The Japanese baseball swing

Have you noticed a difference in the way Japanese players swing the bat? Hideki Matsui? Ichiro? Fukodomo? There is an absolute difference in the way they swing a bat and it must be cultural.

Make no mistake about it, the Japanese players invest countless hours perfecting their craft. They certainly out work their American counterparts. So, if there work is precise and calculated, then there swings are intentional by products of their cultural perspective on the baseball swing.

What do they do that is so different? Well, the naked eye can't see all differences but it appears that one major focal point is the hips role in the swing.

When American coaches stress "stay on the ball", it appears that Japanese players have a focus of generating bat speed with a dynamic core. It seems like a delicate balance of staying square to the pitcher and also clearing the hips. In order to do both, the hitter must have a great deal of flexibility and coordination. In fact, if you can visualize the swing it almost has a "running start" to it. I'm sure this momentum aspect is taught in Japanese circles.

The Japanese players that we see in the U.S are certainly the best of the best. Maybe they have amazing hand eye and succeed despite their "unorthodox" method? But, I doubt it. More likely, the Japanese players understand that bat speed is crucial and hip speed is crucial to bat speed.

I applaud the American coaches that embrace these players and allow their form to succeed. I'm sure there are plenty others that would attempt to change it. Tommy Lasorda anyone?