A Deeper Look at Ted Williams’ Swing
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- čas přidán 30. 09. 2016
- Sean Casey takes an in depth look at the swing that turned Ted Williams in to the greatest hitter of all time.
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Dude would be the all time HR leader if not for ALSO being a two-time war hero as a literal fighter pilot ace. Dude was one of a kind.
One of the best swings of all-time!
Antonelli Baseball could you do a breakdown of his swing? I think I saw one before where you talked about being relaxed with Ted Swinging but it wasn’t like a really in depth breakdown like some of the other videos I’ve seen you do (like Barry Bonds )
His swing is very similar to Barry Bonds at his peak.
The BEST of all time. He was the model swing that other wanted to imitate.
That subtle coil, bend of the knee, slight raising and forward motion of the front foot, then planting it, and the slight raise of the back foot reminds me exactly of the way Bruce Lee taught to throw a 1-2; a straight lead (think a stronger jab) and then the rear cross. Those are the exact mechanics, even with the sideways stance and using those hips till the square up toward the target for maximum power. Awesome stuff.
When I was a kid in the 60's, I remember my dad telling me that Ted Williams was the greatest hitter of all time. Til' this very day, I still agree with me dad's opinion.
brabham74 You could make an argument for Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby, Tony Gwynn, Ichiro, or Wade Boggs, but Ted Williams was a pure hitter with power. That’s lethal. Maybe Tony Gwynn, but no one was more of a student of hitting than Ted himself. He even wrote the book on hitting, literally.
Ted said he could have hit many more home runs if he swung at pitches outside the strike zone. But he would have lowered hs on base avg . And getting on base was Ted's most important goal as a hitter.
@seedling15 Yes...he worked the pitcher...But Ted also had more intentional walks than anybody in baseball. The pitchers and managers were just too afraid to pitch to him. 140 walks per year would have translated into 140 x .344 batting average . Technically that could have been 50 more hits a season and another 10 home runs. However , I realize I am dreaming here because it is unrealistic to think he would not have any base on balls. Every hitter gets walked , but it's fun to me to imagine the improbable.
@@cityhawk Tony Gwynn, Ichiro and Wade Boggs and Cobb are not at all in Ted's league. Cobb was a base stealer and excellent hitter , but not a home run hitter. Gwynn, Ichiro and Boggs didn't hit with power or drive in runs. Rogers Hornsby hit .400 + 3 times. With him we could have a conversation. Ted wrote the book , as you say, on which both Gwynn and Boggs were devoted to. Ichiro had what I think was the best arm in baseball.
He was absolutely right. My father wasn't even a thought when Williams played his last season, but he's my favorite Red Sock. I've seen almost all available game footage of his. He was just amazing.
Notice he also swung up on the ball. The whole "swing down to get backspin" is a myth that creates holes in a players swing.
Williams was asked about that many times. As you probably know Charley Lau, a career .200 hitter, became a hitting guru with people like Brett, and he preached swinging down on the ball. Williams said this: They guy is throwing overhand from a mound that's already12 inches higher than you. The ball is on a downward arc to the batter (except maybe a rising fastball). Swinging on an upward plane, in Williams mind, improved the odds of making contact. Since he hit about 140 points higher than Lau, I'm going with what Teddy Ballgame says....;)
backspin has nothing to do with swinging down. you can swing upwards and still do a backspin.
Players now are adopting this mindset. One person that comes to mind is Kris Bryant. Many of his home run swings you can clearly see he is swinging up on the ball.
I would think that creating a backspin on a curveball which is already spinning in that direction would increase the chance of a foul ball to the backstop. Just a thought though
@@buckfan1969 But both Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby seemed to follow Lau's method (of course before him) than Williams. And Williams retired before they lowered the mound in 1968.
