Chase Utley Swing Analysis – Compact & Balance (Beam)
It is a beautiful sight to see a hitter who appears to not even swing hard and see the ball jump off their bat. That is the groove Chase Utley of the Phillies was in. Obviously, he is swinging hard but because of his compact swing and overall balance, there appears to be so little effort exerted. This takes years and years of practice and a lot of talent but all hitters can improve in these areas with the use of a balance beam. Very inexpensive and easy to make, it should be a “must use” hitting aide for all young hitters.
How to use the balamce beam for hitting:
A. Start slow with getting adjusted to simply standing on the beam in hitting position without a bat. Play around with feet position in batting stance for best balance. This should put batters on the balls of feet, when they should take some steps and pivots with the goal of staying on the beam.
B. Once comfortable with the above, hitters can take some easy swings with a baseball bat to a full finish with the goal of staying on the beam.
C. Hitters should now be ready to swing all out and see how many swings at 100% they can take without falling off the balance beam.
D. Hitters who do not have good fundamental swings will have a hard time remaining on the beam as well as hitters who do not hace compact swings
E. Over time, hitters will notice that their balance and bat speed have improved while their effort level has lessened.
