Donaldson Explains His Swing in Studio 42

Reigning American League MVP Josh Donaldson joins Mark DeRosa in Studio 42 to deconstruct his swing and shows how he approaches each at bat.
MLB Central is our daily morning show which highlights all of yesterday's action and previews upcoming games, hosted by Matt Vasgersian, Lauren Shehadi and Mark DeRosa!

[@frankdurand1092]

This video is worth more than 99% of the hitting lessons people paid for today. Thanks Josh and MLB network for getting the truth out there!!!

[@jraybay]

Frank Durand Yes

[@rslwannabe9475]

I've watch hundreds of this videos tbh

[@jbbeats2042]

He changed hitting

[@madisonbumgarner12]

and your haircut too

[@McShibby10]

How’s you and Josh’s sub .200 batting average doing?

[@masonfarber4270]

my coach told me only the only way I will hit a homer is if I get on top of the ball, then I told him "no" and he said "why" and I said "because Josh Donaldson told me not to".

[@hendersonli6594]

atta boy

[@benpursell7682]

I know u actually didn't do this stop lying

[@ethanswitzer9321]

Don't worry you won't be hitting homers any time soon kid

[@808suretyt]

You're on the right track! This video has great hitting advice. Listen to Josh Donaldson and you'll be hitting better than you did before!

[@peterwyattmiddleton]

I hope you made him watch this!

[@jimmyd522]

I feel like Donaldson would be a great hitting coach because he actually understands the style of hitting and he won't overwhelm you with his soothing voice

[@marcjean848]

it's awesome if you follow his Twitter in the off-season he is constantly giving people hitting advice

[@Pr0gamingelite]

My HS coach teaches swinging down and getting on top of the ball. Can't stand him. But he's a one of those coaches that wants the entire team to do it his way and he doesn't allow any flexibility

[@joeyurko9999]

XxXxXxXx Transfer.

[@adriancarrillo7238]

XxXxXxXx not every kid is big enough in highschool to hit the long bombs that's why he's saying that trying to get the most out of you guys now even though it's probably screwing you over In the long run ... he knows that high school wise half these kids can't make a tough ground ball out to first but shit if i were you id shake my head yes to the on top the ball and just load the hell up and hit the middle instead he wont tell the difference just say see told yah on every good hit and remind you to hit the top on every bad hit lol

[@owem6511]

CSaint shall guide you.

[@counter546]

high school coaches heads exploding every where lol

[@logandaugherty5642]

By far the most true comment i have ever read...my entire high school coaching staff absolutely lost it when they watched this saying "our field is way to big, we need kids hitting it on the ground"...this fustrated me but i didnt say anything ( cause whos gonna argue with the varsity coach who could make our break you)..but the amount of research i have done on these exact topics, all runs full circle to: shoulder plane, opening the hips, and back loading...im a 5'7 170lbs freshman out of lake havasu city, az and am truly blown away by the bias opinions if some coaches

[@telekev1]

Logan, you just had a taste of the resistance believers face in the youth baseball world (little league, travel ball, high school) all the time. I had my nephew's travel ball coach ask me if I would be interested in helping with hitting. (the 12U nephew hits well) We talked briefly and as I described the basic concept of rotational hitting, his head exploded... he actually got angry and threw insults. Over the next 4 months, he tried to undermine my nephews hitting while team mates would ask the kid for advice. A local high school assist. coach, familiar with my students results , asked me if I could do a clinic or 2 for their struggling baseball program (almost all the kids on this team swing knob to the ball, downward bat path and hit, at best, grounders and pop ups). The head coach said no. He knows I'm a Epstein, Baseball Rebellion, Tewks-style instructor. (the head coach is one of 3 brothers that all played pro ball... you would know the name) The ignorant resistance to the idea of making a swing that puts the bat on an upward path to meet a descending baseball is like the 'world is flat' types.

