Swing Analysis – David Ortiz

2/15/2007

Last Updated 2/15/2007

Chris O’Leary

chris@chrisoleary.com

314.494.1324

Text Copyright © 2006 Chris O’Leary

This is a home run swing.

Also, this analysis is based on a 60 Frame Per Second clip, so if you are counting frames you have to divide everything

by two. IOW, this is a five-frame swing rather than a ten-frame swing.

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David Ortiz has just started his stride and his front toe his just come off the ground. His stride is being driven by a

sideways push by his back foot.

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David Ortiz’ front instep has just planted. His stride was maybe 6 inches. His hips are just starting to rotate. IOW, David

Ortiz’ hips rotate just ahead of his shoulders. It’s interesting to note that he elevates his back elbow slightly as he

strides he also wraps the bat slightly around his head (as opposed to keeping is purely vertical).

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David Ortiz’ torso is just starting to rotate. His back elbow has just started to drop in preparation for his shoulders to

start to turn.

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The head of David Ortiz’ bat has just started to move.

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David Ortiz’ front heel is planted. His shoulders and hands are starting to rotate, which is causing the barrel of the bat to

blur.

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David Ortiz’ front knee is just starting to stiffen, which helps his hips rotate.

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Point Of Contact: David Ortiz’ back toe is just barely up in the air. He was pulled onto his back to by the rotation of his

hips rather than pushing off of his back foot. His back elbow is still quite close to his body. Back knee is bent roughly

75-80 degrees. He is 4.5 (or 9 slow motion) frames from the start of the swing to the Point Of Contact. His weight has

shifted to the outside of his front foot as his knee has stiffened.

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Look at how close David Ortiz’s hands are to his body. He definitely did not throw them (or the knob of the bat) at the

ball or take them to the pitcher in a linear manner. Instead, he kept them relatively close to his shoulders and rotated.

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