Weirdest Batting Stances in Baseball History

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Edited By: Aidan.

[@juanf5391]

(1:05)That kid’s batting sequence had a whole anime transformation scene and it wasn’t even his last form.

[@Sedge2]

he was pulling out every emote in his repertoire and every incantation buff he had

[@KevinFord-sc1xn]

If Casey Rocket played baseball

[@scotttill3847]

Only weebs will understand wtf you just said there...

[@juanf5391]

@@scotttill3847 He may take offense to that and go kioken on your a**.

[@Firemaneric]

he def needed to pee

[@jackcoogan310]

Growing up in Milwaukee, we always imitated Craig Counsell’s stance and our coach always told us to stop “dickin’ around”

[@anxietyonline1947]

That's hilarious, my grandpa would always say that when us grandkids were acting out and he coached us in baseball. It's such an old man phrase. 😂

[@bassmankilla9352]

I love that phrase, I remember hearing my friends dad say it once to us, I thought it was hilarious, and now I say it to my kids 🤣

[@gaguseo83grah]

dog this is so true, go brew crew!!

[@chuckturdburger4612]

I can't wait til I'm old enough to start saying that.

[@anxietyonline1947]

@@chuckturdburger4612 I think the government sends you a license after age 55 where you have free range to say it all the time.

[@SlimCharles17]

I miss weird batting stances, it's one of the things that actually got me into baseball. Craig Counsell turning his body into a stick and holding the bat up as high as he possibly can will always be the best. Alfonso Soriano is one of my all-time favorite ones.

[@staidenofanarchy]

Gary Sheffield is my all time favorite batting stance, he always batted like he was mad at the pitcher for the having the sheer audacity to throw him a pitch

[@AirLancer]

@@staidenofanarchy It helped that Gary Sheffield was a beast of a hitter, and always seemed to come through in the clutch too.

[@patrickstrahm05]

What about Tony Bautista? His exaggerated open stance where half his body is facing 3rd base before the pitch was delivered

[@INFJ-ThaneTr]

Weird batting stances reduce power, control, speed and accuracy.

[@Sam_on_YouTube]

In the 2001 World Series I had fun making fun of him. Of course I didn't like how well he played, as I'm a Yankee fan.

[@alejandrolemmo]

As a kid growing up in the 90’s, watching Andres Galarraga’s stance was a blast. Unique stance and power. He deserves more recognition

[@Flergenbergen]

El Gatote

[@freeparking301]

I went around Little League in the mid 90s doing his stance as well

[@kozigreek]

Agreed!

[@TheFlamingPike]

I loved Galarraga! I actually clicked on this video while thinking about Galarraga's stance!!! I was an Expos fan as a kid. Me and my grandpa would play in the backyard and I would mimic Galarraga, Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker, etc. good times. Baseball lost a lot of its charm over time.

[@BraveFencer]

The big cat is underrated should be in the hall

[@sootchh4055]

That little Japanese pitcher (Masanori Ishikawa) running away from Tony Batista has been a staple in the Japanese version of all-time baseball bloopers. It took place in 2005. Hard to blame him, he's barely 5'6", and is still active at age 44 with 186 career wins as of July 2024.

[@newp0rt]

bro half the population would run away from batista running like that.

[@va960]

Short king, along with Yasuhiro Ogawa

[@MrMurraypants]

Gary Sheffield is by far my favorite batting stance. It's like a metronome. But it's a functional distraction to the pitcher as well. I can see how it may act like a hypnotic effect.

[@runvnc208]

I think it's just straight intimidating how fast he wiggled it like a twig.

[@MDCxThePG]

Modeled my stance after Sheffield and even had his number growing up.

[@vttheary]

Bagwell and Sheffield had, in my opinion, the most intimidating stances in all of baseball.

[@foxyfoxington2651]

1:05 This isn't a stance, it's Art.

[@logang9282]

I'm guessing that's a Korean team? They seem to love putting on a show.

[@LISA75_]

Looks more like interpretive dance to me.

[@Wallyworld30]

He was so tired from the dance he didn't have the gas to run out that ground ball at full speed. Insane his coach let him do all that.

[@CordovaMage]

I cant imagine him being able to keep that routine up for long without tiring himself out.