[@logandaugherty5642]

telekev1 Yes, exactly completely agree with getting the bat on a plane with descending ball..but its like foreign land to most coaches cause its not something they did as kids or where taught as kids..my high school season is coming to a close in this next week..and the one thing that still blows my mind is my coaches still extremely implying the "hit the top of the ball" teaching method

[@logandaugherty5642]

telekev1 Yes, exactly completely agree with getting the bat on a plane with descending ball..but its like foreign land to most coaches cause its not something they did as kids or where taught as kids..my high school season is coming to a close in this next week..and the one thing that still blows my mind is my coaches still extremely implying the "hit the top of the ball" teaching method

[@Grubbo]

There's still resistance to the principle of upward motion in the swing?! Ted Williams was teaching that decades ago! How is this still being fought?

[@manatortv]

5:26 the greatest line to ever be said

[@svperstar]

the look he gives after lol

[@the_claydog02]

I wanna share that to my school baseball coach.

[@tyeshelton4656]

Think about that quote daily

[@McShibby10]

How’s that launch angle doing? Lmao get on top of the ball kids and stop hitting .230 like Josh Donaldson

[@fries5849]

@@McShibby10brother he won a MVP and would likely be a hall of famer if he didn’t start his career at 27. He’s old now, and retired at 37 after making a life time worth of money unlike you who’s commenting under KZbin videos getting mad that someone has a different idea than you.

[@DJillWill]

He’s gonna make a great manager or hitting coach one day ☔️

[@petepav12]

Jake Wheelie HAHA

[@michaeljacksonrebornthisis620]

Yeah tru

[@skoalface3269]

Based on what? LOL

[@jadeisonfire]

He’s the only person who could ever break Bobby Cox’s record for ejections

[@X_Clown03]

@@skoalface3269 passion. Also he hits dingers

[@will_castle]

Funny. I gave this a try today and hit a HR to the deepest part of CF. This is truly gold.

[@thegoat3877]

For real? Its not a joke?

[@will_castle]

+The Puss Y For real. But not in an MLB park. I play in a college league.

[@sheluvsjohn]

Why the fuck you lieing

[@nonettternone4609]

@John Alcina. Why the fuck can't you spell lying?

[@temp0cs]

damn deepest part of cf! Impressive!!

[@sjkdec18]

Dear MLB, I love these inside looks into a player's method and analytical mindset (by players themselves as well as your analysts/ex-players). While your KZbin channel has a lot of these, there's no consistent titling to them so they're extremely difficult to find because of the sheer number of videos in your network. Can you name these segments so that we can search for them easier? Something like... "Player's Process" or "MLB University" or some other title that your marketing team can come up with. I'm sure I'm not alone in this I'm equally certain that this will pay you dividends. Thanks! Just think about it!

[@lepoulet88]

Wow he's got a very soft voice, I kinda want him to read me a bed time story.

[@kendellobo6271]

Lol

[@alex36burbidge]

Either him or Vin Scully.

[@VargoProductions]

That's what steroids will do to you.

[@saredciders7414]

+Alex B 36 Vin Scully

[@austinrhoden3008]

lol. he is like the assistant on the baseball team that knows alot about baseball but keeps it to himself

[@TannishThomas]

Who’s here after watching the baseball doesn’t exist video on Donaldson I gotta see "the most violent swing in baseball"

[@NYCHeavyHitz212]

I’m here before and after lol. I don’t follow baseball but always loved this video of JD. 💯

[@youknowJP]

Yep

[@slothsarecool5986]

yep

[@owenexsoctagon9]

I am here for learning and that video.

[@peterwong8028]

Yes! I just watched it a little while ago. His swing mehanics line got my interest

[@natebutler7930]

I just wanna say thank you for uploading this

[@Forsott]

yeah a huge thank you to JD and to @mlbnetwork for sharing!!

