Now that it is September, for baseball it means it is almost time for playoffs. Each teams is trying to stay at the top of their division, or creep up and take first place from their competitor. Some teams made risky trades earlier in the season, or are not putting 110% effort in to each game. I played baseball growing up, and we a know offense wins baseball games, not defense (compared to other sports). Pitching is en extremely important part of the game, but if you cannot hit the ball you will lose. As many runs as your opponent scores, your team needs to beat them by a minimum of one. This got me thinking, some people hit ground balls, or home runs, and everything in between. Yes, it does depend on where the ball hits the bat during your swing, but is there such thing as a perfect swing in baseball?

Watching professionals, all players have different types of swings. Some players are even known for their swing; it is almost their trademark. One player will have a very quick and short swing, just trying to slap the ball into play. Others load up on the ball and aim for the farthest hit ball they could achieve in each and every swing. Not to mention some players swing up at the ball, while others swing straight, horizontally into it.

After doing some research on this I mostly found only pictures and videos on how to swing most efficiently. Here are some examples of the “perfect swing”:

As you can see from the above pictures, the best swing is combined of a multitude of aspects; the stance, keeping your eyes on the ball, the angle and length of the swing. This might not seem to be much, but when you are up at the plate, wondering where and when the pitch will cross the plate, trying to locate it, AND focus on all of these aspects, it is extremely difficult and the reason why professional athletes are paid so much to do this. If you would like more information about the perfect swing, this link includes 7 steps with videos on how to achieve this. Additionally, Mike Trout, currently one of the best, if not the best player playing baseball, is shown in this video swinging. It is slowed down an extreme amount to pay attention to everything he does.

In conclusion, if anyone would like to achieve the perfect swing, it is not just where you place the bat, but very complicated once all these variables are out in to place. But hey, go out and try it some day. The next time you are ever playing a pick-up game you might shock the rest of your friends with your skill.