Improve your day by watching Ted Williams' swing in slow-mo
Please do enjoy the art and craft of the baseball swing, brought to you by the Splendid Splinter.
By
Dayn Perry
•
1 min read
We've learned quite a lot about hitting mechanics and swing efficiency over the years. Of course, hitting artisan Ted Williams had all of this and probably more figured out from a very ripe age, and his swing -- the embodiment of "smooth violence" when he uncoiled upon a pitch -- remains as close to the Platonic ideal as we'll ever get.
Now let us, you and I, uplift ourselves by watching Mr. Williams' swing in pleasing technicolor slow-motion ...
The marvels are too many to chronicle. What amazes me most about this is how Williams wastes so little energy -- he's singular in his movement toward the pitch. As much power as there is in his swing and as much of a complicated mix of the linear and the rotational as there is going on here, look at how still he keeps his head throughout the whole affair. Remarkable.
I'm not sure of the date of this footage, but his willowy appearance suggests that this was reasonably early in his career. In a real way, Ted Williams had it figured out from the start.
Working assumption: The ball went a long way.
(Wink of CBS eye: Reddit Baseball)