[@amielparumog6297]

DeRosa: "Oh my god. Where were you 15 years ago." 6:31

[@brianzeldin8142]

Phenomenal. Josh knows all about the approaches mechanics and certain body movements of hitting hence he won mvp last year and is killing it again

[@noahoziel4460]

My favorite part of the video is when Donaldson says if your 10 years old and your coach tells to get on top of the ball say no

[@mistermurder5488]

Noah Oziel when is that

[@JustSomeDamnCalifornian45]

@@mistermurder5488 5:27

[@nofurtherwest3474]

To be fair, grounders work well for 10 yr olds because the fielding is not that great so they'll make a lot of errors. But I get why it won't work well in the higher levels.

[@maddybutyoutube]

I'm remember watching this live and being amazed i still am watching this again

[@fernandorosales2584]

Same! We need more segments like this

[@BloodoperaBlackvomit]

Great vid. Showing that hitting is science AND art. :)

[@87mjung]

You can thank the Toronto Blue Jays coaching staff for this stuff. They turned Jose and Edwin into monsters since 2010. Both guys were written off and labelled journeyman and turned into two of the best power hitters in baseball for the last half decade. This info is gold.

[@user-uw4mk9zo9q]

Michael Jung It isn't like he has done anything different after going to the blue jays. He did the exact same thing in Oakland too

[@87mjung]

Well since he's come to Toronto his slugging pct has gone into the mid .550, there is definitely an improvement and change. He's always had power in his swing, I was a fan of his in Oakland as well. But his swing has gone through some small adjustments and he points it out in this video. It's not to take anything away from his talent when I was praising the Jays coaching staff, its a culmination of great coaching and a world class talent like Donny is.

[@IplayTRASH]

Michael Jung actually a lot of it came from Golf instructions and simulators believe it or not. They don't have flight path simulators for baseball. He created his own and learned how to hit the ball farther. Jays have great hitting coaches but most of this is his outside the box thinking.

[@bulldogvillan]

Donaldson talked his swing mechanics all the time on Twitter when he was in Oakland. When he first came up, when he was still catching, he had a much more upright stance and not much of a leg kick. When Scott Sizemore blew out his knee for the second time, Donaldson came into spring training vying for the open 3B position and a totally revamped swing, much more like his current swing. He struggled somewhat initially and was sent back down to triple A. He got his swing dialed in the second half of the year after being called back up and put together a good final 2-3 months of the year. The next year he was in the discussion for MVP. Not a bad return in the Rich Harden deal with the Cubs.

[@TheUofAfan]

Not entirely true. This started from a guy named Bobby Tewksbary out of New Hampshire, who created his own hitting program. He first worked with Donaldson when he was in Oakland. He later went on to work with a lot of the Blue Jays though. And he was the one of the early adopters of the golf style trackman devices to hitting. A lot of the players are getting their info and techniques from outside the clubs now and relating what they want and the hitting coaches are there to be observers and relay info back to the better hitters. Tewksbary was the HR derby pitcher for Donaldson in 2012

[@Greengoblin2345]

His “effortless swing” is a golf concept for making solid consistent strong contact with the golf ball and he’s using it for baseball, makes so much sense

[@matthewduncan6159]

I'm watching this from a Disc Golf perspective and the theory is the same. Kinetic chain, hip loading, hip opening, effortless swing, shoulder plane. I'm going to watch this over again and try to take his words out to the course with me.

[@dlee9704]

A lot of this same theory is being taught in golf swing mechanics along with piecing it together with actual data from advanced technology. JD is a straight stud and his understanding of the swing is impressive.

[@laxrocks56]

I sat through 8:39 waiting for josh to smash that ball off the tee and he never did. Lol. Learned a lot though

[@kevtheman7226]

Same. Was waiting for that the entire time

[@mikeytopaz4601]

Funny that you mention it, I didn't even notice that until you said something about it. I was just entrance by his tutuorial, which was excellent.

[@phixxwutwut]

laxrocks56

[@AdrianRodriguez-hu4hd]

same

[@Purlypurlington]

lol thatd be irresponsible!

[@MMAdamMartin]

Incredible video. An education in hitting from the reigning AL MVP. Thank you Josh.

