Fastpitch Hitting - Swing Like "the Best in the World"

Many people who follow fastpitch softball considerthe ball, it produces many more line drives. No one
Jessica Mendoza to be the best all-around player,swings perfectly every single time, so of course,
and best overall hitter in the world over the pastthere will be ground balls and pop ups, just as with
several years.Linear, but overall, there is more power, and
Mendoza can do it all at the plate. She is a greatmany more balls hit in the air to the outfield. And,
bunter, a very effective slap hitter, and hits awaybecause the swing is faster, ground balls are
for a very high batting average and with terrificnormally hit harder than with Linear -- and so are
power. In fact, baseball fans can comparemore likely to get past the infielders for hits.
Mendoza side-by-side with most any major leaguePerhaps the biggest problem with Rotational hitting
baseball hall-of-famer, and see that they swingis that many people who have very little
the way she does.understanding of it try, with the best of intentions,
Although Mendoza isn't the first fastpitch player toto teach it. They often combine bits of Linear
adopt a Rotational swing, she does it at least aswith a partial understanding of Rotational, with
well as anyone who's ever played. More and morehorrible results. Some have grasped portions of
fastpitch players are turning to her method ofthe Rotational, and teach what they know. Their
hitting. Increasingly, Division 1 college coaches areresults are very uneven. Some hitters do fairly
converting their players to Rotational hitting (forwell with this partial swing, most do no better
example, Mike Candera, Head Coach at thethan with Linear, and some don't have any
University of Arizona, whose teams have won 6success.
College World Series National Championships, isMike Epstein, former MLB baseball player, and the
teaching a peculiar variation of Rotational hitting).person credited with coining the phrase "Rotational
While softball players can continue to haveHitting," ask the question, "Do we coach what we
success using the Linear method of hitting, thereREALLY see?" Very few coaches take the time
are reasons for the shift to Rotational.to do the frame-by-frame video analysis of great
A Very Short Historysoftball and baseball hitters to see all of the
Many in the fastpitch community are under thecomponents of a productive Rotational swing.
impression that Rotational is relatively new, and(Epstein's hitting course is one of the better ones
that Linear hitting has always been the norm.available. Thousands of players have benefitted
Actually, Rotational hitting was introduced to Majorfrom his instruction.)
League Baseball by Shoeless Joe Jackson in theWhat a Rotational Swing Looks Like
early 20th century, and after Babe Ruth copiedThe photos at in the Nov. 5 post, "The Best
Jackson's method, it became the swing of aboutHitter on the Planet?" show how the key
95% of Major Leaguers until the introduction ofcomponents of Jessica Mendoza's swing work
synthetic turf on many Major League fields fromtogether to make her such a great hitter. A true
the 1960's to the 1990's.Rotational hitter. You may see that it's very
Those early synthetic turf fields were nearly asdifferent from what most local coaches teach,
hard as concrete. Major League batting coacheseven those who call their style of hitting
quickly realized that ground balls hit on it moved"Rotational." (In her 5-minute video lessons on
so fast, that many balls that were routine groundYouTube, even Mendoza teaches something very
outs on natural fields were hits on 'turf. Many thatdifferent from the way she actually hits! It seems
would have been outfield singles bounced so hardto me that her using Linear hitting phrases -- "shift
they became doubles or even triples. So manyyour weight," and "take your hands to the ball" --
began to teach Linear hitting to their weakercan be confusing to most players, because
hitters. And in many cases it worked.Mendoza doesn't do these things in a Linear way
(Most of the Big Leaguers who hit over.300 inat all, as you can see in the photos.)