I was and still am one of Teddy's biggest fans I absolutely loved the man, two stories if I may one Saturday at Philadelphia's Shibe Park home of the Philadelphia A's after the game I don't know how I did it but I got down outside the Red Sox locker room waiting for Ted. He opened the door and looked out and saw twenty to thirty people waiting for him and he said "oh No" and closed the door then he did come out and said "stand back everybody stand back" and then one by one he called us up and signed for everybody.#2 I played baseball with a kid whose father (Ed Delaney) was a sports writer for two different Philadelphia Newspapers and when the Red Sox would come to town I would ask my friend to get me press box tickets for the game, the seats were high up above first base an d first inning Ted comes up against Bobby Shantz left handed pitcher of the A's and the count goes to three balls no strikes and Ted hit the next pitch out. Now from where I'm sitting I had the perfect view watching the ball clear the high right field wall and land on a roof of a house and bounce into the alley. About four years ago Bobby Shantz was at a baseball card store near me signing autographs so I went and told Bob I saw that home run and he told me "I was just telling someone about that, I had Ted three balls no strikes and tried to get a fastball by him and it didn't work".
Thanks for sharing that. I envy you those two experiences! I was only 9 when he retired. Only time I saw him was in the 1960 All-Star game. (I think it was the 2nd). He was pinch hitting and hit a line drive to right field for a single. It was either 1960 or 1961, but with Williams retiring Topps ran a special series on Williams, with highlights of his career. That's when I first heard of him. He became my favorite even though I only saw him swing the bat once.
Ted Williams was the best hitter I ever saw and I saw a lot of great hitters from the early 50's til now. He will.aleays be my favorite baseball player of them all.
Did u know he was half mexican?!!
Damn you. I’m so jealous. Way to go, let’s repeat in 2019
CarolCityCane305 she just carried the seed of a white man. We’ll call that a tenth
In depth hitting analyses are always the best. The Josh Donaldson one was sick too
A True American Hero
Learned so much off this video. Thank you! Old school rocks.
Great job thank you my favorite hitter
My dad told me Ted wasn't just a ball player more importantly he was a WW-II And a Korean war hero, plus a great Fly Fisherman. The greatest generation.
I learned from his book to hold the bat with your fingers, not the palms, and keep the bat close to your body. Helps me a lot in high school
Yep, I no longer got pain at the base of my thumbs on a bad swing, better control and more bat speed. Good advice.
You explain really good thank you
Great job, Sean. Succinctly put.
A key point of Ted Williams’ hitting is not discussed- the man choked up. Williams was an advocate of choking up. It gave him more bat control. Pete Rose, for example, choked up. So did Barry Bonds. When you explain this to most young people, they react like you’re crazy.
My dad lived in Boston and said that Ted looked good striking out! It was that swing
As a kid, I loved to go to games at Fenway and still remember every player on that field for the Sox...Williams LF, Piersall CF, Jensen RF, Malzone 3B, Buddin SS, Klaus 2B, Gernert 1B, White C...Tommy Brewer was my favorite pitcher.
Everything to perfection
Rest in peace Mr Ted Williams God bless 🙏 to you and your families
There are two books to read: "The Science of Hitting" by Ted Williams and "The Art of Hitting .300" by Charley Lau. While on the surface it seems that they're different, they're really not. Both emphasize the same areas: getting a good pitch to hit, getting the hands in a good "launching position" and hip mechanics.
"The Art of Hitting .300" by Charley Lau who only hit .255.
He MISSED ages 25, 26, 27, 32 and part of 33. These were PEAK ages. He missed his PEAK. He would've owned EVERYTHING..HR'S, RBI'S. The "What IF" factor is mind boggling.
Best pure hitter! He also had power.
Ted Williams was a really good fielder to played the green monster really well
Four years of his prime lost to military service. Imagine his stats if he was playing those years.
I do, a lot.
@@Tsamokie - He might have hit over 700 home runs & God knows what else.
@@MrChuckwagon55 I hear ya.
Add at least 140 home runs and 500 rbi's for the missed time. Also, what is most amazing is that he came back from defending our freedom and didn't miss a beat at the plate.
@Windy City Blues - And those were his PRIME years, smack dab in the middle of his prime, lost. We’ll never know. But even if you add in his career averages to those years (including his years when he was old near the end) he breaks a lot of records. I think he would have had over 700 Homerun’s and close to 4000 hits.
Sean Casey. You missed out on the best interview of Ted. And Tony. I saw this just before I left SD. 1999-2000.
