Walkers Swing

[Cardinals1964]

https://x.com/thepainguy/status/2024290 ... 67644?s=20

That swing looks great.

[Cardinals1964]

I have no idea what the OP is talking about. His swing is far better now that he isn't doing the ridiculously straight-up stance but is crouching much more a la fellow giant Aaron Judge.

Walker - https://x.com/thomasgauvain/status/2024 ... 28132?s=20
Judge - https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUqv1W8Dvb4/

Do I think it will help? Only a little, as his major problem is pitch recognition.

He’s staying back on the ball and not collapsing his him early. That’s what he said he worked on at driveline.
Looks very similar to Judge. I guess Judge is bad too.

[Cardinals1964]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

Watched a video of him the other night on the Matrix Midwest app..shows him hitting...and some questions and answers on the team chemistry and stuff...and his new hobby...whichnis bowling....he seemed very exited for this year ...looked in fantastic shape...I thought his swing looked great...collapses quite a bit on the back leg ...not sure I'd that is for lift and power...just seemed more exaggerated than normal...I think he will be decent for the first 30 to 40 games ...then he's going to get hot and get his confidence back...would be so nice to have him as a threat in the middle of the order .

Honestly this is the op just having such a negative mindset that he can't view anything as positive. If Albert Pujols himself claimed Walkers swing looked good he would claim he was just being nice. He is one of the leaders of the I told you so fanclub.

Correct. He must be a real hoot at parties.
Far and away the most negative poster on the board.
That stated, I am sure that Bloom hangs on his every insightful word, and Walker will be cut shortly.

Has he ever posted anything positive?

Not in his DNA.

You’re funny Paige. Remember last fall when I was pounding the table to bring up JJ. You scoffed at that “positive review”…..so it really doesn’t matter what I type here….I’ll get the negative feedback lol:
Getting back to JJ…..who appears to be starting for the Cards when they leave camp…those couple weeks of AAA time INSTEAD of bringing him up for a cup of coffee last fall must’ve been the all important boost to allow him to start in the Cards lineup in ‘26

Was you being positive on JJ or negative on management not bringing him up?

[Cardinals1964]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

I’ve only seen 2 videos. Where are you getting many videos? I want to see more. Can’t find them.

[Voldemort]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

I’ve only seen 2 videos. Where are you getting many videos? I want to see more. Can’t find them.

Exactly! Two videos are not enough to truly judge what is happening in his swing, though I really like what I see in these two videos. Also, it will be helpful to him and the coaching staff to see his game swings. It is so easy for a hitter to revert to what they did before making changes.

[Goldfan]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

I’ve only seen 2 videos. Where are you getting many videos? I want to see more. Can’t find them.

Exactly! Two videos are not enough to truly judge what is happening in his swing, though I really like what I see in these two videos. Also, it will be helpful to him and the coaching staff to see his game swings. It is so easy for a hitter to revert to what they did before making changes.

The vid I posted has several swings. And if you think the Judge setup and swing are similar to Walkers…..I don’t know what to say

[Voldemort]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

I’ve only seen 2 videos. Where are you getting many videos? I want to see more. Can’t find them.

Exactly! Two videos are not enough to truly judge what is happening in his swing, though I really like what I see in these two videos. Also, it will be helpful to him and the coaching staff to see his game swings. It is so easy for a hitter to revert to what they did before making changes.

The vid I posted has several swings. And if you think the Judge setup and swing are similar to Walkers…..I don’t know what to say

I didn't say that Judge's swings were similar to Walker's swings. I said that his swings are a vast improvement over his swing from last year. I explained why I thought so. How about you break down the difference between Judge's swing and Walker's swing for all of us?

[Melville]

It's probably going to be a .220 season. Some players of his size use their length to their advantage. He doesn't. Unfortunately i think he's just going to keep being susceptible and flailing at sliders low and away. MLB pitchers are good enough to keep exposing that. I desperately hope i'm wrong

You are correct.
But there is an answer - which I was first to identify and explain to all.
He needs to close his stance.
That would allow him to fully leverage his length to greatest level of effectiveness.
The Cardinals have stupidly and persistently tried to force him into being a pull happy power hitter hunting inner-half pitches simply because he is big.
Never going to work.
He needs to focus on being a line drive hard contact hitter who feasts on pitches middle and away.
Not popular in today's game - but it is nonetheless exactly what he needs to do.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Have you ever studied hitting? How does closing your stance "leverage his length?" What the hell does that mean? Please explain it.