those years, and nearly all the RBI and Home RunMendoza keeps her hands back and high as she
leaders, continued to be Rotational hitters. Asbegins her swing. As she takes a very small step,
synthetic turf disappeared from the Majorher entire body moves slightly toward the pitcher
Leagues, so did Linear hitting. There are very few(the "weight shift"), but her weight is balanced
nowadays, and although many still use Linearequally on both feet. Her hips begin to rotate as
terms to describe their swing, they actually useshe brings her back hand down slightly. Her front
Rotational swings.)foot pivots. Keeping her elbows close to her
The increasing use of Linear hitting in MLBbody, the hip rotation brings her bat around at
coincided with the introduction of lightweightvery high speed. Her wrists remain in the same
aluminum and composite bats. These bats wereposition as at the beginning of the swing.
not only much lighter than wood -- and so couldHer back shoulder moves lower (how much lower
be swung much faster -- they also had moredepends on the pitch -- if it had been high in the
"pop." The ball came off the bat harder andstrike zone, the back shoulder would have
faster, so grounders hit with metal or compositelowered less, but still would have "dipped"). At
bats got past infielders more often than with thecontact, both elbows are in an "L" position, head
old wood bats.directly on the ball. At the moment of contact,
While MLB rejected Non-wood bats, they werethe front knee is straight, the back knee in almost
quickly adopted by youth baseball leagues, middlean "L" position. The bat extends straight from her
and high schools, and the NCAA. Along with thelead arm, looking as if it is part of her arm.
bats, coaches at all these levels began to teachThe elbows remain in the "L" until well into her
Linear hitting. Boys and young men who mightfollow-through. Her back hand remains on the bat
have struggled with heavy wood bats becameuntil the swing is 98% finished.
good or even above average hitters by usingThat's how the best fastpitch hitter in the game
aluminum/composite bats and Linear hitting.does it. And the ball is on a powerful line drive
During all this, fastpitch softball experienced atrajectory. If you can get a look at Crystl Busto,
rebirth as a game for women and girls. Fastpitchthe most powerful fastpitch hitter who every
softball was originally played with wood bats, andplayed, you'll see that her swing is the same. If
Rotational hitting was the dominant method foryou can find video of Stacey Nuveman from
both women and men playing the game. In fact,2004-2007, you'll see the same swing. If you look
relatively few women played fastpitch until theat the Texas A&M team, nearly everyone
1970's.has the same swing as Jessica Mendoza.
As young ladies took up the game, they usedIs One Better Than the Other?
aluminum and composite bats, for the sameIn the fastpitch softball community, the discussion
reason their male counterparts were. Most ofover the two styles is often very heated, and
their coaches were men -- dads -- who werepassions frequently run high. Often people are so
enthusiastically embracing the cutting-edge Linearemotional about their chosen method that they
hitting movement. So most ladies learned Linearcannot see that both have a place. But look at
hitting, which tends to create more grounders asthe 2006-2009 USA National Softball teams. The
we'll see.ladies who made up the team were deemed to
Linear Versus Rotationalbe the best players in the US at the time. Both
So what's the difference between Linear andmethods of hitting were represented on the
Rotational hitting? Andy Collins has a pretty goodteam, and they won 3 World Championships and
definition of Linear hitting: "Linear hitting is a hittinga Silver Medal in the Olympics. Clearly there is
style that has been used for many years in fastroom for both Linear and Rotational hitting.
pitch softball and by many little league coaches,What to Look for in a Coach
some high school, college, and even minor leagueIn general, everyone who teaches Linear hitting
baseball coaches who still prefer this method ofteaches the same principles and the same swing.
hitting instruction.While each coach will have their own way of
"It is used to achieve solid contact hitting,teaching it, there is a great uniformity in Linear
producing... sharply hit ground balls which areinstruction. A player will get the same advice and
designed to shoot through the drawn-in infielderstweaking of her swing, but perhaps with different
on the hard dirt surfaces of softball (and astroturfwords used from coach to coach.
surfaces in baseball). It is especially useful in slapUnfortunately, while Rotational hitting is fairly
hitting (fast runners who hit it on the ground andsimple and straightforward, many coaches haven't
beat it out to first base).really learned the components of the swing.