[@andrewclemans2050]

I'm almost in tears watching this. I've been teaching this ever since attending an Epstein Hitting training three years ago. Every lesson is a struggle, but the kids that listen have become great hitters. Now I can send the stubborn coaches and parents this video. He explains this so well and well, he has a bit of stature:)

[@louieoostenbrug9231]

so true man, my coach teaches the same thing. many parents/players hate on him for it

[@telekev1]

Andrew, I totally relate. I'm the hitting coach for an Intermediate LL team. The coach is old school but he went all in... total support! It took a lot of work, drills and practice but this team is now 10-2 and averaging 10+ runs per game. The one boy that just will not abandon his fathers instruction of swinging down to the ball continues to hit grounders... at best... low line drives. The most satisfying is the smaller framed boys, that could barely get around and fouling balls off, are now hitting line drives in games. Keep up the good fight, Coach!

[@joeyurko9999]

Louie Oostenbrug Anyone who knows anything teaches it. This stuff isn't new. It's been around since Shoeless Joe and Babe Ruth.

[@seans155]

Epstein isn't the greatest, he teaches more rotational hitting. He also teaches getting your elbows too far out in front of your hands with too much bat lag.

[@biessebis1041]

Is this the same Epstein that didn't kill himself?

[@jaimesandoval1988]

And non baseball fans say: "how hard can it be to hit a baseball?"

[@paplar9744]

Jaime Sandoval ikr

[@_michael_g]

so true

[@j.tyler2024]

Since when has it ever been about a level swing.? it’s impossible..The ball is coming at you in a downward angle.. if you had a level swing you would break so many bats the clubhouse manager would start to hate ya.. He would be fetching you a new bat after every Bp. I see it all the time in young players wanting to square up to the plate.. Bowing in at the knees, never able to get the proper hip rotation.. so guess what? they end up over correcting themselves and by doing so they fly , better yet Jerk... the front shoulder open, head following right along, while back elbow loads at the completely wrong angle... never able to establish the ability for the back elbow to come up under the bottom part of the hip during hip rotation... all because instead of balancing during the soft landing in the end part of the stride, where only the outside Part of your big toe balances the weight of your body on the back leg , which creates your timing mechanism allowing you to pull the trigger. These players are landing literally flat footed . Some don’t even take that step in the stride anymore they slightly rotate on the front foot like a golf swing breaking their wrists.. rolling the barrel head over top the ball .. when the ideal momentum is transferring from your legs to your hips then your back elbow finally your hands can apply. It’s the only time they are suppose to..Everyone wants to think their philosophy and approach is the correct one, all these interpretations, and everyone has been getting it wrong for quite some time now... I think it’s because young players are incorrectly instructed and they misuse the best piece of training equipment a player, and that’s the tee..literally lVe also seen players there head falls down toward the ball... Let the ball travel you don’t have to pull everything.. It’s like no one knows how to do an inside out swing anymore.. only thing you need to movement as far as your head goes is your eyeballs..just because the old saying goes drop the hammer down or chop the wood does not mean the bat is actually coming from the back shoulder at a downward angle towards the ball.. it actually develops at the back part of the hip rotation when the the barrel head comes through the zone at a slight upswing. That’s when a player is in perfect balance..But hey if we didn’t have the swing to try and dissect than we just wouldn’t have anything to talk about, Now would we.

[@fatworksfoods]

I have never it my life heard a non-baseball fan say that.

[@DT-lq1ds]

Yah I’ve never heard anyone say that, especially about the major league level. It’s usually the opposite.

[@scottiepippen4757]

Donaldson is a freaking batting genius dude

[@JayShmeezy]

You better give him a kiss then Scotty

[@dannyc.2039]

I remember seeing this 5 years ago and never forgot it.

[@hitmanhurns3889]

Can Josh Donaldson be my hitting coach please

[@ryanedwards25]

He played at Auburn. War Eagle!

