Reggie Smith On Hitting

BA’s Dave Perkin:

However, there are several key tenets applicable to each hitter, Smith insists. First, a batter should not “load” by swaying his weight onto his back leg, but by turning his front shoulder inward. It is vitally important, Smith insists, that a hitter not sway from back to front when swinging but instead “turn around the center of your body. Balance is also a critical component. Smith believes that each hitter should center his weight on the arches of his feet. Shifting weight onto the toes or heels causes a subtle loss of balance. Smith stated that the ideal swing is a slight uppercut, not the downward hack taught by most youth coaches. The uppercut keeps a hitters swing on plane with the incoming pitch, and permits the hitter at contact to create backspin on his drives. “You want to square the pitch up by hitting the bottom of the ball with the bottom of the bat” Smith said. Williams imparted that idea to Smith, who later relayed that knowledge to Mike Piazza, Smith’s star student. …

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