I will explain it with clarity and perfection, as you kindly requested.
By opening up his stance to hunt inside pitches he hopes to pull (as the coaching staff has stupidly demanded), he leaves himself badly exposed on the outer half.
And pitchers are predictably shredding him there.
Dumb.
His length gives him innate physical advantage to cover more of the hitting zone - both width and height.
And as everyone knows from basic physics, length increases leverage which increases strength.
He is giving away his greatest advantage with his open stance.
Close the stance, cover the hitting zone, and he will automatically make more hard contact - which is all he needs to do.
Natural scientific principles will take it from there.

So, you can't define what you meant. BTW, what you prescribe as a cure will simply enable pitchers to throw inside to him. A closed stance also inhibits the back hip from "getting through" on balls. A closed stance with a hitter who has arms as long as Walker will ensure that the thin part of the bat will be over the plate, so he will get sawed off a lot. The limited video posted of Walker thus far on this site demonstrates that Walker is doing exactly what he needs to do. He is no longer vertically stacked or in a position where he is standing almost straight up and has a limited load. In the video, he is setting pelvic tilt, which will, inturn enable him to have pelvic tilt into lateral tilt. He was not efficient last year.

Incorrect.
You are making the elementary error of confusing a more closed stance with crowding the plate.
Understandable mistake on your part - it is what happens when someone is entrenched in his own assumptions which inevitably limits comprehension.
No one is saying he should have a completley closed stance.
But is absolutely needs to be more closed than it is.
He is simply giving away his natural advantage with the open pull happy stance the team forced him into.
Results are ample evidence of this obvious truth.
He is artificially and unnecessarily trying to create pull power, which given his physical attributes and best skill set, he does not need to do.
Close his stance, start square to the pitcher and the ball, take full advantage of his of his length which provides leverage, and simply focus on making hard contact in the outer half of the zone (everyone is fully aware of the truth that it is far easier to adjust and react on inside pitches than outside pitches) and he will be fine.
Also, as others have noted, pitch recognition has been a challenge which makes an open stance even more problematic as it forces him to make earlier swing decisions - and a more closed stance would help by making him quicker and shorter to the ball.
I suspect you will argue the point simply for the sake of doing so, which is fine.
I am kind and gracious to a fault, always welcoming others to share however they choose.
But my take is indisputably correct - which I can explain further if need be.

[OldRed]

It's probably going to be a .220 season. Some players of his size use their length to their advantage. He doesn't. Unfortunately i think he's just going to keep being susceptible and flailing at sliders low and away. MLB pitchers are good enough to keep exposing that. I desperately hope i'm wrong

You are correct.
But there is an answer - which I was first to identify and explain to all.
He needs to close his stance.
That would allow him to fully leverage his length to greatest level of effectiveness.
The Cardinals have stupidly and persistently tried to force him into being a pull happy power hitter hunting inner-half pitches simply because he is big.
Never going to work.
He needs to focus on being a line drive hard contact hitter who feasts on pitches middle and away.
Not popular in today's game - but it is nonetheless exactly what he needs to do.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Have you ever studied hitting? How does closing your stance "leverage his length?" What the hell does that mean? Please explain it.

I will explain it with clarity and perfection, as you kindly requested.
By opening up his stance to hunt inside pitches he hopes to pull (as the coaching staff has stupidly demanded), he leaves himself badly exposed on the outer half.
And pitchers are predictably shredding him there.
Dumb.
His length gives him innate physical advantage to cover more of the hitting zone - both width and height.
And as everyone knows from basic physics, length increases leverage which increases strength.
He is giving away his greatest advantage with his open stance.
Close the stance, cover the hitting zone, and he will automatically make more hard contact - which is all he needs to do.
Natural scientific principles will take it from there.

So, you can't define what you meant. BTW, what you prescribe as a cure will simply enable pitchers to throw inside to him. A closed stance also inhibits the back hip from "getting through" on balls. A closed stance with a hitter who has arms as long as Walker will ensure that the thin part of the bat will be over the plate, so he will get sawed off a lot. The limited video posted of Walker thus far on this site demonstrates that Walker is doing exactly what he needs to do. He is no longer vertically stacked or in a position where he is standing almost straight up and has a limited load. In the video, he is setting pelvic tilt, which will, inturn enable him to have pelvic tilt into lateral tilt. He was not efficient last year.

