Hitting 101 with Albert Pujols

[@AntonelliBaseball]

Feel vs. Real

[@jasondavis487]

Thank you. I say the same thing all the time. Butting heads with the other coaches on my daughters travel ball team cause they have a one size fits all mentality on hitting and they have this approach and standing tall and narrow(feet close together). I've trained my daughter to keep hands inside, stay tight to body, get on plane early, stay short and somewhat wide(feet outside shoulders,knees inside feet) she's the youngest on the team and one of the best. Top 2 for sure. Feel vs Real.

[@joeyurko9999]

That's not how Pujols swings. His swing is not a push swing. His swing accelerates the barrel rearward to get on pitch plane early. What he is explaining, what he says that he does, would cut his time on pitch plane significantly. Some great hitters can't explain what it is that they do.

[@nathanrweber]

Amen to that. His swing is nothing like he explains it in the video. He is def a thurn the barrel kind of swing, he never throws his hands or knob to the ball. I will say his hands stay iniside the ball very well and close to his body.

[@tatoforever]

A few days ago i went to a hitting machine place and tried that same approach Albert was talking about (knob to the ball) and i swore i was doing it as he said, at least feeling my self pulling the knob of the bat to the ball. Guess what, my gf got some videos of me hitting and the bat was turning behind me. I was like, wtf is going on...

[@StephenCombs17]

Ugh, not the feel vs . Real debate again really. Tons and tons of high level dudes that are the best at their craft all saying the same thing while many guys out in single A ball because they can’t hit saying something different. Tony Gwynn said it. Freddie freeman says it, pujols, the list goes on and on. I see kids using the HLP approach and getting smoked with high fastballs and my kid included. Changed his swing a year ago to be more direct and he hit .426 this past summer.

[@Dev-gz4zh]

Followed this advice, broke the MLB career batting average, On base percentage, hits, and Slugging percentage records. Also got inducted in the Hall of Fame. Thanks Albert :)

[@roberthudson1959]

Troll.

[@Nick-NY]

Albert has never swung like that in his life.

[@bafflingdocumentaries8496]

I shook his hand once, when I was a kid in the DR, he visited my baseball league

[@EeroHaapala69]

Greatest hitter of the 21st century.

[@bigpoison408]

Mike trout

[@supersomebody101]

The exact opposite of what josh Donaldson says to do lmao

[@asaptubman]

the beauty of baseball

[@Angel-je3bh]

Tyjuan whatever works for you I guess.

[@brendancicalo6994]

If you watch his swing thats not how he swings

[@johnniejay]

That's why one of those guys has 3000 hits, and the other will be lucky to get half that many.

[@traeyoung2624]

Brendan Cicalo how does Alberts swing differ from his tips

[@jackson5116]

He puts the bat on the ball a lot- LOT, and because he's a contact hitter, by adjusting his swing with the Dodgers, it revitalzed him, going from 17 homers in 2021 to 19 homers (so far) in 2022. Yeah, that huge power surge of 2 homers in 2022!

[@mikepuppetz9]

As a Cubs fan, I was so happy when this guy left St. Louis. He killed us for years. The Cubbies' run of success since he left the Cards is no coincidence.

[@aviator259]

pujols left in 2011. Cubs sucked until post-all star break 2015. That's 4.5 years AFTER he left. You guys still sucked for a while

[@tommypratz5775]

Im a Cardinals fan

[@novacometsxd1047]

aviator259 no he left in 2012

[@aviator259]

he signed with the Angels in December of 2011 after the Cardinals won the 2011 world series...

[@Cadensum04]

I love the Cardinals and when David Frees clutched in the 2011 world series it was crazy and I live in Texas so a lot of people are rangers fans so its fun to joke around with talking trash about the rangers

[@brett_paubel]

Congrats on 3,000 hits Albert!

[@lleytonweaver9199]

It's funny to me that that's not what he does if u watch his swing in slow motion

[@roccoisfat3184]

It’s just an approach , if u re-watch his slow motion swing he doesn’t do it to the extent of the video but the knob does go that way

[@v.rgamplays5269]

The swing most beautiful of the MLB Albert Pujols

[@55giantsfan22]

Class act, 1st ballot hof right?

55giantsfan22 no doubt 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

[@pabloconstanza5618]

55giantsfan22 u damn right he is...

[@0w3n_5]

Obviously

[@anonymousanonymous7593]

"About 4, 5 years ago..." 2011

[@adawg2015]

It was probably shot in either 2015 or 2016.

[@ga1act1c20]

Holy shit I remember watching this live years ago, great segment!

[@joshprovance9733]

The homerun Albert hit against Brad Lidge in the NLCS game 5 rumors has its still going.