[@Liface]

Get this dude on the Savannah Bananas.

[@mitchell6392]

It’s insane Julio Franco wasn’t mentioned in this video. He had one of the most unorthodox stances and played 25 years until he was 48, had a lifetime .298 average, and was only 400 hits away from 3000

[@erikkingissepp9090]

Came here to find a Julio Franco comment! When I was a kid we'd all pantomime the unique stances of players and Franco's was the wildest and everyone would guess it in .0002 seconds! 😂😂😂 can't believe he wasn't mentioned in the video.

[@joshbless412]

I also came here for this comment. It’s an outrage that he’s not even mentioned.

[@knowyourenemies7]

Loved Julio in the Indians. Juan Gonzalez had a somewhat odd stance too

[@DoltFromTheBlue]

Came here looking for Julio, remember him when he finished up his career with the Mets at 48!

[@mikeygallos5000]

Julio was one of my heroes when I was a kid being a Texas Rangers fan.

[@bupkis1445]

Remember everyone: it’s only stupid if it doesn’t work

[@DeeMFNReal009]

Facts

[@cameronkedas3375]

@bupkis1445 Well, I guess that means joe biden’s stupid because his brain doesn’t work.

[@kingarchnyc]

Well, it can still be funny! 🤣

[@r0cky_2010]

@@DeeMFNReal009 Fun fact: The strike zone doesn’t change when they change batting stances.

[@dennymayo5868]

Some of my fondest early teenage memories, like ‘95-‘97, was backyard homerun derby at my dawg Chuck’s house. No regular batting stances allowed, only MLB imitations. Todd Hunley was my fav, Bagwell a close 2nd, Julio Franco & Gary Sheffield are up there too. Tie breaker round was always Chuck Knoblauch style

[@JohnnyNiteTrain]

We did the same thing!!! but a little earlier on in the early '90s (I'm 45). I always used to to Mickey Tettleton, and Sheffield too

[@ZanraiKid]

As a kid, watching Jim Thome on the 03-05 Phillies was a treat. It wasn’t really a weird stance, but he held his bat real high like a broadsword aloft. And he absolutely put balls in the stratosphere this way.

[@leoa2187]

Bagwell’s stance always got my attention when I first started to watch baseball as a kid. Sadly that was during the 2004 and 2005 season. When he retired shortly afterwards. I really wish he got a ring.

[@bobfrank3575]

9:08 the pitcher was so scared of him🤣🤣🤣

[@MyTeamOnly_]

That kid at 1:09 needs to be on the fckn Savannah Bananas yesterday bruv

[@dvon1097]

1:15 that's not a baseball player, that's Anakin Skywalker

[@AJ-ny1ox]

I ALWAYS thought Bagwell's stance was so weird when my parents took me to a game! I feel validated over something I first voiced to my folks 20 something years ago.

[@coinbuyer-8605]

Always looked like he was sitting on an invisible stool to me

[@FigureFarter]

Jeff Bagwell plays limbo.

[@MrAstrodome]

​@@coinbuyer-8605 I thought my family was the only one it called it that! 😂

[@CGzone11]

Who just loves baseball doesn’t exist

[@sumonedum]

That sentence hurts to read.

[@DanoFSmith-yc9tg]

I dont even like baseball, but love this channel.

[@widk2]

Impressive that he has a channel about a sport that dosent exiest

[@GO_GIANTS26]

Me

[@williweber677]

Who just hates the mets

[@bobdole4916]

Bagwell's thighs were freaking tree trunks. That low stance was so steady, it was like he was sitting on a chair. Insanely strong legs is why he could do that stance.

[@jonathancarlson6127]

I liked Gary Sheffield's metronome stance and I'm glad his son does it, too. Also, Joe Morgan with those armpit farts.

[@Wallyworld30]

I started watching baseball in 1986 and I attempted his batting stance in high school. It's fun but for me it made it harder to hit the ball.

[@illford]

1:20 kid is playing mario sluggers with all the taunting

[@patmccrotch5373]

As a Phillies fan, Larry Andersen is the color analyst on the radio, and the amount of hell he catches about the Jeff Bagwell trade from his colleagues (and he bags on himself too) makes for some fun radio.

