Andre who? I know, give him a few more seasons and everyone outside of L.A. will know this guy. A lefty who has got great hitting mechanics and some serious pop with a slugging average at .500 for his short career. That’s a lot of doubles and home runs. Take a look at his clip below and make sure to read through a couple of my observations of his hitting mechanics.
1. Even though he’s got a lot of movement in his hands (more than I would like if I was teaching a young hitter) he does a great job of moving his hands opposite his stride. Because he starts his hands farther forward in his stance as compared to many other hitters, he’s got a lot of ground to cover in order to get his hands back into the fully loaded position. We can learn a lot by watching his hands move. Many hitters don’t like to move their hands much opposite their stride. This is a must if you’re looking for any kind of bat speed (that is assuming your hips are working correctly as well).
2. Andre Ethier and Alex Rodriguez both have a similar style of kick with their front leg. Remember, your stride is a timing mechanism so however you move it, make sure it’s consistent. One observation with that leg kick he has is that on landing he’s still got his weight balanced in the center so he can use the power in his back side. Many kids when working on their hitting mechanics think that their weight must shift forward towards the pitcher. This is simply not true as once you pass that center point in your balance, you begin to lose any power you’ve stored up in your load and stride.