[@jackson5116]

rumor has it NASA reported seeing it as it orbited Jupiter in 2010

[@lch99310]

That's not what Ted Williams teach in "The Science Of Hitting". If you google Albert Pujols Swing Slow Motion, you'll see flat or even a little drag bat during his swing. I choose to believe in swing path of Ted Williams and Josh Donaldson, because even Pujols himself swing the same way as upper cut swing.

[@-n_hunter8403]

lch99310 what he's saying is a lazy flyball swing is exactly how he swings...thats why there are great coaches and great players

[@jeremyblascoe8711]

Did you just mention the pathetic Josh Donaldson in the same sentence as Ted Williams and Albert pujols? Wow. Pujols had one of the flatest swings you'll ever see. That's why he always hit around or above .300, was hard to strike out, and used the while field. I'll take the man at his word. Josh Donaldson is a one year wonder that has been figures out. Elevated heaters and change ups and now he sucks. Typical launch angle guy .230 batting avg and 25 homeruns with a 30% strike out rate. You can have him

[@willshad]

If you watch enough of these hitting instruction videos, you only come to one conclusion. Each individual needs to do what feels comfortable for them and gives them success. Trying to give 'universal' advice is pointless.

[@clintonpullen4955]

I agree

[@scottwesley5018]

Not sure how people can say albert doesnt do this when he swings. If you watch the most important thing is not bringing the knob to the ball, but hitting the ball where it is pitched and developing a relationship to where the ball is pitched leading the bat and letting the body erupt around it. Of course it looks different at full speed when he incorporated the rest of his body. Its like a golfer doing a waggle preswing. The waggle should be the exact same wrist and arm motion through impact but it will look different when the body turns

[@hocheye]

Albert Pujols may practice on the tee doing this but his swing is as stated elsewhere is fairly flat with a slight uppercut to elevate the baseball.The main things in his very nice swing he slots his back elbow early keeps his hands up and inside the ball, let's the ball travel and has a violent hip turn, outstanding!

[@frankiefiggs1814]

he might THINK that but he doesn't swing like that at all. Albert does NOT chop at the ball like he showed @ 1:03. Also, the head of the bat HAS to drop on pitches below your hands, doesn't it?

[@reptilianshapeshiftingmast6656]

Wow.....Harold had hair

[@17Helton]

1) Never forget you are always 2 years younger than your actual age.

[@Rambomode92]

Man, his English is miles better than when he came in.

[@Pr0gamingelite]

It’s like Harold asked how he doesn’t hit

[@kensnedegar5925]

Albert Pujols my favorite hitter and home run hitter in baseball

[@nicholaslaskey9469]

first part is right but once he throws the hands or knob(is what tony gwynn says as well) he doesnt finish down though. Thats just feel vs real lol. You stay on the plane as long as you can keeping the palm up finishing up. Ive watched so many hitter in slow mo. All the greats hands and feet start and finish the same. Except some of the really old ones.

[@ryanpellegrini1023]

I just watched a video of Pujols in slowmo. He does not swing like he said he does AT ALL. He gets on plain then drives the knob through, but its definitely not on a downward plain like chopping wood

[@Botothe.e]

Yea he is terrible at reenactment f his swing on set.

[@coachv4712]

I am a hitting coach, I played ball and it is beyond my imagination why there is about 4 or 5 guys in the Majors that preach hitting down on the ball but when you see their actual swing they don't. And they have a bunch of little league and youtube coaches confused teaching kids to hit ground balls, bc that's the only thing you gonna get when you hit down on the ball. Read JD story on how he changed his swing from hitting down to turning his barrel up and how he went from being okay to an exceptional hitter and how amazed he was realizing he was taught wrong. The only thing that comes to my mind is that maybe they just want to say what they are doing is unique and difference and they discovered something..the swing path hasn't changed since Babe Ruth, you can change your stance, your load, your stride, your mental approach, even your swing..but there is only one bat path to hit the ball to the outfield or out of the ball park.

[@jsans2520]

If your body is in an athletic position then you don't have to worry about launch angles because your body will create it as it turns in the swing. The hands have one job and that's to get on plane with the pitch, legs provide power, athletic position provides the launch angle and if you look at Pujols he's so good at getting into an athletic position that he can afford to use this principal with his hands he doesn't have to force a ball in the air

[@Pr0gamingelite]

jsans2520 someone doesn’t know what launch angle is

[@jsans2520]

XxXxXxXx I know what launch angle is but you don't know what hitting is lmao

[@Pr0gamingelite]

jsans2520 I know a lot actually

[@ZahNoxy]

XxXxXxXx you probably won’t get drafted or play in the mlb and hit 600 homeruns

[@STLtones2326]

I miss big albert in a cardinals uniform such amazing player.