[@paulahim]

Haha

[@johnnyjohnson1370]

Right here, I can teach all this ,certified Epstein hitting instructor,,Johnny Johnson 405 317 3081. Okc ok

[@zac_h4496]

Um sorry he doesn’t associate himself with the enemy

[@natebutler7930]

I've watched this video 8 million times and I'm still just as mesmerized as I was when I first watched it

[@QuiteTheBrianD]

Finally the truth, lol. Conventional hitting coaches' heads are probably exploding. A more simple explanation is that when you land, you want to create that rubber band stretch between your front hip and back shoulder. You land with an open foot, with your weight on your front side and INTO your front hip. Hand and everything will follow, just keep your elbows apart.

[@lucascarman2578]

When I was in high school, every day in batting practice I would hear a bunch of the old shit from my coaches, I'd nod my head, and never do it. Chop the ball, hands to the ball, linear swing, blah blah blah. Just shows how little people know about hitting.

[@CarolCityCane305]

god i wish this concept was around when i was younger im 30 now...thru out my teens coachs top me to hit a to b i got sooo mad i just stopped

[@timmybrummett3351]

Correct opinion guy actually if you put your weight on your front side you will hit it to the third basemen but if you keep your weight back you can do the rubber band he was talking about. Also if you put your weight on your front foot you will look stupid if they threw a curveball

[@rawmail102171]

Timmy Brummett I'm pretty sure Correct opinion guy was referring to coaches like yourself when he said, "conventional hitting coaches...heads exploding". It's ok, I was once there too, just pick up the skull fragments and get on board with folks like Joey Myers @ the hitting performance lab, Chas Pippit @ Baseball Rebellion and Bobby Tewksbury (JD's instructor) Modern video analysis and human movement science has come a long way. JD knows what he is talking about here.

[@MarkMusu92]

Now we now why Donaldson is an avid golf player. His explanations sounded just like instructors teach the golf swing. He's as smart as they get in sports.

[@Nick-ky5yn]

this video is pure gold. wow

[@tylerstrickland1010]

Everything he's saying helps velocity for pitchers. Crazy how separation and scap loading create power in all disciplines in the game.

[@philip_pasthing7297]

the opening of the foot relieved me so much. my coaches preach that i have to keep it closed but it really does strain your body and you can’t release the power. knew i wasn’t crazy

[@joelorosario2300]

"They don't pay you for groundballs. They pay you for doubles, they pay you for homers." Truer words have never been spoken!

[@caseypeanuts3222]

Welcome to the Bronx!!! I love this guy, hopefully him and Cole are chill haha

[@FiSTofSTEeL112]

When he's not in uniform, Donaldson looks and dresses like a musician in a hipster rock band

[@TSNAnnotator]

no, he doesn't. he dresses like an athlete. The hair though, that's a whole different story

[@chriskozub8012]

White t shirt and grey jeans. Pretty plain if u ask me

[@chriskozub8012]

Daniel Kim oh you’re gay. Why didn’t you just say so? That makes more sense now. Thx for the analysis.

[@danielkim6751]

@@chriskozub8012 looks like I've proven my point. You really are a dumb narcissist

[@chriskozub8012]

Daniel Kim cool projection bro. Didn’t realize a comment saying “grey jeans and a white shirt are pretty plain” would trigger anyone so bad. Good luck with life. You’re going to need it being such a fucking pussy.

[@darkknightsds]

This is absolutely amazing. His ability to communicate it is what sets him apart

[@avjeetkang]

As an A's fan, watching this made me miss him more.

[@shannonk7014]

He's ours now fuck face

[@bradhatton2478]

+About Stone L

[@rodzor]

+About Stone so the team in FIRST place in al east sucks? that makes a lot of sense.

[@Franco-ez5ui]

zander Marshall how does it feel to get swept by the Indians

[@teedotaj]

@Fra nco we will find out soon enough it seems lol

[@MondayTage]

Easily one of my favorite videos for swing advice. A lot coaches are still stuck in the 70's with their hitting approach. My favorite piece of advice was from my coach of the travel ball team I used to play for back in the day. "Cut a ball in half." How do you cut a ball in half that's coming from a slightly downward angle? With an upward angled swing. That squad we had was full of some serious pop and the players and coaches wanted to take advantage of it. That was in 2007-2009 and was easily the best and most fun I've had playing ball.