It was a local station.
Ted AXED TONY if he could see the stitching???? YEA! THE STICHING OF THE BALL!
Tony said as soon as the fingers left the ball.....He knew where that ball was going..........
Ted was a great fighter pilot. Prop and Jet. He was John's wingman in Korea. Both were ACE'S PROP and JET....
John Glenn is another story.
How many Ball Players admit to seeing the stitches????
You know, growing up in Warwick RI you have god, and then Ted Williams, Yaz, Russell, Orr, Espo. I know, later ones but the 60s and early 70s damn damn. I know Yaz took over in 1961, but I was born in 1957.
Teacher man is onto it
20-10 vision sure helped a lot.
I can't get over eye-hand coordination lmao it sounds so strange even though it's obviously just a different way of saying hand-eye, I've just never heard someone say that
Eyehand coordination is a common term in many sports.
Hank Aaron had the stiff front side too. That seems like an important power technique
Ted wrote a book about fishing (The Big Three) he was an extraordinary fisherman .
The great hitter, Ted Williams learned the secrets of hitting from his mentor Rogers Hornsby, when Ted was just 21. Ted told the story of when he asked Hornsby how to be a great hitter, Rogers told him to make sure to get a good pitch to hit. Hornsby AVERAGED 0.403 in a 5 year period in the 1920s! They are considered the greatest left and right handed hitters in baseball history.
Ted Williams had talents no doubt but his dedication and his brain made it the greatest hitter that ever lived.
And his eyesight. 20/10
@@Tsamokie yeah his everysight was incredible. He said he could sometimes tell what pitch was coming from watching the laces in the baseball.
@@Nightfall_zv Too bad he lost five years of his prime serving our great nation. Imagine what his stats would be if he had been able to play during those years.
@@Tsamokie I seen an article with some rough estimates on what they would’ve been. 3000+ hits, 600-700 home runs and up wards of 2500 rbis. The guy was truly the best all around hitter in history in my opinion.
@@Nightfall_zv Dittos
Sounded like an info wars clip
I've been telling people for thirty years, you hit off your front leg, not the back.
My stride, like DiMaggio's (I'm RH), is very, very short, maybe two inches. Other folks really stride. The important part is the weight transfer from back to front, coupled with hip rotation and lashing the ball in a horizontal (+/-) plane.
Try to hit line drives. The homers will take care of themselves - I tried to hit liners.
Ben Hogan loved Ted Williams swing. You can similarity in his golf swing from the waist down.
.406 in 1941. And he led the league in HRs 37.
.406. You got the right average at the start, but you closed saying "401" when I think you meant ".406." Good piece though.
5 years of War😮😮😮
The GOAT. SALUTE 9X
Ted was not only one greatest ball players of all time, this dude was also a fighter pilot wow.
And to think he missed about 4.5 seasons in his prime to be in the military......
@@kenwilliams3208
John Glenn said he was one of the best pilots he ever saw. He was such a good pilot that the Marines had him train other pilots in WWII.
Watch Kyle Tuckers swing please. Seriously as an Astros fan who sees it daily. It’s so alike
He wrote a article for Sport Illustrated in the 60's where he broke down his hitting mechanics. One thing he said is to get your backside in the swing.
Toat n' jam...That articlewas an excerpt from "The Science of Hitting"...I saw the article...then I bought the book....and several other bio's.
I use it in my games
it's crazy how many Boston sports legends have California roots...Ted Williams, Tom Brady, Paul Pierce, Nomar Garciaparra, Dustin Pedroia, Willie McGinist, Dennis Johnson are just a few who come to mind...
And he was Latino too
@@cartavalley lol
I would like you to compare Ted Williams swing with Sam Snead's swing, there are many similarities. Tempo and hand/eye coordination.
His greatest asset was his eyes. He had great vision, so great that he could tell what was coming by seeing the spin on the ball. He once claimed that he could actually see the bat hit the ball. ??????? I don't know, but he said it.