[@bigpoison408]

He's back

[@johndeagle4389]

Where do Pujols' hands finish? Are they down or up over his shoulders?

[@natnaelberhanu-i8w]

The strategy behind hitting a baseball in real life is similar to even a baseball video game.

[@funmachine3]

They should've thrown soft toss to Albert so he could demonstrate the drill. Soft toss where you literally hit the balls with the knob of the bat

[@johnbrowntheprophet]

Great advice. I never knew that.

[@marpar3971]

tony gwynn said the same thing take the knob to the ball

[@matthewpetrone3873]

So, none of that actually happens in the game. That's just what he's trying to feeling while preparing.

[@abyssalreclass]

Wish I knew this way back when I played Little league. Hitting I usually grounded out to first base.

[@chriscarpenter317]

Hey Teacherman, this is how you hit a baseball!

[@ljvallot8255]

Keys to hitting baseball Palm Up Palm Down Barrel Below Hands Keep Your head between feet Arms still bent at point of contact AXIS TILT at contact AFTER CONTACT EXTEND Pivot To first base, Turning on the ball

[@steveregal6321]

Knob of the bat and the barrel will follow ? I wish I was thought that as a kid, I was taught to follow the ball to the barrel of my bat. So I practiced by finding the smallest rocks and pebbles I could find n I’d throw them up n hit them over and over. Eventually hitting a baseball was like trying to hit water on a surf board. Only difference is I was a singles and doubles hitter lead off type of guy, very fast strongly arm vacuum at short stop

[@MoneyOverFame]

LEGEND!

[@suckerfree23]

If I had youtube when I was in little league...

[@Pr0gamingelite]

suckerfree23 he’s wrong tho

[@miggyluvsbaseball4828]

XxXxXxXx how I want to know because I want to get better at baseball and there is so much stuff on KZbin and I don’t know who to listen too

[@hoteltrivago1380]

Miggy Luvs baseball I know this is 2 years late, but hopefully it is not too late. Basically, all the advice these guys give out is not helpful, because everybody needs different cues to be able to be successful. Why do you think every successful baseball hitter has a different swing? Nobody has the same swing. You have to find what works for you, not what works for Albert for example. I remember studying Manny Ramirez’s swing so much, that I started to try to swing just like him. All I did was just waste a month of my time. You can’t swing like someone else, you have to swing like yourself. Be you and true to yourself, grind 4-5 times a week, and you will become successful. All you have to remember, is be true to yourself and your swing. Good luck bro

[@icommentsometimes]

Ayyyy you posted

[@josephbassil4171]

It's a shame how most people do not understand simple physics. What Albert Pujols is saying is that he wants to take his knob to the ball is almost like saying take your hands directly to the ball. When you do that the speed of your hands moves the bat so the barrel is trying to catch up with your hands which it cannot. That is how the barrel gets on plane with the ball. You have people out here teaching you how to manipulate the barrel to get to the ball which is this total garbage.

[@FremontLeland]

He went to the high school I play against

[@Wolverine8091]

Legend

[@coreybraaten8355]

The machine

[@luimba761]

i saw him hitting a HR for dodgers and he had a leg kick.

[@junebuggy34]

Yikes to the boot and jean combo

[@Leroy-gg5qg]

I believe him ❤😊

[@awakentotruthmichaelsmith4698]

It’s funny how what guys think they do or what they think of in their mind and what they actually do, are 2 different things. Why didn’t Harold pull up some of his home runs and doubles and they would see that he didn’t chop the ball at that steep angle, Nor has any power hitter in history

[@antonymolina8399]

Top 10 de todos los tiempo seguro! Y cuidadito si top 5 al tener siertas consideraciones y si no lo creen más de 600hr , más de tres mil hit casi 2000 rbi , las 10 mejores temporadas para un pelotero en la historia con 300 prom, 100rbi, 30hr en sus primeras 10 y lo más importante sin ped o esteroides y lo mejor dominicano

[@hyzercreek]

I have no idea what "stay on top of the ball" means.

[@brandon_white2422]

He's literally chopping at it rn. He doesn't actually do what he's explaining

[@dainland432]

If you hit a ball like that you have to be really strong (like Pujols is) to do anything effective with the pitch.

[@j3r1659]

It’s just what makes sense in his head and what I like is that he knows that. He feels like that’s what he does but it’s not lol whatever works for him. He’s one of the greatest hitters of all time

[@sergioramos1161]

That’s what Tony Gwinn taught

[@stereo-type1510]

So basically just hold your knob....

[@charleshall4810]

HAW OID ARE YOU IN 2018

[@Cadensum04]

I love the Cardinals and when he left it made us hurt, until 2011

[@johndeagle4389]

Pujols is right about staying inside the ball. Redundant.Every swing is inside the ball.

