Fresno, CA - the Hitting Performance Lab is releasing the findings of a baseball hitting experiment they did May 22nd, 2015 using the Zepp Baseball app. The study looked at whether the landing with a bent front knee, then straightening it during the turn added bat speed.
100 swings were taken off a batting tee landing with a 146-degree bend in the front knee, then straightening during the turn, and another 100 swings were taken off a batting tee landing with about a 170-degree bend in the front knee, then straightening it during the turn.
The results: there was an average bat speed increase of 6-mph, and average hand speed increase by 2-mph when landing with a bent front knee (approx. 146-degrees), then straightening the knee during the turn.
Depending on pitching velocity, 1-mph added of bat speed translates to 4-8-mph of batted ball distance. So adding 6-mph, adds between 24-48 feet of batted ball distance.
The Hitting Performance Lab used Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista as a model for using Ground Reaction Forces, or 'Blocking'.
My name is Joey Myers and I'm the founder of HittingPerformanceLab.com.
I'm a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the International Youth & Conditioning Association (IYCA), and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). I'm also partnered with the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA).
I played four years of Division-1 college baseball at Fresno State, I've spent the last decade in corrective fitness, and have a passionate curiosity to help baseball and softball players dramatically improve performance through the science of human movement.
It's NOT how you study, but what you study that counts. We apply proven human movement science to hitting a ball.