[@HoboJoeShow]

Dude. I don't even watch baseball but I never miss one of your vids! You're amazing at what you do.

[@OnePunchMan-]

The same I don't even watch baseball his videos are so entertaining

[@The_ZeroLine]

I used to, but haven’t for decades now and also watch every single one of his videos. He’s the best.

[@elburto5387]

Same

[@girrthbrooks]

At 6:48 is anybody else hearing "The DBags" instead of DBacks? I feel like I'm losing it 😅

[@ArsenicDrone]

It's definitely "d-bags". Maybe on purpose, maybe not.

[@James-wk5mj]

Thats pretty much the only name they go by in my life

[@sirmonkey1985]

because that's their name.. don't let the writing on the jersey fool you.. ;)

[@larrystone9474]

This video didn't mention one of the most unorthodox batting stances ever. One that was used by one of the most iconic players in history. The batting stance of Stan Musial, often referred to as 'hitting around a corner.

[@MattHuey]

12:00 growing up playing baseball till i was 18...i mimicked Gary Sheffield!!😂💯 Hidiki Nomo pitching!🤘

[@WESsential]

^Hideo Nomo

[@WESsential]

^Hideo Nomo

[@wsg-yw4dd]

0:26 bro thought he was in super Mario sluggers💀💀💀💀

[@chocolatycatsoup]

bruh i’m legit laughing out loud at this comment rn 😆

[@ShermanSkolnick294]

Sign this guy up to play for the Savannah Bananas! 1:04

[@jackheeke4897]

I was not ready for that Garth Brooks segment

[@Ardante11]

As soon as i saw it, i was like “…The Hell??”

[@opadrinho7577]

During the interview clips, there’s a guy in the background with a blonde mullet, that’s Ian Rotten, a professional wrestler! That the whole segment even weirder ahah

[@donwhiteley3293]

I remember that spring training and that borderline webgem play he made but forgotten that Counsell was the hitter or that Counsell had been 0 for spring training at the time.

[@puttfordoughdiscgolf9361]

@@donwhiteley3293 Crazy Counsel has been a multiple team manager now too. Much respect for the dude.

[@g33ch33]

I wonder if Counsel is still telling that story.

[@MScotty90]

The guy at 1:05’s second phase is cracking me up, spinning the bat like he’s Anakin vs Obi Wan then he didn’t even swing at the pitch lol

[@ProtocolDroidHK47]

I remember when I was in little league I copied Ichiro's batting style, and did okay. Mostly grounders, and I definitely would've made more hits if I was faster, but for a 10 year old not bad. The coach demanded I change my batting style to something more normal. I struck out every time after that. Tried switching back to the Ichiro style a few times, but would get yelled at from the dugout and occasionally by parents in the bleachers to stop mid at-bat. Hated it so much I ended up convincing my parents to let me skip that last few games of the year and never signed up again.

[@blahblah49000]

Sad, those folks really know how to suck the fun out of the game.

[@shockmonkeyradio7128]

My brother(s). I am impressed how much you live and breathe baseball. I watch your content more than actual games, everything i need to know about baseball i can get from you. Let me know if you ever want to hit up the batting cages...i'm drunk and loose enough...

[@ErikLarson-l9k]

I see other comments already mentioned Julio Franco and Andres Galarraga, but I’d like to add John Kruk and Mickey Tettleton. Tettleton was a catcher/DH for the Rangers and a pretty good power hitter, and his normal stance was standing perfectly still with his hands at his waist and the bat pointing straight back, parallel to the ground. Very weird but did the job.

[@MichaelSnyder1776]

Not a huge baseball fan, but i never miss your content. The topics are always so interesting and has a good story to tell. Those 2000 era stances were awesome!

[@legbert123]

I miss weird batting stances.

[@Yostyburneraccount]

@1:44 should be a Savannah banana

[@LMLR187]

Yup. The first thing I thought seeing that.

[@Theseattlemarinersfan]

Agreed

[@CGzone11]

I wish these batting stances came back

[@normie2716]

I wish a lot of things from early 2000s baseball would come back.

[@tylers82]

The way this man choreographs baseball oddities is super entertaining.

