307 reasons to keep it Simple
A few years ago a plethora of young hitters were conned into believing a knee raise gave you extra pop. They saw guys like Justin Turner and Josh “The Bringer of Drizzle” Donaldson knee raising like a pitcher so they figured it added exit velocity.
And I cringed every time they swung the bat.
Asinine. Ludicrous. As destructive as drinking motor oil. As dumb as a boulder that’s never gone to Rock School. As negative as 40 below.
But the Good Lords of Baseball were not pleased so they intervened. And knee raise is now almost as extinct as a government without a deficit, as yesterday as hula hoops, as out of date as a telephone answering service.
In 2019 the Minnesota Twins crushed 307 jacks, annihilating the MLB record by 40 bombs. And not one of the Twins was a knee raise hitter. Not one.
Cruz Control
Nelson Cruz–A pro’s pro, one of the best in baseball, as consistent as a door closing. Slightly open set-up, tiny slide step toward the plate. As simple as kindergarten math. 41 jacks.
Miguel Sano–The 270-pound Behemoth, who plays left tackle for the Packers in his spare time. Picks his foot up a few inches and puts it down, shaking the Earth’s crust. 34 jacks.
Max Kepler–Basic smooth hip coil. Loads and pops. 36 jacks.
Eddie Rosario–Starts a bit closed. Then a short coil of his stride foot. 32 jacks.
Mitch Garver–—He has so little movement it seems like he’s comatose. So simple there’s absolutely nothing that can go wrong. Shades of Paul Molitor. 31 jacks.
I could on until the Rawlings come home but you get the point.
Bombs Away
The Bomba Squad Twins were a Jack Benny machine, as potent as 192 proof Spirytus vodka, the Polish answer to pure alcohol. Their hitting coaches, James Rowson and Rudy Hernandez, kept them as simple as rain, as precise as a jockey’s weight, as direct to the ball as a laser and through the ball like a tsunami. To hell with knee raise.
Here’s the First Commandment of Hitting. You can’t swing a Louisville Slugger until your stride foot plants. Well, you can, but you’ll fall on your butt like a drunk pole vaulting.
You start your swing when you plant. So how can knee raise possibly add power? Knee raise and plant is the same as slide step and plant. You plant. And you swing. No matter how you get there.
Keep it simple. That’s the essence of timing and power.
Juan great swing
Watch a great young hitter like Juan Soto. His approach is as basic as steamed rice, as straight forward as chewing a steak. A subtle little knee coil and a short, soft slide step. And then he explodes.
The Turner/Donaldson knee raise is just plain stupid. Greg Maddux would have thrown them a pair of circle changes, screwing with their haphazard timing, and then iced them with an 88 mph fastball that looked like 102.
I know what you’re thinking. Those dudes have been pretty successful. But how much more consistent would they be if they stopped mimicking pitchers and said adios to the knee raise?
Just ask the 2019 Minnesota Twins. They answered that question 307 times.
Rowan Wick—Back foot sliders
“Left-hand hitters eat curveballs down and in from right-handed pitchers. They hammer them. So I’ll throw them sliders.
“It’s a tighter, sharper break and a lot harder for them to stay inside the ball. I’m pounding them on their hands. I want the slider to break hard toward their back foot.”
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Dave Talks Baseball 