Incorrect.
You are making the elementary error of confusing a more closed stance with crowding the plate.
Understandable mistake on your part - it is what happens when someone is entrenched in his own assumptions which inevitably limits comprehension.
No one is saying he should have a completley closed stance.
But is absolutely needs to be more closed than it is.
He is simply giving away his natural advantage with the open pull happy stance the team forced him into.
Results are ample evidence of this obvious truth.
He is artificially and unnecessarily trying to create pull power, which given his physical attributes and best skill set, he does not need to do.
Close his stance, start square to the pitcher and the ball, take full advantage of his of his length which provides leverage, and simply focus on making hard contact in the outer half of the zone (everyone is fully aware of the truth that it is far easier to adjust and react on inside pitches than outside pitches) and he will be fine.
Also, as others have noted, pitch recognition has been a challenge which makes an open stance even more problematic as it forces him to make earlier swing decisions - and a more closed stance would help by making him quicker and shorter to the ball.
I suspect you will argue the point simply for the sake of doing so, which is fine.
I am kind and gracious to a fault, always welcoming others to share however they choose.
But my take is indisputably correct - which I can explain further if need be.

Stance has nothing to do with being in the correct position when the ball is in the hitting zone.

[Melville]

It's probably going to be a .220 season. Some players of his size use their length to their advantage. He doesn't. Unfortunately i think he's just going to keep being susceptible and flailing at sliders low and away. MLB pitchers are good enough to keep exposing that. I desperately hope i'm wrong

You are correct.
But there is an answer - which I was first to identify and explain to all.
He needs to close his stance.
That would allow him to fully leverage his length to greatest level of effectiveness.
The Cardinals have stupidly and persistently tried to force him into being a pull happy power hitter hunting inner-half pitches simply because he is big.
Never going to work.
He needs to focus on being a line drive hard contact hitter who feasts on pitches middle and away.
Not popular in today's game - but it is nonetheless exactly what he needs to do.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Have you ever studied hitting? How does closing your stance "leverage his length?" What the hell does that mean? Please explain it.

I will explain it with clarity and perfection, as you kindly requested.
By opening up his stance to hunt inside pitches he hopes to pull (as the coaching staff has stupidly demanded), he leaves himself badly exposed on the outer half.
And pitchers are predictably shredding him there.
Dumb.
His length gives him innate physical advantage to cover more of the hitting zone - both width and height.
And as everyone knows from basic physics, length increases leverage which increases strength.
He is giving away his greatest advantage with his open stance.
Close the stance, cover the hitting zone, and he will automatically make more hard contact - which is all he needs to do.
Natural scientific principles will take it from there.

So, you can't define what you meant. BTW, what you prescribe as a cure will simply enable pitchers to throw inside to him. A closed stance also inhibits the back hip from "getting through" on balls. A closed stance with a hitter who has arms as long as Walker will ensure that the thin part of the bat will be over the plate, so he will get sawed off a lot. The limited video posted of Walker thus far on this site demonstrates that Walker is doing exactly what he needs to do. He is no longer vertically stacked or in a position where he is standing almost straight up and has a limited load. In the video, he is setting pelvic tilt, which will, inturn enable him to have pelvic tilt into lateral tilt. He was not efficient last year.

Incorrect.
You are making the elementary error of confusing a more closed stance with crowding the plate.
Understandable mistake on your part - it is what happens when someone is entrenched in his own assumptions which inevitably limits comprehension.
No one is saying he should have a completley closed stance.
But is absolutely needs to be more closed than it is.
He is simply giving away his natural advantage with the open pull happy stance the team forced him into.
Results are ample evidence of this obvious truth.
He is artificially and unnecessarily trying to create pull power, which given his physical attributes and best skill set, he does not need to do.
Close his stance, start square to the pitcher and the ball, take full advantage of his of his length which provides leverage, and simply focus on making hard contact in the outer half of the zone (everyone is fully aware of the truth that it is far easier to adjust and react on inside pitches than outside pitches) and he will be fine.
Also, as others have noted, pitch recognition has been a challenge which makes an open stance even more problematic as it forces him to make earlier swing decisions - and a more closed stance would help by making him quicker and shorter to the ball.
I suspect you will argue the point simply for the sake of doing so, which is fine.
I am kind and gracious to a fault, always welcoming others to share however they choose.
But my take is indisputably correct - which I can explain further if need be.

Stance has nothing to do with being in the correct position when the ball is in the hitting zone.