[@corvuslaeus9540]

Glad the Braves got him, this guy knows what he's doing. He seems to be just getting warmed up this season. Awesome upload

[@Njfishingmaniac]

That lasted long lmao

[@lennon.richards]

And this is why he was an MVP and one of the best players in the game. He knows his body so well, everything is in control and he is able to make adjustments as the season progresses. Amazing!

[@jeffreywatkin4904]

what an awesome video. Donaldson is a class act and a true competitor. Liked and subscribed! keep these videos coming!

[@SuperBigD1999]

He's still a whiny bitch

[@dubwisecanada]

but he's not.

[@drupadafield6473]

I think we got some jelios ranger fans.

[@incinc9068]

Watching his swing back and forth in slow-mo is a thing of beauty

[@joshrosenblum6807]

wow. that was amazing

[@andrewhammerle521]

I love this guy! What a humble human...this dude is at top of his profession and has zero ego. He's giving valuable advice for free. Young players please watch this guy! He does what he says and says what he does. Well done Donaldson, keep up the great work! Btw I'm a Tiger's fan ,but I'm a bigger fan of quality people like jd.

[@omarm5888]

What a beast

[@haywood0457]

this is a jewel that all young players should take heed to. Soak up as much game as possible and use your knowledge base to become the best version of you. Man do I wish I thought about baseball as a youth the way I do now.

[@owenbennett3159]

MVP!! MVP!!

[@Yezir760]

Its awesome how there are many schools of thought on hitting and different ways of doing things.

[@UltimateHandler]

Mohammad Ali talked about the same thing for boxing decades ago. About time, baseball caught up.

[@areitz1962]

More of this please. Donaldson is a monster.

[@ryanpotter9373]

This is what they teach for fighting to put your hips into it to make maximum power impact. And golf and hockey for shooting.

[@stormshaker2769]

Ryan Potter especially on shooting clappers

[@KrispyChurro]

amazing. anyone who wants to improve in hitting try all of this. I practiced this today and solid contact lasers up the middle and deep center. Josh knows what he's talking about and it's absolutely golden.

[@Aviationobsession]

Atlanta Braves need to keep Donaldson. The most humble, coolest, laid back player i've known.

[@davisking8939]

We he isn't on the field lol

[@Machinae_overture]

i haven't played baseball in 17 years but i enjoyed every second of this

[@jacobchoudhry6935]

Wow. This is a swing I want to replicate

[@TheUofAfan]

No kidding, when he’s healthy he kills the ball

[@danreid1483]

This is still the best segment MLB Network has ever had on hitting mechanics.

[@codyfultz4794]

5:27 Favorite part of the video

[@jbbeats2042]

Josh donaldson single handedly changed hitting TO THE PUBLIC forever in 10 minutes on live television

[@papa_drums1538]

"If you're 10 years old and your coach tells you to get on top of the ball...tell him no"

[@brett2047]

I could watch this stuff all day long. Never been a big Donaldson fan (being a Rangers fan), but this was impressive

[@Archives-ji4jc]

This is gold!!!!!

[@FlyingHellFish99]

used to do boss interviews on 95.7 the game weekly as an A. would talk about putting spins on the ball for certain ballparks - then go out and do it that night. cool insight

[@GalaxyGal-]

Hes gonna be a hitting coach. Look out Barry Bonds if he does.

[@MaxPayne.]

Carl Grimes's Eyepatch no one tops Barry on hitting. Literally no one

[@stonerbellinger8679]

BluntBoy007 there were better hitters than bonds. Home runs aren't the only stat that matters

[@romanmoralesqb1]

But how many hit for power and had an almost .300 career average. BB was an all around great hitter

[@stonerbellinger8679]

dominicroman3 Ken Griffey jr, Ted Williams, Joe dimmagio. Don't get me wrong, Barry had a great bat but his second half of his career was dedicated to the longball.