Look at his and Ty Cobb's age 40 season. You have to think if they couldn't get a 40 year old player out, what makes you think they could get a prime Cobb or Williams out today, despite a generation of seeing them and the advancements of baseball in that time? I think the same goes for Babe Ruth who had a crappy average as an aging player but hit something like 3 homeruns in his last game while ill. I'm convinced Ruth's average would be less today, but his power would still be there when he did make contact.
If he played those 5 years he missed because of war. He would have 700 hrs. 2300 RBI the most ever 344 aver. Probably 8 batting titles and should have 5 MVP awards. Not the best player but best hitter ever. And I'm a Yankee fan
If the sac fly rule existed, Williams would have hit 0.412 for that season!
He literally wrote the book on hitting a baseball
Teddy Ballgame. ❤
I try so hard to imitate his swing but still cant seem to hit them out yet 😂😢😢😢😂😂
My golf instructor says the same thing.. .. baseball or golf it's all about leg
Like a pro golfer, the club or bat is not muscled through the swing. It is used like a whip, or a weight on a string. The goal is simply to make the barrel go really fast right at the point of contact. It involves every part of the body transferring energy from start of the swing through contact. It's why Ruth, Williams, didn't look like they were swinging very hard. All of the energy is brought in stages from the feet to the hips to the shoulders, arms, wrists. At impact, the bat is doing all the work - it is the head of the whip. The batter's' body has already done its work at that point with the only thing left bein the follow through.
I could watch Williams swing all day.
I played baseball growing up and now I play an Irish sport called hurling. To score you have to pretty much self pitch it to yourself while a guy with a baseball bat sized wooden club is trying to deck you. I noticed in the art of hitting that the perfect place to swing is exactly where you have to put the ball in hurling. I’ve been using Ted Williams to get better at hurling and watching his swing. I wish I had the wisdom to listen to him when I played baseball.
Frankly, I have significant doubts over this video's "explanation" . . . and I saw Ted in person.
The one thing about Ted Williams is if you watch his bat he gets on-plane early behind him. Casey doesn’t even see this. That’s what allows him to make more connections more often. And because he’s on-plane early, if you watch his lead elbow it goes upward which sends the barrel snapping quickly through the hitting zone with a slight upward path. Also even though his back foot comes off the ground he doesn’t transfer all his weight to the front side. He stays balanced throughout his swing. He doesn’t bend his lead leg at all. He hits into his front side. His lead leg is firm which allows for him to create hip acceleration and barrelhead speed coming through connection.
In 2000 interview with Tony Gwinn. He AXED Tony if he could see the Stitches????
I love the Boston red sox
The super Ostrich me to
Well I would say you are a very smart person , and as I write this the Sox are looking pretty good!
I’ve already left a couple of comments on this site, but had to comment. I wish we picked up some more pitchers for 2019. I think 🤔 the damn Yankees picked up some pitchers and hitters to give us a run for 2019. We sat on our hands and played cheep in off season.
MLB is more than just the Sox and Yankees. Those 2 teams can go pound sand.
Didn't the write a book on hitting?
Why does he drop the barrel so low before hitting
I love how the old time players never did any of the fancy batting stances like the players now.. they just got up, stood still and slugged that damn ball
Also his hands were below the shoulder in his stance like bonds and Ruth. I don't know why more hitters don do this u aren't so apt to swing at the high pitch that is slightly high
hand-eye coordination
Williams had 20/10 vision. He was pretty gifted with his eyesight.
Never swing down on a pitch going down,seems intuitive enough,or should be
Such eye hand cordnation with 20/10 vision!! What if he had 20/20...lol
I checked his videos "the science of hitting" out of the library when I was 9. They're on YT now... Ted explains how he swings slightly up and why. Keep the barrel on the plane of the pitch. I Swung like that afterward. Was a good hitter, too small to get much power. I could drive anything. Or just Take anything i couldnt. Learned from Ted... High school hitting coach (who had side gig teaching hitting lessons) wanted me to swing down to the ball and break my wrists as you hit it. WIlliams explained why that's dumb. Line drives vs. grounders and double plays.
He said he was mvp of college world series, which he was.
I said that doesn't mean you understand PHYSICS like i do. Ever take it?
Nah.
I did and ive designed 2 rockets and predicted how far they fly. Let me know when MIT recruits you, because they are recruiting me.