It has everything to do with getting in the correct position when the ball is in the hitting zone.
Some hitters benefit from an open stance, others (Pujols, famously) benefit from starting square to the pitcher and ball.
Given his natural length, leverage, and strength Walker does not need to pull the ball, and he does not need to cheat on inside pitches.
I have watched the videos in this thread - Walker has very clearly moved his left foot closer to a squared position, and that is promising.
It is no guarantee, but it certainly is a "step" in the right direction.

[OldRed]

It's probably going to be a .220 season. Some players of his size use their length to their advantage. He doesn't. Unfortunately i think he's just going to keep being susceptible and flailing at sliders low and away. MLB pitchers are good enough to keep exposing that. I desperately hope i'm wrong

You are correct.
But there is an answer - which I was first to identify and explain to all.
He needs to close his stance.
That would allow him to fully leverage his length to greatest level of effectiveness.
The Cardinals have stupidly and persistently tried to force him into being a pull happy power hitter hunting inner-half pitches simply because he is big.
Never going to work.
He needs to focus on being a line drive hard contact hitter who feasts on pitches middle and away.
Not popular in today's game - but it is nonetheless exactly what he needs to do.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Have you ever studied hitting? How does closing your stance "leverage his length?" What the hell does that mean? Please explain it.

I will explain it with clarity and perfection, as you kindly requested.
By opening up his stance to hunt inside pitches he hopes to pull (as the coaching staff has stupidly demanded), he leaves himself badly exposed on the outer half.
And pitchers are predictably shredding him there.
Dumb.
His length gives him innate physical advantage to cover more of the hitting zone - both width and height.
And as everyone knows from basic physics, length increases leverage which increases strength.
He is giving away his greatest advantage with his open stance.
Close the stance, cover the hitting zone, and he will automatically make more hard contact - which is all he needs to do.
Natural scientific principles will take it from there.

So, you can't define what you meant. BTW, what you prescribe as a cure will simply enable pitchers to throw inside to him. A closed stance also inhibits the back hip from "getting through" on balls. A closed stance with a hitter who has arms as long as Walker will ensure that the thin part of the bat will be over the plate, so he will get sawed off a lot. The limited video posted of Walker thus far on this site demonstrates that Walker is doing exactly what he needs to do. He is no longer vertically stacked or in a position where he is standing almost straight up and has a limited load. In the video, he is setting pelvic tilt, which will, inturn enable him to have pelvic tilt into lateral tilt. He was not efficient last year.

Incorrect.
You are making the elementary error of confusing a more closed stance with crowding the plate.
Understandable mistake on your part - it is what happens when someone is entrenched in his own assumptions which inevitably limits comprehension.
No one is saying he should have a completley closed stance.
But is absolutely needs to be more closed than it is.
He is simply giving away his natural advantage with the open pull happy stance the team forced him into.
Results are ample evidence of this obvious truth.
He is artificially and unnecessarily trying to create pull power, which given his physical attributes and best skill set, he does not need to do.
Close his stance, start square to the pitcher and the ball, take full advantage of his of his length which provides leverage, and simply focus on making hard contact in the outer half of the zone (everyone is fully aware of the truth that it is far easier to adjust and react on inside pitches than outside pitches) and he will be fine.
Also, as others have noted, pitch recognition has been a challenge which makes an open stance even more problematic as it forces him to make earlier swing decisions - and a more closed stance would help by making him quicker and shorter to the ball.
I suspect you will argue the point simply for the sake of doing so, which is fine.
I am kind and gracious to a fault, always welcoming others to share however they choose.
But my take is indisputably correct - which I can explain further if need be.

Stance has nothing to do with being in the correct position when the ball is in the hitting zone.

It has everything to do with getting in the correct position when the ball is in the hitting zone.
Some hitters benefit from an open stance, others (Pujols, famously) benefit from starting square to the pitcher and ball.
Given his natural length, leverage, and strength Walker does not need to pull the ball, and he does not need to cheat on inside pitches.
I have watched the videos in this thread - Walker has very clearly moved his left foot closer to a squared position, and that is promising.
It is no guarantee, but it certainly is a "step" in the right direction.

Check Herrera's stance and many others. It's about being in the right position to hit the ball when in the hitting zone. The Cardinals messed with Walker and tried to change him when he was hitting. Just another example of over coaching talent. I wonder what they would have done with Musial's stance.

