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Rotational vs. Linear Hitting
by Dave
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
I've found myself in a quandary for quite some time now. Several years ago I overheard a discussion about linear vs. rotational hitting. It wasn't actually a full blown discussion. It was more of a brief editorial without any substantive factual support. I'll get to that discussion and subsequent ones in a moment but it piqued my interest enough to make me question almost everything I've ever learned about hitting. Unfortunately, there is no neat and complete work which fully analyzes the difference between the two hitting mechanics styles. There are materials out there to be sure but none of them satisfactorily answered all the questions which developed in my puny brain.
The discussion I overheard involved two mothers of travel fastpitch players in the age range of 13 to 15 years old. The first parent, the relative "expert" had taken her daughter to get hitting instruction and stumbled upon a rotational mechanics instructor. The second parent was asking about hitting lessons because her daughter was mired in a slump. The "expert" was telling her friend about how she really had to get her kid in to see hitting coach Y because he favors rotational over linear hitting mechanics. The "expert" was claiming that rotational was good for girls because it generated far more power and was easier to learn. She said something like: "just look at the way my daughter X is hitting. She's driving the ball over the outfielders' heads. And it's all thanks to coach Y. Also, I hear UCLA has been teaching rotational hitting for years and now all the colleges are using it for softball. If you want to get a scholarship, you've just got to learn rotational hitting."
Subsequent to this discussion I have seen numerous posts on softball forums in which one parent asks about criteria for selecting a coach for his or her kid. Invariably a host of experts will come onto the forum and tell this parent in absolute terms that whatever they do, they should make sure they put their kid into private coaching if and only if the coach teaches Kobata fielding techniques and rotational hitting mechanics. I agree with the first claim - Kobata fielding techniques are best, particularly for infielders - but that's a discussion for another day. I just wasn't so sure about the rotational hitting question.
Because I am a student of the game, I've been on a quest to see if an average ordinary human being can learn about the differences between the two styles of hitting. My answer is yes ... and ... no. There are some absolute facts I want you to consider in the analysis of rotational vs. linear swing mechanics. This should bring you to about the same state of educated confusion in which I currently find myself.
Learning Materials
First off, there are a lot of materials out there for those interested in learning about hitting. My funds are not unlimited so I chose just a few to look at. These materials are definitely not enough to really gauge the substantial differences between the two mechanical styles but I'm getting ahead of myself.
One item I purchased in my quest to distinguish between the two hitting styles was a video entitled "Rotational vs. Linear - Which Swing Will Help You Hit Best" by Andy Collins. Mr. Collins has a web site you can peruse for more information or to buy his video. It can be found at TheInternetHittingCoach.com Collins does a decent job of explaining some of the similarities and dissimilarities between the two styles but I wouldn't buy this video to learn about hitting. I found his presentation skills to be somewhat lacking. And based on the 43+ minutes of this video, I wouldn't hire him to coach my kids either.
I've seen good coaches teach and the one thing all the good ones have in common is an ability to break skills down and explain them so even an idiot like me can understand them. That was not a quality I would ascribe to Collins. I had to pause the video on numerous occasions and go back over what he just said in order to make sense of it. I believe had a better script been written and practiced, the video could have been more beneficial. As it is, it appears to me as if this was done in a single shoot with no retakes or analysis about how to make things more clear. Unfortunately, that's true of most softball and baseball videos.
I'm not so much criticising Collins - I only met him this once for just 43 minutes and I'm sure he knows what he is talking about - but the video did not teach me much I hadn't heard before, elsewhere. And some of what appears in the video does more to confuse the viewer than to clarify things. For example, the theme of the video is the differences between linear and rotational. Very young students demonstrate the mechanics. But among those demonstrating linear mechanics was a player who I think had been trained mostly in rotational. And among those demonstrating rotational were several who most definitely were using linear style. Had I not realized that, I would have been more lost than ever before.
If you want to know the differences between the two hitting styles, this video will help you to do that but you have to bring some knowledge and you have to pay close attention to Collins while ignoring his students. I recommend this item only as part of an intellectual exercise of distinguishing between rotational and linear hitting mechanics. If you want to really understand the differences, make a choice and teach others, you're going to need far more than this. And since it costs $40 plus shipping, it may not be worth your while.
Another item I purchased was a paperback book named "Lau's Laws on Hitting" by Charley Lau, Jr. Lau is the son of a former Major League batting coach - one who has taught some of the most recognizable names in the game. The book set me back $22 bucks and seems like it was worth the money. But Lau does not specifically teach rotational mechanics. If I had to characterize him as belonging to one camp or the other, I'd put him in the linear camp. I'll explain why later but the thing which most distinguishes Lau from other hitting instructors is his emphasis on top hand release. And Lau would most definitely take exception to being placed in the linear or rotational camps. I believe he sees himself as above that debate and maybe he is right.
Lau's book is not the most well written piece of literature you will ever read. But he does make his points. Like any sports book, it is a difficult read in the sense that things don't flow all that well. You'll want to read a section, then put it down, perhaps re-read the section you are pondering and then move on, though slowly. Most sports writing is second rate since your average ball player and coach is more about doing, showing, and speaking as little as possible than he or she is about putting things in writing. Also, it is very difficult to put these things in writing as I learn every day.
