same mechanics that Ted Williams used and the great hitters before and after him. The best hitters in baseball are doing exactly the opposite of what a large majority of coaches in this country are teaching. They don't swing down, they are not trying to hit grounders - sorry to say it. Do you think for a second that Pujols ever goes up to the plate looking to hit the ball into the ground? Little League Player, Big League Swing! How I Teach It - The Best Mechanics in the game! Baseball or Fastpitch, the mechanics are exactly the same! eBook - Start teaching it today! Rotational or Linear? Playing is one thing, but teaching is totally different. I loved Gwynn as a player and there is no question as to his talent, but I don't believe the teaching methods run parallel to how he actually swung the bat and it definitely contradicts what the best players in the game are doing, including himself. It's not just at the Major League level Article from Baseball Digest Alex Gordon, 6' 1", 205 lbs., 3B, University of Nebraska Labeled the nation's top college prospect, Alex Gordon has all the things you look for in a baseball player. He has a strong solid build, deceptive speed, a sweet powerful left-handed swing that can drive the ball to all fields, and is an emerging presence at the hot corner. Teams fear pitching to the Junior out of the University of Nebraska. Gordon is an instinctive player who just has a feel for the game. Kansas coach Ritch Price said, "He's the best player I've ever coached against." Still, some scouts feel he can be even better! Alex put a lot of pressure on himself this year to carry Nebraska to a National Championship. He got off to a slow start, but was able to adjust his swing and get back into a comfort zone. Things have worked out just fine too as Gordon's Cornhuskers are now ranked 4th in the nation with a 46-12 record and are primed for a run at a national title. And oh yeah, Gordon's numbers look pretty good too. He's hitting .396 with a slugging percentage over .760. Look for Alex Gordon to play a major role in the College World Series, while he fights for player of the year honors. Being drafted in the top 5 on June 7 will just be icing on the cake. Interesting story, I was in Colorado few years back watching a young college player as he was taking a hitting lesson with Mike and Jake Epstein. After they finished, this young player was talking about how his college coach has been riding his ass and harping on him about the way he swings. "Don't dip your back shoulder, your swinging up, get that front elbow down, Blah, Blah, Blah"...well, this young player was playing for Nebraska and was teammates with Alex Gordon, who, if you didn't notice, is dipping his shoulder, tilting back, elbow comes up and around the body and BANG, smokes the ball. Mike asked, "what do they say to Alex?" The young player replied, " nothing...what can they say, stop hitting the crap out of the ball!" Back to school boys, back to school! A Few Years Later Alex is now making his mark with Kansas City, and yes he is still swinging up through the ball.

Alex Gordon, 6' 1", 205 lbs., 3B, University of Nebraska