What's MIT?
When you figure that one out, I'll say "exactly!" like Wayne when dude says "a sphincter says 'what'".
Mexican American Legend. Had to hide his identity for fear of hate. He was a Jewish convert and found peace in that. But he will always be Mexican.
Ethnic identity will be the end of us all. When people get their identities from things, they can’t control, like their race and ethnicity, it can be a substitute for actual personal character just as much as it can be a target for racism. Anyone who promotes their ethnic identity is just a form of fascist.
All of you guys must be nuts. Cause Teacherman says Williams' swing wouldn't cut these here days. (please pick up on the sarcasm)
Williams ...special bloodline ...I've known a few ...all super smart ...industrious ...just saying 😇
This guy knows he doesn't have to yell, right?
Jordan V He gets excited.
Just found out he was a Mexican American baseballer and the greatest Mexican baseballer above Fernando Valenzuela.
Another Mexican on the down low, Michael Young!
Williams mother might have been from Mexico but Ted was born here and was a proud American who served in WWII and Korea in an American uniform. Ted was not a Mexican.
You can’t erase your amcrstry, his Mexican uncles showed him how to play baseball. I am sure Ted was proud of his Mexicans heritage but you racist fucks would have hated him back in the 40’s if they found out he was not a full Anglo.
@@ThekiBoran
His mother was a Mexican American from Texas.
Yes, he was half Mexican American. And I never heard him mention it once. I guess like a lot of people, what mattered to him was his nation, no ethnic identity.
Teddy fuckin ballgame!!
Listen to 2:03. Williams hit .406.
Not .401...
FOUR O SIX!!!
Teddy Ballgame is the GOAT.
Also, every time I hear Sean Casey talk, I get contact coke high.
*out of breath shouting for no reason
"TED WILLIAMS!!!!"
"BOOM!!"
*sweats & babbles over grainy 8mm colorized film, wishing for death
"LOOKIT HIS BACK LEG!!!!!"
".401!!!"
Shet up. Did you play baseball??
Yea I know he was excited but he was a ball player and in today's comparisons Teddy Williams STANDS above rest! You're a damn loser showing CZcams that you know how to analyze a 2 min video. You don't impress me either.
Shet up did you play baseball? Yea I know he was a ittle excited but in comparison to today's ball players Teddy William's STANDS above the rest! You're a damn loser. Showing CZcams that you know how to observe and then put into your wretched words, a 2 minute video. You don't impress me either.
@@UnicronTGOC You want to go over that again? And again?
Whst 401? .406?
Sean’s fielding % is .406
Steve Dalkowski blew him away.
Steve dominated every batter in the league.
I thought he refused to step into the box against Dalkowski after watching how wild he was
I saw saw a video about Steve D. Sad story.
You can't hit against a pitcher who doesn't throw strikes;
Thats a bit exaggerated. Ted was in the box for one pitch, which came in just under his chin, then turned and walked back to the bench.
He also dropped the barrel of his bat when he started. That asshole teacherman Richard schenk is right. Although teddy’s swing isn’t as uppercut as teacherman’s students. It’s more of slight upward trajectory. But the barrel drop is without a doubt there…
Looks like Ichiro.
Watch Bonds and Williams swings...nearly identical.
Just imagine, the last hitter to hit .400 (.406) in a season and we're closing in on 100 years since.
Just curious why coaches preach Going the other way now days in baseball.... Ted Williams arguably the best hitter of all time, was awful at going the other way... Imagine what baseball hitting instructors would think of him today?
Right!! He thought it was woosie going opposite field, like giving in.
He wasn't terrible at it. He was just stubborn. He could go the oher way in the blink of an eye. One story in one of his biographies ...he tells of a fan in the left field seats bharassing him because he muffed a fly ball. Next at bat Ted started sending foul balls in the fans direction. Don't piss off The Splinter.
A ball on the inner of the plate you pull..ball down the middle you go up the middle... ball on the outer part you go the other way
@@jwalkerfitz7827 Williams pulled all of those pitches.
So much spit
Cocaine is a hell of a drug.
Ruth had the best mechanics.
