How To Release Bat Lag | Mechanical Detail (Pro Speed Baseball) 

What the hell kind of name is kalei unleas u spelled it wrong

Thanks Benny, glad you liked it! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

Thanks Lemar! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

We have a video coming out on exactly that very soon! Spoiler: Rolling over is simply getting out in front of the pitch and hitting the top part of the ball... has nothing to do with what the hands are doing! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

Pro Speed Baseball ok great I just have a question will you ever go in depth about hitting a curveball or correct mechanics to hitting a curveball

This his completely wrong. Even in the videos you show both batters are NOT rolling over until way after contact. Yes the rollover has to happen at the end of the bat swing AFTER contact but what you are showing is the start rolling before making contact with the ball. Your concept has no hip rotation which is where the power of the swing comes from. All arms in your swing is not effective. Reminds me of a 6 yr old trying to learn how to swing. If that’s the case then 6 year old have the proper swing already at that age. SMH. Good luck.

@@ProSpeedBaseball Seriously?? What you are saying (and demonstrating visually in the video) is EXACTLY what causes topping or rolling the top hand over prematurely. Sorry man you are giving bad info.

@@jessgonzalez298 You are so right.

Thanks Jose! All we can do is teach what's actually happening from an objective viewpoint. There's a lot of people out there who are very dedicated to a certain types of instruction and when they hear something different there are more times than not, adverse reactions. :P Even though it might be the same thing haha! I appreciate the back up and the nice words! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

Pro Speed Baseball totally understand what u mean bro and reputation and cred is/has been on top.. We all have different slangs to these types of terms, so maybe that's what confuses others. But for those who disagree, only through experience is how you will learn.

I know he means well. But Buster Posey doesn't do what he teaches. Watch how Buster turns the barrel and doesn't push his hands to the ball.

And Buster certainly doesn't have a down and through swing. His barrel turn helps get him on a slight upward swing to patch the plane of the ball. Of course this also depends if the pitch is high, low, etc... But the shoulders tilt to the degree needed to get on plane. But pushing the hands or know straight to the ball will not work at elite levels

Albert Garza Do u not know that the only way to turn your barrel during a swing motion is to "roll the wrist" ? U can't turn the barrel during a swing without rolling your wrist.. Simple physics actually

3B tell your coach he's a dumbass. And watch the video "how to unload like a pro". It's on RU-vid by Ron sullivon. Really good shit.

mango_666 My hitting coach only made it to triple A. Maybe that's y

3B he's probably a great hitter regardless, but he did it make it there by chopping down on the ball. If you havnt yet, please go watch that video. It's really good stuff

I'd suggest to get your swing on plane with the ball. But I'm not your hitting coach. :)

J Truts bb

Is it not possible to roll over with a axe bat? Thanks

Isn't that how he's recommending it? though Rolling over after contact?

Thanks J Truts! And yes, as stated in the video the hands don't roll over until after contact! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

I get the intent of this video but should steer away from the term roll over. Through contact all of the power in the wrist is strictly linear radial and ulnar deviation, maintaining the palm up and palm down position. Most top-level hitters don't roll over until their bat is pointing toward the pitcher

Well Said!

I really wish this guy would change jobs, he is teaching such bad habits. Real hitters turn the barrel. He teaches such a complicated mess!!!!!

Hey Travis, thanks for the question! We state in this lesson that the rollover happens after contact. The purpose of this lessons is to show the generally shape of the release, starting from the bat lag position to well past impact. Hopefully this helps clear things up! Thanks so much for watching. 😎

I truly appreciate the dedication these guys have invested into their way of approaching how they see/teach the swing. The use language that no other "hands down to the ball" coach might use, and they actually try to insert that language to real life examples and use slo mo video. Problem is they see only what they want to see, and cherry pick particular movements that hammer home their points and ignore everything else to the contrary. Big fan of your work, John.

Haha, it's very real my friend! We've got some great follow up videos coming out soon to solidify the physics of how this works through contact and the bio-mechanical advantages to releasing the bat on time! Thanks for commenting! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

Thanks for commenting Matt! We are highly dedicated to putting out the most objective research possible... meaning we're not trying to force what we think is right, we just want to be as right as possible considering what slow motion video, data, and physics tell us! If you have any objections to the instruction in the videos, we would more than like to hear what you think so that we can test and apply it to our instruction! We're always looking to expand our knowledge base, and peer criticism (scientific method :P) is one of the best ways to do that! Looking forward to any suggestions you might have! Thanks! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