Because this work is in the form of static book pages, it does not give you a similar experience a video does. That's not necessarily a bad thing since it is often impossible to see what you need to see with the naked eye when a full speed swing is performed. The Lau book provides plenty of still pictures, many involving major league noteworthy hitters. That's probably a better way to examine hitting mechanics. But my one criticism is some of these hitters are definitely linear and some are undeniably rotational without there ever being anything said to distinguish between them. Now I understand that Lau in some ways marries the benefits of each into his recommendations but for the very early hitter, that may not be the best approach.
Lau's book is worth the money you need to buy it and the time you will have to put into reading it. It does, if you put in the effort, teach you some practical lessons about hitting. But my sense is this not really for the beginner. You have to take Psychology 101 before you continue on with a major in the subject. I suggest trying to get your arms around linear vs. rotational and then getting your copy of Lau's Laws.
Some Commonalities
There are a number of shared elements of rotational and linear hitting mechanics. The first and most important one is the stance. Despite what you may hear on the street, moving from linear to rotational should not necessarily involve a stance change. Every time you switch hitting instructors, you are probably going to encounter stance correction or even a complete remake of the stance but that is not actually due to which camp the instructor belongs to.
The best way to think of hitting stance is the two key elements, athletic position and balance. Athletic position means with your feet further apart than your shoulders, knees bent or flexed, butt down a bit and with a slight bend to the waist. It is the position a linebacker or defensive back takes before the snap. It is the position a basketball defender assumes. It is the position a boxer punches from. It is the position which is the most common element among all of sport aside from curling or bowling, thus the name "athletic position."
It is always comical to me to hear the phrase "feet shoulder-width apart." My shoulders are about 29 inches across but my inseam is only about 28 inches - I've got an odd shaped body. If I put my feet shoulder-width apart, I'm probably doing a split! And most people stand athletically with their feet further apart than shoulder width. The athletic position varies based on the player's individual body shape and size. And most importantly, an athletic position is required regardless of hitting style used.
In order to accomplish an athletic position, you cannot have your legs straight with knees locked. Similarly, your back cannot be perfectly straight, pointing upwards. If you bend your knees a little while keeping your head up, your butt goes down and you will most likely bend slightly at your waist.
I've heard many claim rotational hitting involves torquing the body backwards but that's not necessarily the case. To hit - to use your body's kinetic power to strike a projectile moving at an impossibly fast speed - you've got to be balanced to begin with. This is true whether you are using rotational or linear mechanics.
I've also heard folks claim that rotational hitting does not involve that first step which linear hitters use. Yet I've seen hig level successful rotational hitters take a full, long step and linear hitters whose front foot is glued to the ground. To step or not to step is a question you must answer regardless of the style of hitting you are using. Whether you are a linear or rotational hitting, there is no moral or other obligation to step or not. All hitters decide whether to take a step, lift the foot and put it back down again from where they just picked it up, or to stride a bit towards the pitcher.
The most important commonality between rotational and linear hitting is the object of the exercise which is, of course, to hit the ball. If you can't vector the pitched ball, you can't strike it. That means regardless of style, you must maintain a "quiet head." You cannot hit the ball if your head is bobbing and weaving.
Some Fundamental Differences
As I said, the most important commonality between rotational and linear hitting is the object - to hit the ball. The differences which arise between the two styles are the manner in which one works the lever - the bat. Basically all hitting involves moving a lever into a position from which it is most likely to strike a ball while using the highest possible bat velocity since kinetic mechanics tell us that speed plus velocity produces force. The object of hitting is to convert energy from the body into the bat. The difference between the two styles is predominantly how you create the force and how you convert it to the ball.
Linear and rotational hitting presumably start with essentially the same stance. But difference occur immediately afterwards. The linear hitter commences forward momentum by pushing with the back foot in what is commonly referred to as "squishing the bug." Charley Lau criticizes this term because he fears a hitter will move ball of their foot in an attempt to really, really kill the bug. But that's not actually true. You do not actually perform the same motion you would if you were squishing a bug. Basically, you shift your weight from being balanced upon the entire ball and toes of the back foot to the inside of the ball and big toe. Then you push with about 60% of your weight on that back foot. Often linear hitters accomplish this slight shift via a step and that's why rotational advocates often claim that linear hitters always step. But you can accomplish this without stepping and many linear hitters do.
Rotational hitting does not involve this pushing off the back foot per se. Rather this style involves a pulling with the hip with weight more on the front foot. The hips kickoff the frontwards torque while with linear hitting, the back foot does this job.
Another important difference between the two styles is the movement by the back arm. In rotational hitting, the elbow is in, next to the side. Linear hitters chop down at the ball and, as a consequence, their elbows aren't in nearly as tight to the body.