[@84m30]

Waiting for Bagwell’s power squat. Something about Houston trading away mid players for future HOF’ers (Yordan Alvarez too)

[@reverend_wintondupree]

You couldn't wait until 3:45?

[@Nami]

@@reverend_wintondupree They literally just said they waited. What are you smoking?

[@reverend_wintondupree]

​@@NamiNot as strong of stuff as what your smoking I suppose. They commented without watching the video, or "waiting" just the 3 minutes.

[@Nami]

@@reverend_wintondupree OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIT, THIRD GRADE COMEBACK. HOLY SHIT, I'VE BEEN COOKED.

[@triadmad]

From my teenage years, the stances that stand out in my memory are Willie Stargell's windmill action, and Joe Morgan's arm flapping.

[@qqw743]

Joe Morgan's wing flap was a lot of fun. But seeing George Brett in the studio should remind us that he changed his stance to a lean-back approach that then turned him into one of the best hitters ever. I believe batting coach Charlie Lau worked it out with him.

[@BoscoLemonzit]

Yep, also made Dwight Evans a star. Frank Thomas too. I keep waiting for the the Charlie Lau/Walt Hriniak style to make a comeback.

[@TheBourbonWrench]

Fun fact; I based my batting stance in the Arkansas 2005 pitching machine state championship based on my favorite players on mlb mvp 2004 video game. I’m sure it wasn’t accurate at all, but the stance they gave Sosa in that game seemed to be the stance I’d make the best contact. And trust me, I tried every single weird stance that was shown in that game. Everyone wants to assume there’s a “best method backed by science,” but sometimes the simplest answer is whatever makes the result happen. If you made it this far, I highly recommend replaying that game. One of the best mlb games of all time. The stances, the players, dang that game was gold.

[@notarabbit1752]

Also Ichiro's pendulum swing gave him an quick first step towards 1st, which helped him leg out singles

[@TiagoGomez-hb9te]

Exactly!!!

[@IamThePro78]

I remember Cal Ripken Jr more for his different batting stances then for anything else. Also playing pick up games trying to imitate these stances was very fun. Sheffield's and Frank Thomas was my favorite ones to do.

[@spoogtastic]

In 35 years old, my favorite stance was always Sheffield. Was always a huge knoblach stance fan too because it was hilarious.

[@eeik5150]

It blows me away how much mythology you create since Baseball Doesn’t Exist.

[@Lillia-nu2xt]

You're nailing it, keep the great work!

[@rickbonilla8308]

Carney Lansford, Julio Franco, Harold Baines, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, were all ones I remember, watching Baseball in the late 80's through the 90's.

[@Tenchigumi]

As someone who knows nothing about baseball, but is quite an avid fan of swords and swordsmanship, I see some of these stances and think "huh, that's oddly familiar."

[@corey2232]

The stance I remember most (as a non-baseball fan) was Jime Tome coming out & pointing the bat at the pitchers. I used to watch him growing up, just because the strangeness fascinated me.

[@OliveMule]

THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING EDDIE MURRAY. DUDE HES AWESOME

[@mikeb2644]

Where is Eddie Murray?

[@OliveMule]

@@mikeb2644 towards the end in the dodgers jerz

[@user-rt2mq3qp2k]

I love your videos a lot because they take a concept like the evolution of bag swings, which other videos would just turn into a choppy boring listicle, and make it a smooth and flowing idea that is effortlessly entertaining. Good Job!

[@lukes4929]

Always a good day when BDE uploads

[@etowngti]

Fastpitch softball players sometimes do the fake bunt-pullback-hit to create more explosive power and force muscle memory to take over. I always did that when I was struggling at the plate, and it usually helped! Unless you're up against someone throwing straight gas, that is 😅 a lot of Japanese and Korean stances are similar approaches to slap-hitting in softball.

[@AaronBostrom-pd2st]

If only this " Baseball thing" existed

[@andrewbrasuell8589]

I love that you made this video. Jeff Bagwell also won an MVP (94). Juan Soto has a pretty weird stance where the sole of his front foot faces the pitcher (until he has 2 strikes).

[@jimwarrer5612]

One thing to note about John Wokenfuss' batting style is he also would wiggle his top hand while waiting for the pitch.

