It is important to know the difference between a hitters “stance” and their swing. Let’s define the two terms to to make it clear. Stance is how the hitter sets up in the batters box, before the pitch is thrown. Whether they swing of not, this is the positioning of their body, posture, how they hold the bat etc. The swing is everything the body does after the stance in order to hit the ball.
In the Major Leagues you see a lot of different stances. Some players set up with their feet very open, some very closed. Some players stand very tall, some are tilted toward the plate with their knees bent. Some hitters start with their hands high, some start with their hands low. However once they are ready to start their swing all these elite hitters get into a very similar position. They all intuitively know what position they need to get into in order to swing the bat in the most efficient way possible.
The top frame in the graphic above, shows these MLB hitters stance and the bottom frame shows them at the initiation of the swing as their body starts to rotate. Take a look at Kevin Youkilis’s stance at the top of the post and in the top left corner of the graphic above. Youkilis was known to have a very unusual stance with his hands apart and held very high. However once he was about to swing he brought his hands together and down into a more traditional position around the shoulder level. He tilted is torso over the plate via hip flexion and got into a very similar position as most good Major League hitters.
Compare the above stances with the position the hitters are in at initiation of the swing. Whether they are very squatted like Jeff Bagwell, very tilted over like Ricky Henderson, or very upright like Cody Bellinger, they all get into a similar position at the start of the swing. It is important for all hitters to get into a similar initiation position. Failure to get into this position at the start of the swing will immediately throw the swing out of alignment and cause problems later in the swing.
It is important to understand the difference between stance and swing when evaluating MLB hitters. I have seen many people look at a hitter like Cody Bellinger, with an extremely upright stance and assume he stays upright all throughout the swing. He does not, as evidenced by the above photos. When observing MLB hitters the most important part of the swing to observe is the time from initiation to contact. This is also the part of the swing that happens at the fastest speed and is the hardest to see with the naked eye. That is why video analysis is so important.
Even though there is a lot of variability when it comes to MLB stances and any stance can work for the right hitter, I still favor a simpler stance for young hitters. When you are learning to swing, trying to pull off an extremely open stance like Tony Batista or Craig Counsell is a lot of extra movement. All of this extra movement (that doesn’t really provide any benefit to the swing) can be difficult to master for a young player and unnecessary. Setting up in a simpler stance like you can see from Curtis Granderson or Rickey Henderson above, requires much less movement before the swing starts. This can be easier for young players.
The more extreme stances like Youkilis’s or Batista’s can be pulled off by them because they are already great hitters. A young player who is already struggling to hit, should not emulate these extreme stances. It will only be adding to the difficulty of hitting.
Conclusions
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MLB hitters show many different stances, however they all get into a similar position at the start of the swing
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Youth hitters should keep their stance as close to their initiation set up for the best results.