This brings up another important difference between the two styles. In rotational hitting, the bat head often drops below the batter's hands. In linear hitting, the batter is instructed to keep the head above the hands. Yet in order to hit a low pitch, it seems impossible to accomplish the task by hitting downwards without constantly pounding the ball into the ground. And always having the bat head below the hands would cause a hitter to constantly pop-up on higher pitches. So while these are definite differences experts commonly cite, I have my doubts about whether each camp actually follows the precisely correct mechanics all the time.
Similarly, while rotational hitting mechanics involves opening the hips immediately, it would seem a hitter would not be able to cover the outside of the plate - a frequent destination for pitches. The linear hitter keeps her hips closed as long as possible and then flies them open right before contact which would seem to make her vulnerable to inside and low pitches. I suppose every hitter has her weaknesses but I doubt this is always predetermined based upon which hitting style is favored by her instructor. I've seen rotational hitters cover the plate just fine and I've seen linear hitters drill the inside and low pitch over the fence.
There are other differences and similarities between linear and rotational hitting. I doubt I know half of them and among those I do know, I can't mention all of them here. I'll cover some more in the next section as I discuss some myths about differences between the two.
Some Other Relevant Facts
Collins rotational vs. linear video claims that the object of rotational hitting is to drive the ball upwards and outwards - over the fence. It also claims linear hitters look for basehits more than power. I can see the point in this but Ted Williams - the man often cited as the father of rotational hitting - was as much a hitter for average as he was a big time home run hitter. It would be quite wrong to claim Williams or any other rotational hitter sacrificed average for power. Similarly, many hitters who do not follow precise rotational mechanics do hit lots of home runs. Rotational hitters do tend to hit the ball more on an upward arc than do linear hitters. But it would be wrong to say all linear hitters are line-drive or ground ball hitters.
Another fallacy I think which has been propagated is the notion that linear hitters hit the ball with top spin while rotational hitters hit it with back spin. I've heard a number of comments which suggest 90 - 95% of all major league hitters use rotational mechanics. I've also heard many a fellow making the move to a new infield position bemoan major league hitters propensity to roll their wrist over one another and hit the ball with wicked top spin. Many of the specific hitters I'be heard mentioned are rotational and many are linear. So how it is possible to claim one or the other always hits with this spin or that, I just can't say.
Another item I find of interest to an analysis of linear vs. rotational hitting mechanics involves something I saw for the first time last year while watching professional baseball on TV. The station I was watching found a way to freeze frames in which contact was made. The primary focus of this analysis was to see the manner in which bats flexed. That was quite interesting but I found something else interesting. Every one of those hitters was in about the same position when he made contact. All of them had their weight on the front foot (a rotational mechanic). The front leg was straight and at a 45-55 degree angle to the ground. They all pretty much had their back feet in what would best be described as a linear position but without weight on it - a rotational characteristic. And their arms were all extended in the same manner with front arm leading the way - similar to a golf swing - and back arm leading the bat to the right position while adding some additional force. Bat heads were above or below the batters hand depending upon where the pitch was. All had their hips open at that moment before contact. And all had their shoulders in about the same place - halfway open on the route to full upon contact as they drove the ball. Some rolled their hands and some didn't - that seemed to be dependent upon the baserunner situation rather than each individual's style. This was true regardless of whether one would characterize the hitter as rotational or linear.
Some other considerations for you
One of the reasons I am most concerned about rotational vs. linear hitting is I want my daughters to play high school ball. Whereas I grew up learning linear mechanics and my kids first instruction was also this style, their likely high school coach is a recent convert to rotational. However, he is not well versed in the mechanics of rotational hitting. He teaches elements of it but his instruction is not complete. Also, I live in fear that one day my kids will decided they want to play in college and they won't be able to since "all the colleges advocate rotational mechanics." I expect there is some truth to that and that my concerns regarding high school playing opportunities will come to fruition. Yet I've heard many people in the sport claim that if you can hit well, no coach is going to mess around with your swing. That may be true or not - I can't say. But one of the things you may want to consider if your daughter is going to see a hitting coach is the mechanics he or she teaches vs. what the current team coach, the high school coach or anyone else you might encounter advocates. Possibly the worst of all scenarios is to have a kid lose their ability to hit because their are too many voices saying different things in their ear.
Conclusion
I've tried to give you a flavor for what the differences between rotational and linear hitting mechanics are. The differences can be summarized as 1) Rotaional hitting involves pulling the body forward with the hips, keeping the bat head below the hands, and pulling the bat through the swing while keeping the weight on the front foot; and 2) Linear hitting involves pushing off the back foot, keeping the weight back, and chopping at the ball with the bat head above the hands until impact. I believe that there is nothing quite so neat or simple about real world hitting. I believe many of the claims of parents regarding what is involved in rotational hitting are quite wrong. I think a player can be successful using either. It is more a matter of preference than it is of one being superior. And if all this gives you a huge headache as it does me, I strongly encourage you to find yourself a really good slap-hitting instructor and put all this stuff behind you!
Until then, please gather you own information and write me if you want to correct something in my understanding. Buy Charley Lau's book for some useful information. Buy Collins video if you want to compare and contrast the two styles. And realize there is nothing out there which will give you a complete comparison.Labels: batting, hitting mechanics, linear, product reviews, rotational
 
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