Running head: BODY POWER AND STRENGTH AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO BAT
SWING SPEED 1
BODY POWER AND STRENGTH AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO BAT SWING SPEED
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BODY POWER AND STRENGTH AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO BAT SWING SPEED2
Body Power and Strength and Their Contribution to Bat Swing Speed
Bat swing speed is crucial for baseball players because it distinguishes average hitters of
the ball from excellent ones. It is a critical metric during the development of hitters. Bat swing
speed determines how long the player will have to decide the location, velocity, and pitch type,
together with deciding whether or not he will swing (Spaniol et al., 2010). A hitter with a high
swing speed will have enough time on their hands to make this crucial decision. Hitters with low
swing speeds commit early, which means they will deal with bad pitches after the decision.
Besides batting skills, muscle training is crucial for muscular power. Muscle training for
baseball hitters helps improve swing speeds. The upper body is crucial in the bat swing speed of a
player. The abdominals and lower back help generate a critical twisting motion. This motion
provides the players with rotational torque, which gives the hitter's arms momentum and speed,
which they finally transfer to the bat head (Miyaguchi and Demura, 2012). Torso training is also
crucial in the generation of upper body strength for baseball players. This is because torso training
helps increase force generation in a player as they swing, and in turn, it increases their bat swing
speed.
The lower body is also crucial in a hitter's bat swing speed. When hitting, a player uses
kinetic energy, which is sequentially transferred from the lower extremity like the knee, hip, legs,
ankle joints, and feet to the forearm, the upper arm, and the hitter's hand. The torso aids the transfer
from the lower to the upper extremities. Thus, torso training is important for baseball hitters
because it helps build essential muscles to transfer kinetic energy, which aids bat swing speed
(Tsuchikane et al., 2017). Plyometric exercises come in handy when a player wants to increase
their bat swing velocity. Exercises like soft drills help strengthen the body muscles required to
generate torque, which means that the muscles needed for swinging become more efficient in their
BODY POWER AND STRENGTH AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO BAT SWING SPEED3
reaction (Cure, Griffiths, and Sterlace, 2020). Another important plyometric exercise for a baseball
player is rotational hitting drills. The drills help a player increase their bat swing strength because
it helps strengthen muscles that ensure that when the player is turning their body to meet the pitch,
the player's hands path remains in a circular rotation, increasing bat swing speed (Cure, Griffiths,
and Sterlace, 2020).
Body power through upper and lower body power is a crucial metric for baseball players
because it helps them generate bat swing speed that determines how good a baseball player they
are. It is important for my future career path because, primarily, a player with a higher bat swing
speed is a better baseball player than the rest. Understanding bat swing speed and how body power
contributes to it is significant in my career path because it is practically the most critical part of
baseball excellence. My exploration will focus on building trunk muscle size through training,
medicine ball training, and overload and underload training.
BODY POWER AND STRENGTH AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO BAT SWING SPEED4
References
CÜRE, D., GRIFFITHS, D., & STERLACE, A. (2020). Implementation of Plyometric Exercises
to Improve Throwing Velocity of Male Youth Baseball Players. Gaziantep Üniversitesi
Spor Bilimleri Dergisi. https://doi.org/10.31680/gaunjss.764381
Miyaguchi, K., & Demura, S. (2012). Relationship Between Upper-Body Strength and Bat Swing
Speed in High-School Baseball Players. Journal Of Strength And Conditioning
Research, 26(7), 1786-1791. https://doi.org/10.1519/jsc.0b013e318236d126
Spaniol, F., Paluseo, J., Bonnette, R., Melrose, D., Ocker, L., & Szymanski, D. (2010). The
Relationship Between Static Strength, Rotational Strength, Rotational Power, Bat Speed,
And Batted-Ball Velocity Of NCAA Division I Baseball Players. Journal Of Strength And
Conditioning Research, 24, 1. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.jsc.0000367216.33408.0c
Tsuchikane, R., Higuchi, T., Suga, T., Wachi, M., Misaki, J., & Tanaka, D. et al. (2017).
Relationships between Bat Swing Speed and Muscle Thickness and Asymmetry in
Collegiate Baseball Players. Sports, 5(2), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports5020033