[@taylormillion7244]

Ok, so who's right? Pujols or Donaldson????

[@lamelmazerouno9332]

Taylor Million one has over 600 homeruns and 3000 hits, who do you think is right?

[@taylormillion7244]

La melma zero uno ooooiooooooooooooooo um pudedey yum po ah

[@lRosettaStonedl]

Taylor Million Donaldson has a better explanation of the swing. Pujols is doing mostly the same thing. Pujols just doesn't load or kick as much, but from launch they are doing the same thing, and neither of them are taking the knob down to the ball.

[@taylormillion7244]

Branden Nong ok fosho.. i got you

[@steezyybrah9745]

Pujols is alot bigger, so for someone his size i can see how this works for him, Donaldson has to generate alot of power from his body and load (i know it sounds funny lol) basically by Donaldson taking his big power step and stepping out hes able to make his body become like a rubber band so he can generate enough power for a home run, Pujols doesn't really need to that. hes a beast lol

[@brendancicalo6994]

The first way he demonstrates is how he thinks the second way is actually how he swings.

[@andyserna3709]

Brendan Cicalo totally agree with you. If you watch tape of any of these guys hitting, even Ted Williams, they all hit the opposite of what they think. They all get the bat on path with a slightly upper cut swing with the barrel of the bat below their hands. The bat is even below Pujol’s hands in the image of him behind Reynolds.

[@TheMayhem16]

He would literally bat .060 or less if he took that hack

[@antonymolina8399]

Tenemos dos dominicanos con 3000 y 600 y el que diga que Álex no es dominicano no respeta la constitución dominicana porque clara mente dice los hijos de armenos un padre dominicano se considera dominicano

[@tdhartman]

700

[@callaghanbrakepads6823]

San

[@johndeagle4389]

Pujols does not swing like 1:13 in a game. He swings like 1:20. It's funny how great hitters like Pujols, Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez cannot teach how they actually swing in a baseball game. They are great hitters and terrible teachers.

[@chriscarter7371]

No no, turn the barrel first

[@omny6686]

Drills pay bills

[@timothysickel505]

If Pujols says, Pujols is right... the best hitter, maybe aside from ARod, of ALL TIME.

[@TheMayhem16]

If u watch this.... do not do any of that..... even Albert dznt do what he’s saying he tried to do... Antonelli 100% correct it’s feel vs real....

[@baseballworldwide1280]

Dude is a legend, but his clothing style... Debatable

[@jhaglili]

OMG his pants are so baggy

[@Drescher1984]

Man, Mr. Pujols needs to be a batting coach after his done playing.

[@JohnRayD]

Outdated information to the 10th power

[@jacksonvance7404]

If i hear one more announcer say launch angle and use it incorrectly. Idiots. Also Albert doesn’t do any of this feel vs real

[@calchance3799]

Jackson Vance he’s my favorite player of all time but I feel like the reason he’s hitting 260 every year is because he doesn’t stay inside the ball like he was talking about back then. He literally hooks everything😂

[@jacksonvance7404]

Cal Chance he hits 260 because he’s 40 Something and can’t get to 95+

[@x.triipp3129]

what is he wearing? 😭

[@robkutner3193]

absolutely hilarious. never listen to a big leaguer describe their swings. Chris OLeary's flipbooks and video show him doing the exact opposite on real swings. 'Feel' has nothing to do w/ 'real.'

[@wowwt]

Nowadays he does have a different swing approach and that is due to him being forced to because of injuries in the past causing him to change his stance and swing. Back in the day this is what he attempts to do and same thing with other hitters like arod and bonds if you watch arods video on hitting. It will never be perfect but it is a mindset that you want to have when going in and ofc different situations where you need to hit a ball in a certain direction in order to move the runner ect.

[@stellabiteme]

He is so gorgeous.

[@magelhanna5566]

Your one of the best but this does not make any sense

[@danejurus69]

He's bullshitting because that's not what he does.

[@johndeagle4389]

The head of the bat drops below his hands. His hands are not above the barrel in a real swing. This is a terrible demonstration. F minus. Great hitter. One of the best. Terrible teacher. Google Ted Williams.

[@johndeagle4389]

Josh Donaldson is a much better teacher.

[@jayking7043]

Second

[@TimT64317]

First

[@chrisg3492]

This is so bad

[@andrewkim485]

Nah albert youre not that good

[@penagomez1863]

600+ homeruns and his not that good

[@andrewkim485]

peña Gómez yeah totally

[@penagomez1863]

@@andrewkim485 it's sarcasm right

[@andrewkim485]

peña Gómez pity you had to ask me that 🤪😂

[@penagomez1863]

@@andrewkim485 😂😅bueno total

[@willruelas3529]

Harold is the worst analyst in any sport