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Holliday mimicking Ohtani?


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4 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

If all you need is a hit...

That was the scenario.

 

 

There has to be some built in assumption that if the guy walks (which Soto and Ohtani are much more likely to do) then the next guy has at least a league-average chance of getting a hit.  That tilts the scales pretty strongly in Ohtani's or Soto's favor.  Especially Soto's.

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14 minutes ago, Hallas said:

 

There has to be some built in assumption that if the guy walks (which Soto and Ohtani are much more likely to do) then the next guy has at least a league-average chance of getting a hit.  That tilts the scales pretty strongly in Ohtani's or Soto's favor.  Especially Soto's.

If a hit wins the game and anything else you lose.

That was the exact scenario we are looking at.  You got me in the on deck circle.

Is it silly?  Sure. 

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6 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

If a hit wins the game and anything else you lose.

That was the exact scenario we are looking at.  You got me in the on deck circle.

Is it silly?  Sure. 

It's not really even possible unless you're counting the possibility that someone gets picked off or thrown out trying to steal.  Highly unlikely if a base hit wins the game.

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If Holliday is trying to make his batting stance like Ohtani, that sounds like a good idea to me.  His old stance seemed very off balance and was probably hard to stay in a groove and have the exact stance over a long period of time.  

Other than adding an ace, Holliday becoming an above average hitter is probably the biggest improvement the O's can make this offseason.

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When you pull one leg off of the ground you have to balance on the one that is left... Keeping your front toe on the dirt has got to lead to more stillness and control. I could see a leg kick moving your full body forward and through the baseball thereby producing more power... but it can't be more controlled or balanced. And Ohtani doesn't seem to lack any power.

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A lot of you guys are students of hitting. Any idea why Holiday struggled so much to hit MLB level hitting? FWIW, I get that MLB pitchers are better and throw nasty stuff. My question is why a guy who was so successful at such a young age, which means to me that he is exceptionally gifted with the bat in his hands, seemed to be completely lost at the plate? Was it the high leg kick? Was it the overwhelming pressure of expectations? To put it simply, why didn't he hit and will he likely be able to figure it out next year? 

Anyone have a nuanced opinion?

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First of all, I am not a hitting mechanics expert. But I think to keep his upper body and head quiet is important. i think the big leg kick makes that pretty difficult. So I like his new toe tap approach, but time will tell

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6 minutes ago, theobird said:

First of all, I am not a hitting mechanics expert. But I think to keep his upper body and head quiet is important. i think the big leg kick makes that pretty difficult. So I like his new toe tap approach, but time will tell

You are right. The leg kick simply screws up timing. You can't do that against ML pitchers. Strike zone awareness is also critical.

The other thing I am very concerned about is the analytical driven stuff. While in the big picture it does help, you can't have effective at bats with that going through your head. It doesn't matter if you are a guess hitter. (a term I dispute) or a react hitter, you have to have a very concise plan for each at bat.

 

 

 

 

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