Continuing with the Stance . . .

I am going to stick with the topic of stance this week since I discussed it a few days ago in my "Video of the Week." I am going post an article I wrote awhile ago on bullssoxacademy.com. It talks about teaching points in using an open stance and the reasons open stances have become so popular in the big leagues. See below . . .


More big league hitters are opting to use an open stance than ever before. Big years by players like Larry Walker and Luis Gonzalez in the late 90's made the stance even more popular. Television commentators offer various explanations as to why hitters choose the open stance. Often times their speculation veers far beyond the simple answer – Hitters want to be able to see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand easier and more comfortably.

Old timers once said that the reason Ted Williams was able to hit .400 was that he had 20/5 vision (far superior to the average hitter). Don’t believe it! If this was the case, then Ted Williams might have hit well above .500 had he used two eyes instead of one! We all know that all hitters use both eyes to hit. Standing in an open stance allows the hitter to easily face the pitcher with the head turned completely at him. But you don’t need an open stance to easily see the baseball.

All big league hitters that start open are still able to return their feet to a lined up position when their front foot comes down. Young hitters often have a difficult time getting back to this position, thus making it almost impossible to cover the outside portion of the plate. Many times, their inability to get back is due to a fear of the baseball (something all young hitters go through at one point).

Also, some youth players choose to start open because they have a hard time getting to the inside pitch. Starting open to cheat on the inside pitch can develop very bad habits. Many young hitters have trouble with the inside pitch because their hands are not quick enough to get to the baseball. Starting open and staying open causes the hips to open prematurely, making pitches on the outer half of the plate difficult to handle. I call this the “Duct-tape” approach to hitting. Don’t change something for a “quick fix” to handle one problem, because you are probably creating two more problems in its place.

I also see open stance players that get in a habit of diving in to the plate. This causes the hands to take an indirect path to the ball (often casting, then hooking in their swings). These hitters end up jamming themselves on inside pitches. Players that use the open stance, still have to make a forward positive move towards the pitcher as they get back to a lined up position. It is more than just "diving in" to the plate.

At the White Sox Academy, we teach all hitters to utilize the stance where the toes start lined up. This is the stance that gives the batter the best opportunity to cover the three parts of the plate (inner, middle, and outer) while still easily seeing the baseball. This doesn’t mean a young hitter can’t start open. It just takes more time to develop the consistency of getting the front foot back to the correct position. Don't get me wrong, we can teach hitters in any particular "style" and still reach the same point. If hitter comes to me in an open stance, and can execute it properly, I am definitely NOT going to change it. All the matters is that when the hitter gets to toe touch, he or she is in the correct hitting position.

Check back soon as I continue this prompt on “Why the closed stance has almost disappeared from higher level baseball.”