Differences in the timing of baseball swing in different conditions for hitting of elite baseball players in the Czech Republic
Abstract
Purpose: The aim is to compare the timing of the baseball swing phases during the hitting against the pitcher, the pitching machine and the batting tee. Methods: This is an experimental study in which we change the conditions for a baseball hitting (pitcher, pitching machine, tee).
We analysed 5 elite baseball players in the Czech Republic. The monitored variables are the duration of selected phases of the swing.
A high-speed camcorder (400Hz) was used to record the participants' action and their motion was analysed in 2D. Results: When hitting from the batting tee, phase of the leg kick 0.118-0.128 slonger and upper body load (backswing) 0.082-0.115 s respectively.
This can be caused by absence of variability of moving ball. Therefore, players are not limited by timing of the hitting motion directly dependent to a moving ball.
When hitting against pitching machine the time of player's upper body load is 0.03 s longer compared to pitcher. Conclusion: The differences in the duration of the different phases in the different hitting conditions can be caused by the absence of information sources from the pitchers motion, on which the batter responds.
For practice during the hitting from batting tee, it is advisable to shorten phase of the leg kick and upper body load. And during the all designs it is advisable to put emphasis on the powerful bat-swing in training.