An analysis of the swing of Caitlin Benyi First Base View Chris O Leary September 16, 2008 Version 1.1
How To Use This ebook The best way to use this ebook is to go through it frame by frame. You can advance from one frame to the next using the up/down keys on the keyboard. This will enable you to walk forwards and backwards through critical frames of the swing. About Chris O Leary Chris O Leary is a coach, instructor, analyst, and writer who works with baseball pitchers and baseball and fast pitch softball hitters. He has worked with players ranging in age from pre-school through major D-1 college, minor league, and Major League levels. Chris O Leary can be contacted via e-mail at thepainguy@gmail.com or by phone at 314.494.1324. More of Chris O Leary s writings can be found at his web site: www.chrisoleary.com Copyright Notice The text portions of this document are Copyright 2009 Chris O Leary. All Rights Reserved. This document has been digitally signed and tied to the buyer and may not be excerpted from, or forwarded to another person, without the expressed, written consent of Chris O Leary. This document may not be posted to a web site, in whole or in part, without the permission of Chris O Leary.
01 The Context of this Swing: I am not sure what the context of this swing is, but I believe it was a pitch slightly up and inside and was hit for a home run to Left Field.
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10 Loaded: In this frame, Caitlin Benyi has just completed her load phase. Like Albert Pujols, when she loads she just picks up the heel of her front foot and shifts her weight rearwards onto her back foot. She also reverse-rotates her shoulders away from the pitcher slightly, which helps to increase the separation between her hips and her shoulders.
11
12
13
14 Shift: After completing her load, Caitlin Benyi pushes off slightly with her back foot, which gets her hips moving sideways and shifts her weight forward toward the pitcher. This creates linear momentum which will help to power the rotation of her hips. At this point, Caitlin Benyi s hips are still closed and she is continuing to slightly reverse-rotate her shoulders in order to increase the separation between her hips and shoulder and to stretch the muscles of her core.
15
16
17
18
19
20 Front Foot Opening: Caitlin Benyi is just starting to open her front foot in preparation for getting to foot plant. At this point her hips are still closed. As a result of her load process, her shoulders are slightly more closed than they were when she started her shift.
21
22 Looking Like George Brett: Just to make the case that a good baseball swing and a good fast pitch softball swing are quite similar, I have a picture of George Brett in pretty much this exact position, sitting into foot plant with the bat just above the Deltoid of his back shoulder.
23
24 Sitting Into Foot Plant: Notice how Caitlin Benyi is dropping or sitting into foot plant; how her head drops down in the frames before her front heel plants and her shoulders start to rotate. However, you should also notice that once Caitlin Benyi s front heel plants, her head is quite steady and stable as she rotates around her axis (compare the position of her head to the background). Another thing that is interesting is that I have a picture of George Brett in pretty much this exact position, sitting into foot plant with the bat just above the Deltoid of his back shoulder.
25
26 Front Heel Planted and Hips and Shoulders Starting To Rotate: This is a five frame swing (ten slow motion frames), which is what is required to hit a good fastball. First, notice how Caitlin Benyi maintains the L (aka the box ) as she swings. By that I mean her hands rotate with, and pretty much stay in the same position relative to, her back shoulder. By staying connected like this, she stays away from a position of bat drag, keeps her swing as short as possible, and maximizes the rate at which her shoulders rotate. Second, notice how Caitlin Benyi s back elbow doesn t slot prematurely; it only starts to move significantly in this frame, and not sooner. Third, notice how Caitlin Benyi lands with her front foot open roughly 45 degrees and pointing down the First Base line. Finally, notice how, while her hips and shoulders start to rotate at the same moment in time, her hips are rotating ahead of her shoulders (and thus her hands).
27
28 Front Knee Extending: Although it s hard to see from this angle, and is much more obvious my analysis of Overhead views of the swings of Lenny Dykstra or Paul Molitor, Caitlin Benyi is stiffening her front leg and extending her front knee. This will help to power the rotation of her hips (and thus her shoulders) and give her an extra boost of power.
29 Back Elbow Slotted: In Frame 29, Caitlin Benyi s back elbow has dropped into the slot by her back hip.
30
31
32
33 Front Elbow Bending: While I m not certain, I would guess that this pitch is over the inner 1/3 of the plate. I say this because if you compare the angle of Caitlin Benyi s front elbow in Frame 28 with the angle of her front elbow in Frame 33, you will see that the angle is significantly less. She appears to have had to make an adjustment in the intervening six frames and has brought her hands in toward her body in order to ensure that the head of the bat passes over the inner 1/3 of the plate.
34
35 Point Of Contact: Regardless of whether you are talking baseball or fast pitch softball, this is an example of an absolutely textbook position at the Point of Contact (POC) and is remarkably similar to pictures of Derek Jeter. Notice the 90 degree bend, or Power L, in Caitlin Benyi s back elbow. Notice too how her back knee is bent roughly 90 degrees and she has been pulled up onto the point of her back toe (not squishing the bug). This happened because the extension of her front knee helped to drive the rotation of her hips and pulled her up onto the point of her back toe. Another thing to notice is how Caitlin Benyi s bat is rotating in pretty much the same plane as her shoulders and her front arm in particular. Finally, notice how the rapid rotation of Caitlin Benyi s hips has shifted her weight onto the outside of her front foot.
36 Maintaining Connection: Notice how, rather than extending prematurely, Caitlin Benyi is maintaining her connection through the Point Of Contact. The angle of her back elbow hasn t changed significantly, which is maximizing the rate at which her shoulders are rotating.
37
38
39
40 Full Extension: Only now, five frames after the Point Of Contact, is Caitlin Benyi at full extension. That is because extension is the effect of a powerful swing rather than the cause of a powerful swing.
41
42
43
44
45 Squishing The Bug: In this frame Caitlin Benyi is squishing the bug. However, this is 10 frames after the Point Of Contact (POC). At the POC, Caitlin Benyi was on the point of her back toe, not squishing the bug.
For More Information For more information about the concepts and ideas discussed in this ebook, contact Chris O Leary via E-mail: thepainguy@gmail.com Phone: 314.494.1324. More of Chris O Leary s writings can be found on his web site www.chrisoleary.com