You’re missing the most important part my man
Very helpful, Sean, but you need to calm down. You are buttonholing me. It's a tendency among sports guys. The calmer you are, the more we lean forward to listen.
i think Hank Aaron is the greatest hitter who ever lived sorry
HARLEM BASEBALL HITTING ACADEMY I have to disagree, and I grew up a Milwaukee Braves/Brewers fan (and still am). I absolutely love and respect Hank Aaron, and he’s one of the most complete offensive forces in history. And, he was a more complete player than Williams, when you factor in fielding and speed. But Ted Williams is the best to ever swing a bat, and it’s really not close. He had remarkable plate discipline.
Compare their stats:
Average
Williams .344
Aaron .305
On Base
Williams .482
Aaron .374
Slugging Percentage
Williams .634
Aaron .555
Walks and strikeouts
Williams 2,021 and 709
Aaron 1,402 and 1,383
Both retired in their age 42 season. Williams missed about five full seasons to World War II and Korea, so Aaron has many more plate appearances (13,941 to 9,788 for Williams).
Aaron was remarkably consistent, and for a long bleeping time. 25 All Star Games played in. 3,771 hits, 2,174 runs scored and 2,297 driven in, still the record. 624 doubles, 98 triples and 755 RBI. 6,856 total bases (that’s insane!!!!). Led the league on home suns four times, and hit 40+ in eight different seasons. As a guy that grew up watching games at County Stadium, having seen what the weather coming in off of Lake Michigan can do to the winds, you had to hit the ball a country mile to get it into the seats. And, Hank Aaron had the perfect swing and arc for that stadium. His home runs were laser shot line drives. Had he had a swing that produced big lofty home wins like Mickey Mantle, or Mark McGwire, more balls would have stayed in. He could knock it into the seats in left, center and right. Aaron, like Williams, was a wrist-and-hands guy. That’s where their power came from. Hank Aaron wasn’t a big guy like some of today’s monsters. Aaron stood only 6’ 180 lbs in his playing days.
Through the end of 1971, Aaron was still a .313 lifetime hitter with 3,272 hits. But his average dropped in ‘72, ‘74, ‘75 and ‘76 (he hit .301 in 1973). Williams never dropped off like that. In 1959 he hit .254 in 272 at bats because of a neck problem. He rebounded hitting .316 his final year. He only failed to hit .300 the one time at age 40.
The main difference between them was the walks. At the end of his age 38 season, 1957, he was a .350 lifetime hitter after winning his final batting title at .388. And he walked 143 times per 162 games played for his career. Think about a .482 career on base pct. He got on base almost half the time he came to the plate.
Aaron is one of my top ten overall players. His first 12 seasons, he was a .320 hitter. His OPS+ through 2965 was 158-he was 58% above league average, and 155 for his career. But Williams had a career 190 OPS+. He was from another planet.
sorry were was Williams a better hitter than Aaron, he was a total pull hitter, did not ue the entire field, Aaron played against better pitching and better players
lets switch it up whose a better hitter, if i put Aaron in Williams era 1939-1960 or Williams in Aaron's era 1954-76. Williams would see lefties which he didn't do well against, 298 career average against lefty pitchers still good but 50 points lower than when he faced righties
HARLEM BASEBALL HITTING ACADEMY you're so stupid... do you realize that Ted Williams hit .388 in 1957 which was in Hank Aaron era. Hank Aaron was a great player but he never came close to .388 and he faced the competition that Williams did in the mid 50s. Where was Hank Aaron 388 batting average in 1954,1955,1956,1957 ? Cause Hank Aaron played in the 50s with Ted Williams.
HARLEM BASEBALL HITTING ACADEMY Jesus, try 4 and a half years in two wars out of your PRIME. Your not even close sir.
When did "barrel" bevome THEE thingvto say withbtgese guys? I don't watch MLB since Bonds but I watch NCAA bb and this "barrel" thing has become the equivalent to football's "physicality" and "running down hill." Ugh...just stop.
Oh, yeh, dont forget to "barrel up." 😩 😩 😩
wouldnt work these days.
Well their still that red seat in Fenway for a reason …