[@romanmoralesqb1]

Nick Perez but if you understand context how many of them are highly regarded hitting coaches. The original comment was about coaching hitters. ...Only Barry Bonds is. And Of course your abilities change as you get older. But Barry did it all in his career.

[@FOREVERaPILOT]

Yes one of the biggest improvements to my swing was opening my foot I caught onto it myself I never worried about my hands except when I got them situated on my bat before a swing.

[@TheRealFrontierStudio]

“Tell them no” your my new favorite player josh

[@SocialDem86]

I don’t even play baseball but I can appreciate this guys level of mastery

[@masterlup]

Duude. #alphaSwing. Coolest dude ever, extremly proficient and a master teacher. i learned something

[@samcocherl680]

For someone who has a stance and load like Donaldson, I watched this and really felt good about what I'm doing and about how much the shoulders and hands make an impact

[@SupermanA2K]

Oh that's so good

[@TheTaterTotP80]

I don't play baseball but enjoy watching these videos. Donaldson's way of hitting (and his mention of the Kinetic Chain) reminds me of Boxing/Martial arts and Football(Soccer. I'm British). In boxing for example, the torque of the hips matters a lot in how you hit and power is generated in the legs and positioning of the turning of the chest and shoulders, not the arms. There's a similar sense of positioning it seems. In soccer, one of the best ways to take a free kick (at range atleast) is to use your leg like a whip. The foot itself is just along for the ride. Cristiano Ronaldo takes it like that, for example. He stands with his legs apart in a wide stance, then takes a slow run up and opens his hips, whips his leg, lets the foot follow through and closes his hips on the exit. Where he puts his foot (open) near the ball is almost exactly how your front foot looks while kicking a soccer ball, too. It allows for the torque of the upper body aswell. Similar to batting, it seems and similar to what he was saying about how the hands and arms/shoulders are used, along with the stance and positioning of the hips and legs while batting.

[@Pr0gamingelite]

You right

[@TheEaston1234]

As a Toronto native. Thank You Oakland.

[@dukedematteo1995]

Hes one of the pioneers of the launch angle style. Hes not a big guy, so he was able to use every inch of his strength, and great speed to hit HRs.

[@chrisgeldmeyer8169]

wish i saw this years ago when i played seriously lol

[@brycethebaseballfan9903]

Yessir My favorite player Mookie with the swag and bangers on YT

[@mattmurphy5805]

Just got this after watching the BDE video

[@alfern73]

Absolutely love this video! Isn't so funny that most hitting coaches that teach conventional swing mechanics are nowhere close to reality. Josh Donaldson has got a killer swing.

[@xcelljy]

2:14 HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

[@ryanperron8309]

LOLOL

[@slat.r]

Happy Halloween 2020

[@CashMeerkat]

The weight in your heel cue is incredible. Equally helpful for a pitcher trying to generate hip drive.

[@tericson15]

Barry Bonds always talked about his hips when swinging

[@taylorbryan9809]

This guy is a monster he just helped me realize legs matter in hitting and pitching just as much as hands. Wow. Thanks JD.

[@joshexampl7627]

MVP

[@vandalg282]

"They don't pay you for ground balls" Ichiro Suzuki has entered the chat.

[@dylanchan3772]

One of my coaches literally told me to focus on hitting the “top of the ball” 🤦‍♂️

[@GeorgeDubya43]

Tell him no🤣🤣

[@RonBurgundy209]

I'm an older guy in my late 30's, so since I can't play fast pitch anymore I've been playing recreational men's slow pitch softball and this batting technique works extremely well for softball too.

[@tl46]

opening up your front foot will REALLY help you out on cutters and sliders breaking away from you. this advice is awesome.

[@ryandrums2112]

sarcasm? 😂

[@b45licey]

the shoulder still stays closed

[@tl46]

i felt that when my front foot passed roughly a 45 degree angle my front hip and shoulder flew open as well. my coaches called it "pulling off the ball"

[@b45licey]

+steve h some guys have had success hitting with the front foot closed but they are mostly contact hitters like jeter.You just have to turn your calf you dont open the upper body

[@tl46]

the 45 ish degree angle is what we refer to as closed. i want my guys around 45 through contact. just a miscommunication.