[@mikepastor.k6233]

He was also the best hit and run hitter of all time 😮

[@michaelbaucom4019]

Brian Downing(Angels, late 70s to late 80s) had a weird stance, similar to Tony Bautista. A RH hitter with a wide open stance. A catcher converted to a left fielder/DH after adopting the wide open stance. The weird batting stance brought him success

[@KaneMita]

I’m convinced that baseball exists

[@gregyoungman]

You’re literally insane and this kind of heresy will not be tolerated

[@TimothyWenger]

Growing up a Boston area kid in the early 2000’s, watching Youkilis’s stance was always wild. My brother and I would always imitate mlb players’ stances when we would play wiffle ball in the yard, and Youk’s was always so much fun to try to do. Great memories!

[@ToeiuFioua]

This man's choreography of bizarre baseball situations is quite hilarious.

[@heckerbeluga9497]

Underrated content creator

[@cardinalsfan9610]

I didn't play baseball all that well, or for very long, but I decided to have a Gary Sheffield-esque bat waggle just for kicks. I don't remember if I saw the stance on SportsCenter one day, or through a baseball video game, but I decided on a whim to do it. I was 10 years old, and even then, knew I didn't have much of a baseball future. It was fun to do. I do think that individuality, by the time a prospect gets to the bigs, will be all but gone (in terms of a batting stance). I love playing golf, and I am very much a feel player. If things were such that I couldn't be that way anymore, I would struggle. I can imagine baseball players, to some extent, can be the same way.

[@Andorski]

10:04 LMAO WTF WAS THAT?!

[@zigfaust]

Me and a classmate in school invented a "reverse underhand swing" where you hold the bat upright BEHIND you then swing in an arc coming from behind to the front. I swear to god we ALWAYS hit into the outfeild or homers for a double, but we also struck out 30% of the time.

[@connor-d1y]

BDE always drops bangers

[@CacophonyOfDestruction]

6:52 Counsell raising his hands before the pitch always reminded me of an owl or peacock making itself look as big as possible to ward off an attack

[@Maddyhob]

This makes me wish baseball existed

[@CTBombastic1]

This channel has exponentially increases my interest in baseball. Love the content!!

[@zackhample]

I love that no matter how batters set up in all sorts of crazy ways, everyone gets to the same ready position before starting their swing. But hey, whatever works!

[@Grimprospect]

Very cool, we need to bring more of this back! Verdugo kinda had a weird stance.

[@DylanMichno]

That kid definitely is a martial artist

[@OnePunchMan-]

I think you're onto something. 🤔

[@JohnnyNiteTrain]

Man baseball has changed so much since I was a kid in the '80s and '90s. I guess that's really the case for all the major sports.

[@ono3869]

1:05 The Asian Juan Soto.

[@LilacDownDeep]

Always loved Bagwell's stance. If I recall correctly from my childhood going to games and watching him play, he also practically did the splits as a first basemen which is surprisingly useful.

[@PrimarySweeper13]

Maybe mention Griffey? It’s the swagiest swing ever

[@twizzy585ots]

Pretty not weird tho...also swing and stance slight difference

[@Clubber-Slang]

This is about weird stances. Griffeys was very normal with a small twitch. Did you forget the video title and topic?

[@blahblah49000]

@@Clubber-Slang I don't think Griffey's was "very normal." It was unique and powerful, keeping the bat very close and leading with the shoulder. Surprising to see that no one seems to imitate it anymore.

[@powerisknowledgeTV]

0:59 the "if it ain't broke don't fix it method"

[@wfchannel4673]

another weird thing about rickey henderson's stance is he's that extremely rare combo of bats right, throws left. meaning very early on he was taught to bat right-handed despite a more natural inclination towards batting left (which most people would also think would be a benefit to how quickly, especially someone as fast as him, could get down the first base path with many right-handed people specifically adopting a left-handed stance for this reason, rarely does it occur the other way around).

[@joshuajimenez3738]

Why is this guys obsession about something that doesn't exist?

[@jdlstoryteller]

Y'all missed Julio Franco. THAT stance was NUTS.

[@mayosia007]

1:15 dude! that kid got some lightsaber skills

[@VIOIYTIOE]

This man's choreography of bizarre baseball situations is quite hilarious.