Michael, I think what Matt and I would both agree on is that you consistently use videos to try and prove your swing theory that are very misleading and to be honest incorrect. If we are simply talking optimal contact with a baseball traveling down to the catcher, the BARREL of the bat bat must be going up at some point before contact. Optimal for Judge at 6'8 is still optimal for someone at 5'5 regardless of the result. In my opinion you seem to use videos of guys either fooled and/or with bad timing where the their arms are extended down at or after contact. Yes some of those balls might still go out for some of those players but this is still not optimal, this is a mistake. This is where kids can really suffer from this type of information. Donaldson and just about every MLB player, can slice or cut downward through a ball and run it out at 390 ft and a kid would think that's the best way. In reality he was fooled, and his talent, size, bat speed, etc. helped him there which 99.9999% of all kids won't have. The average kid MUST have the correct upward bat path to have any success in baseball. If Donaldson's timing is better on that same pitch and his swing path is optimal (up) his hits that ball over 400 ft. Again optimal vs. sub-optimal(fooled). Regardless if it was a home run, triple, double, or a single, downward barrels at contact create glancing blows to the ball and therefore waste energy, the same way a backhand across the nose will never do as much damage straight on. It's the same way in comparing a wedge to a driver, or serve vs. a drop shot in tennis etc, etc. Another great example of why hitting the ground with backspin is terrible, it will actually slow the ball down. If you do hit a ground ball with an upward swing you will have top spin and the ball will jump off the ground faster therefore giving you a better chance of a hit. Not best but better. Bottom line, I just think you could be way better. You do put a lot of time into this and for that I admire because I understand the work involved. However, the information has to be correct or just more damage will be done to the young hitters of the world.

Thanks for your thoughts John! I think what's happening here is that we have a classic case of "hearing what you want to hear" versus the actual information provided. I'll do my best to address all of your concerns... Firstly, when we look for video to analyze and/or use as an example, we look for optimal swings... i.e. pitches that around the middle of the plate around mid strike zone... this gives us a baseline to work off of... Secondly, the swings we use can be found anywhere on the internet and are mostly slow motion swings of well hit home runs.. (because those are usually the swings filmed in slow-mo) Thirdly, if you take the high level hitters we've used for example and put them on a tee, on a down-the-middle pitch... we will see the points we go over. Now to get to your big issue with bat path... Never once, have we ever instructed to swing down at the ball... even further, we teach that optimal contact is made when the barrel is moving positively (upward). Now, because the hitting stance consist of the hands being higher than the strike zone, we have said the hands move down and towards the ball... which they do... from the end of the load, the hands move downwards... but if you reference our swing plane videos we explain how the physics of the swing allow for this motion and the counterbalances of the forces applied create what we see in slow motion... which is a positive attack angle on the ball... The reason we don't use the term "swing up" is because it's a subjective term that students need on a case by case basis... If I have a student who is trying to chop down at the ball, or is "swinging down," I will then instruct him to swing up... Yet, if you take into consideration the top-heavy lever physics, if applied with force (hands) going towards the ball, the mass (sweet spot on bat) will attempt to follow, dip below the hands and work up into contact. Therefore, if this is something that tends to happen naturally, instructing "swinging up" as an absolute will tend to cause hitters to over-do this... (the new Josh Donaldson Response video explains this nicely with the Chipper Jones example) While we're on the physics subject, hitting a back spin ground ball is extraordinarily difficult if not impossible (especially if we're talking about a hard hit ground ball)... Ground balls are hit because the bat strikes the top half of the ball, regardless of bat path, the ball will have top spin and go into the ground. That is simple bat on ball contact physics... To summarize: We do not teach to swing up, down, or level.... We are simply applying force in the direction of our target and allowing the bat to make optimal contact in which we both firmly believe is an upward strike on the ball.... Objectiveness is your best friend in terms of expanding your expertise.... You've most likely believed things are a certain way and are 100% in on what you believe.... which is great commitment but doesn't leave much room for getting better... I myself, welcome any and all criticism because I will put it to the test on my own instruction to get better... In this case your main issue was bat path, which is nothing new that we teach, and if you pay attention in the videos, you will hear us specifically say "optimal contact is made on a positive strike." I appreciate where your head is at... but I would recommend receiving the instruction with an open mind, and not dismissing it because it's not said the way you know it or put exactly the way you believe... If I had to guess, we would most likely agree on good swings, but probably see it happening differently... which is why I strive to keep my own opinions out of the instruction and look at the facts. I would implore you to do the same! If you have any other objections or anything to add, I would be more than happy to go over it from an objective standpoint! Thanks for taking the time to check out the videos and for your opinion on the instruction! Hope this helps clear some things up! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

Hey justwhippin, thanks for the comment! If you watch in the video, we very clearly explain that contact is made before the release. Also, the Pro Speed Hitting System doesn't teach any bat path such as "down to the ball," we teach efficient hand path in which the bat follows! Hope this helps clear some things up! ~Michael Pro Speed Baseball

Take some lessons at the golf driving range. You'll learn a lot.