[@Coltyyyyyyyy]

I love joshD. He's such as a great player/coach.

[@JayPatel-om3qb]

He might have to watch this video to revive his career

[@baileysmith4744]

i think a lot of players in New York got a bit lost in 2022. Stanton, Rizzo, and Donaldson all went from being 30+ homer hitters with decent averages to hardly making 30 homers (Donaldson not even close) and hitting .220. might be the short porch, or just the team vibe

[@dukedematteo1995]

​@@baileysmith4744 He's 37, and the average fastball, the average fastball he sees is 94mph. As you can see the dude has a long powerful swing but he has slider bat speed now.

[@baileysmith4744]

@dukedematteo1995 . He is still at the level he was a couple yesrs ago, just gotta get out of New York. So many players have gone to New York and have everything go wrong in their swing because they see the short porch in right and left field looks very reachable. Rizzo is the king of adjustments so he managed alright this year, but Stanton changed his whole swing after his MVP 2017 and has been as inconsistent as anyone in history. Same as Hicks, and Judge almost went that route until he created his own training program and stopped listening to the Yankees coaches

[@chefboiardee8858]

he is the closest to what a group of guys came up with 20 years ago when we started breaking down hitting in frame by frame video,even the phrase stretching the rubber band,we called it winding a rubber band.the adjustment for the high and low pitch though using shoulders,well its spine angle that adjusts the swing plane 90 degree spine angle to bat plane puts the barrel on ball with that effortless batspeed.

[@adamyoder5853]

Hard to believe hes never heard anything about the hips. That is where alot of the power is generated. Idk i maybe wrong

[@standardizedinternetcompat3653]

You are very much right

[@mochiyeosang1908]

I'm a softball player. Practing the motion of it with no bat vs the swing my old coach taught me (he pretty much wanted us only hitting line drives. no step for me, just turning hips) feels so much more powerful already.

[@MugenDad]

Just like Chubbs always said, “It’s all in the hips”

[@stephenthompson3348]

Good one 👍

[@alex_almaguer]

Whenever he says he wants his arms to be limp is such great advice! People are always wondering why big leaguers sling their bats into the crowd and this is exactly why. Whenever they are generating their bat speed with their hips it creates such great speed and energy that whenever you do miss your arms aren’t their to hold on very tight and grip the bat hard. Stressing to not grip the bat hard and killing the handle is great making sure you get that energy and speed flowing through the hips is what you need to do.

[@jockoadams3377]

Fast forward to 2023... he's hitting .152 and got his hitting coach fired.

[@daleftywizard9227]

He’s old what u expect lmao

[@stripes1089]

Man I wish I had known this when I was younger. I was a solid batter but very good pitcher when I was younger until I jumped up a league and got into a hitting slump. Listened to my coaches saying exactly what Josh said about getting on top of the ball and focusing on your hands and I probably never batted over .150 again. Pitching was still solid but I got tired of not getting on base and gave up on baseball.

[@crossromeo8782]

I'm showing this to my unborn son

[@Irishpride0724]

This is absolutely incredible! I'm going into coaching and definitely will keep this video handy

[@VanCanucksHD]

Guna make a good hitting coach

[@emmanuelolivo8105]

The video changed the game forever. Baseball has never been the same since John Donaldson dropped this knowledge 🔥

[@shannonk7014]

I'm just here to watch Donaldson wear tight pants and gyrate his hips. Mama likey

[@Nick-ky5yn]

LMAO

[@brycehannigan1135]

Lmao

[@xShinRiose]

giggity

[@akaDOOD]

Whoreable comment

[@kpun48]

gay

[@toddhurley5100]

Thia gave me goosebumps.the art of hitting is so beautiful lol

[@MacLeanJR420]

Lol he sounds high as fuck and still sounds like a genius

[@dejaymorgan]

im so glad someone professional finally said this