There are different angles you have to work with as a hitter. Figuring out with my body what helps me get into those angles... is a constant discovery.
Your core holds you upright; it helps you bend and twist and jump; it helps you transfer power through your body; and it strengthens your posture, whether you are batting, sitting at a desk or running around a park.
A lot of guys just punch with their arms; they don't utilize every part of their muscles they can use. I know how to use that, and that's where the power comes in.
A lot of people think pitchers, and they just think throwing and that's where all the power comes from. It's really not. It starts from the ground up. If you have a strong base, the legs will actually do the work and build all the torque and power you need to throw. So if you have weak legs at the end of the year, that's not good.
When I throw a softball, there's no time to think about the motion of my arm. I just look at the first baseman's glove and react.
Olympic Style lifting compliments sprint training perfectly. It does this by making sure everything in the body is 'fully connected.' This is based on the principle that all movements have a kinetic chain.
By kipping, you are able to generate power from the hip, transfer it through the body, then into your arms, creating a movement that originates in your core and moves to your limbs, and also generates more power.
I don't look at film that closely about my mechanics of where's my elbow at.
Where does my fist go when I open up my hand? Where does my lap go when I stand up?
I created a little thing with my hands, just to create a more consistent plane to backspin balls, and obviously growing into your body helps. It's kind of complicated, more about starting the barrel flat and then creating a movement - flat to up, I guess - going towards the pitcher.
When I'm really purring it, I feel as if my whole left side - from knee to hip to shoulder - is turning behind me as I swing through the ball.
I try to look for tempo in my run-up to make sure my knees are lifting up instead of going long. That brings an energy to my run-up, try and make myself feel as tall as I can.
If you try to simplify it as much as possible, I guess you could say if a guy who is my size can move around the same as a guy who is much smaller, you would think there are maybe going to be a few more advantages.
A runner's stride is not perfectly efficient.
I used biomechanics to save time when I was competing.