"Baseball players who use this style, do soSimply latching onto key words and phrases, they
especially when they use the ultra light aluminumteach what sounds like Rotational hitting to them
bats and... if they play on artificial surfaces."and the player. Of course, this doesn't produce a
A Linear hitter will normally hit ground balls. Mostsound swing, and causes many to abandon and
Linear coaches teach "hit the top half of the ball,"reject Rotational hitting. Those who have learned
and "swing down," which naturally producesMike Epstein's system can teach a pretty
grounders. They also teach "lead with the hands"effective swing. Jack Mankin has taught many
or "take the knob (or hands) to the ball," and tocoaches how to teach the swing used by
set up with most of your weight on the backMendoza and nearly every Major League Baseball
foot and then shift your weight to the front footHall of Fame member.
as you swing. All of these work together toEven worse than those who teach Rotational
lengthen the swing (producing slower bat speedhitting without understanding it, are those who try
and therefore less power) and cause a lot ofto combine the two methods. This simply doesn't
ground balls.work, except for a very few extremely gifted
Since softball infields are clay (a hard surface), andathletes whose hand-eye coordination is so
the bases are relatively close together -- and sosuperior they can overcome this disastrous
the infielders are close to the batter and havecombination swing. Avoid this swing at all costs!
less time to react to the ball to field it -- if you hitUse the photos at and the description above of
a ground ball hard enough, you will get on base.Mendoza's swing to guide you in finding a
So Linear hitters can be very successful.Rotational hitting coach. These are the
Linear hitting works really well when playingfundamental elements of the swing, and each is
against younger or less accomplished fielders andcrucial. Ask the coach to describe the components
pitchers. But as the defense gets better, whetherthey teach. If it sounds very different, move on
it's because the ladies at the level you've been atto someone else. If it sounds similar, ask more
are more mature physically and morequestions. Be sure they are teaching what you
experienced fielding balls, or if it's because you'resee in these photos. This particular swing is about
moving up from the Silver division to the Gold,as perfect a Rotational swing as humanly possible.
fewer and fewer ground balls get through for hits.In the End, It's a Choice You Have to Make
And as the pitching gets faster, Linear hittersAs we said, there is a place for both Linear and
often struggle to get the bat around quicklyRotational hitting in fastpitch softball. However, as
enough, hitting more and more weak groundersthey move up in skill levels, Linear hitters will find
to the opposite side. If you get a chance toit increasingly difficult to achieve the greatest
watch Division 1 college softball games, you'll reallypossible success at the plate.
see this happening. The lightweight bats allowed inThe best hitter in fastpitch, Jessica Mendoza, is a
softball go a long way in addressing the problemRotational hitter. So are Crystl Busto, Stacey
of slow batspeed. However, when you get to theNuveman, and many of the best players in the
very top level of competition at a given age,US. More and more top Division 1 college softball
Linear hitters often struggle.coaches are adopting Rotational hitting for their
Also, if you are doing a correct Linear swing andteams.
happen to hit the middle or lower half of the ball,The method has been around for nearly a
you will create backspin on the ball - which willhundred years and is proven to be very
usually result in a pop up or a very slow grounder.effective. If you're serious about taking your
Slap hitting, a variation of Linear, can helpgame as far as you can, if you dream of playing
overcome these problems. An accomplishedcollege softball or even playing for your national
Slapper can place the ball very accurately, and so,team (and why NOT dream that?), you should
"hit 'em where they ain't," as baseball legend Weelook into Rotational hitting. But try to be sure you
Willie Keeler said 120 years ago (Willie was afind a coach who really understands this simple
Linear hitter, like all ballplayers of his time).method and knows how to teach it.
Rotational hitting emphasizes even weight balance,Whatever you choose, keep practicing, especially
leading with the hips, using the legs, hips and torsoin the off-season, keep working hard at getting
muscles to produce a short, compact swing, andbetter, but also take some breaks from the
hitting the center of the ball. These combine togame! Don't get burned out on the game you
create more bat speed than Linear hitting can,love!!
and because the intention is to hit the middle of©2009 Joseph M.