[@Luzion]

dude twirling the bat is asking for a fastball to the face

[@BlancoDasMe]

Great video. I’m a mid to late 90s early 2000s MLB guy and you’re right; the most unique stances during the time. What a fun time.

[@grandsalami3048]

1 view in 21 seconds, wow, bro fell off🤣

[@BaseballDoesntExist]

quitting now....

[@grandsalami3048]

@@BaseballDoesntExist NOOOO!! PLEASE DONT I LOVE WATCHING YOUR VIDEOS😂

[@Zappy714]

I feel very thankful to have grown up with the Ministry of Funny Stances.

[@liltkwonmi5242]

Under one hour gang 👇

[@Mainecountryhuman]

43 minutes

[@mikepastor.k6233]

In 1980, the California Angels had two players with the most extreme stances. Brian Downing had the most open and Dan Ford had the most closed. Check them out.. 😮

[@keithmetcalf5548]

Ripken. Seeing him play at camden yards was pure magic! I remember the bat straite back stance. A thunderstorm was in the area that game and immediately after they called his name to bat on que a lightning cracked and a thunder rumbled. Pure Magic. Then he homered. Legendary stuff. If baseball "doesnt exist" now, it definitely did that game...

[@charliep123]

I hope these wacky stances make a comeback. They’re fun to watch and hey as long as it’s effective I’m not complaining.

[@jonathanswink2682]

YEEEESSSSS Sheffeld had that best stance ever....that tapping the bat was so money. It was like it was building up violence. Love it

[@nicholasjones8771]

Great video! 80s/90s kid Eric Davis Julio Franco Ruben Sierra Carney Lansford Andre Dawson Mark Mcguire Andres Galarraga Vince Coleman Tim Raines Mo Vaughn Griffey Jr So many unique stances that we would imitate in our school yard games

[@twinsrookie]

You could even throw in Giancarlo Stanton. Over the years, he has changed his batting stance. From feet being wide apart to having his back to the pitcher. Good video!

[@RurbanWalker]

As a NYY fan, my Little League stance emulated Mickey Rivers who as a runner I likened myself to. Years later in adult softball, I was still doing a hybrid Rivers/Rickey Henderson type batting crouch but not hitting particularly well. Then I converted to a boring, upright stance and started hitting so much better. I guess the crouch is useful for drawing walks in baseball, but at least for me optimal hitting occurred with a far more generic stance.

[@elreiec1]

As a millennial, I vividly remember these unconventional stances and did wonder why they gradually faded. Great, informative upload. Thank you

[@phreddphlintstone297]

You have to back to the 1960's , but the stance you're looking for was that of Dick McAuliffe, 2B for the Detroit Tigers from 1960-1973 . Look at his early stance in 62-65 where he started on just one leg. He was the leadoff hitter. Great player.

[@BoscoLemonzit]

Hated McAuliffe. HIs flying kick broke Tommy John's shoulder and put him out for the season. It changed Tommy Johns motion and arm angle a little, which then he developed the elbow problem and got the experimental surgery named after him. Still won 280+ games and should be in the hall of fame.

[@blahblah49000]

@@BoscoLemonzit He kicked him?

[@BoscoLemonzit]

@@blahblah49000 yep, ran out to the mound and did a flying kick right into his left shoulder and broke it

[@MrTee-hw7mp]

This is a fantastic video btw. Lots of little nuggets all put together flawlessly.

[@vibeslide]

I only recently got interested in baseball and the many little quirks of it are definitely part of the fascination.

[@Base_the]

Great video man. Love watching you, you’re the guy that really got me into baseball. Can’t wait to see what else you put out

[@1987BillyBob]

ESPN, I believe it was Peter Gammons in the early 2000s did a video on batting stances. He compared Manny Ramirez, Mike Sweeny, and I forgot the third, three of the top hitters at the time. What they showed was at their swing everything was the same despite the stances being different. The swing is the most important part.

[@brianmad19]

Ty Cobb- amazing. To read the ball that quickly.

[@Kathexiis]

This is one of the best, most entertaining, and informative videos about the old stick and ball game that I all love! (Haven’t seen a second of the video yet.)

[@EddieJr8611]

4:50 god damn lol insane great content man