[Voldemort]

It's probably going to be a .220 season. Some players of his size use their length to their advantage. He doesn't. Unfortunately i think he's just going to keep being susceptible and flailing at sliders low and away. MLB pitchers are good enough to keep exposing that. I desperately hope i'm wrong

You are correct.
But there is an answer - which I was first to identify and explain to all.
He needs to close his stance.
That would allow him to fully leverage his length to greatest level of effectiveness.
The Cardinals have stupidly and persistently tried to force him into being a pull happy power hitter hunting inner-half pitches simply because he is big.
Never going to work.
He needs to focus on being a line drive hard contact hitter who feasts on pitches middle and away.
Not popular in today's game - but it is nonetheless exactly what he needs to do.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Have you ever studied hitting? How does closing your stance "leverage his length?" What the hell does that mean? Please explain it.

I will explain it with clarity and perfection, as you kindly requested.
By opening up his stance to hunt inside pitches he hopes to pull (as the coaching staff has stupidly demanded), he leaves himself badly exposed on the outer half.
And pitchers are predictably shredding him there.
Dumb.
His length gives him innate physical advantage to cover more of the hitting zone - both width and height.
And as everyone knows from basic physics, length increases leverage which increases strength.
He is giving away his greatest advantage with his open stance.
Close the stance, cover the hitting zone, and he will automatically make more hard contact - which is all he needs to do.
Natural scientific principles will take it from there.

So, you can't define what you meant. BTW, what you prescribe as a cure will simply enable pitchers to throw inside to him. A closed stance also inhibits the back hip from "getting through" on balls. A closed stance with a hitter who has arms as long as Walker will ensure that the thin part of the bat will be over the plate, so he will get sawed off a lot. The limited video posted of Walker thus far on this site demonstrates that Walker is doing exactly what he needs to do. He is no longer vertically stacked or in a position where he is standing almost straight up and has a limited load. In the video, he is setting pelvic tilt, which will, inturn enable him to have pelvic tilt into lateral tilt. He was not efficient last year.

Incorrect.
You are making the elementary error of confusing a more closed stance with crowding the plate.
Understandable mistake on your part - it is what happens when someone is entrenched in his own assumptions which inevitably limits comprehension.
No one is saying he should have a completley closed stance.
But is absolutely needs to be more closed than it is.
He is simply giving away his natural advantage with the open pull happy stance the team forced him into.
Results are ample evidence of this obvious truth.
He is artificially and unnecessarily trying to create pull power, which given his physical attributes and best skill set, he does not need to do.
Close his stance, start square to the pitcher and the ball, take full advantage of his of his length which provides leverage, and simply focus on making hard contact in the outer half of the zone (everyone is fully aware of the truth that it is far easier to adjust and react on inside pitches than outside pitches) and he will be fine.
Also, as others have noted, pitch recognition has been a challenge which makes an open stance even more problematic as it forces him to make earlier swing decisions - and a more closed stance would help by making him quicker and shorter to the ball.
I suspect you will argue the point simply for the sake of doing so, which is fine.
I am kind and gracious to a fault, always welcoming others to share however they choose.
But my take is indisputably correct - which I can explain further if need be.

Your eyes must be brown since you're so full of s... A slightly open stance doesn't have anything to do with a person being pull-happy. Pull-happy hitters are "getting ahead of the pitch," which forces the barrel across the body and toward the pull side (left field for righties). "Flying open" is the premature rotation of the torso/shoulders, over-rotating, or poor timing, often caused by trying to pull the ball for maximum power.

A closed stance does a couple of things. First, it inhibits a hitter from getting both eyes on the ball. One of the main reasons a hitter has a slightly open stance is to do just that. Also, in a mechanically efficient swing, the rotation of the back hip straightens the front knee. A closed stance doesn't provide Walker with any advantages. His frame is long enough with a regular or slightly open stance to enable him to cover the entirety of the plate. It does make his suseptable to the inside pitch. Again, one of the primary results of a hitter using a closed stance is that they get the thin part of the bat over the plate. Walker would have to move a noticeable distance away from the plate in order not to do so. No wonder you didn't hit well when you played.

[scoutyjones2]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

I’ve only seen 2 videos. Where are you getting many videos? I want to see more. Can’t find them.

All lathered up over analyzing.
2 videos of 2 swings of batting practice pitches to start camp...you can't make this [shirt] up

[Goldfan]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

I’ve only seen 2 videos. Where are you getting many videos? I want to see more. Can’t find them.

All lathered up over analyzing.
2 videos of 2 swings of batting practice pitches to start camp...you can't make this [shirt] up

You don’t think its an issue with a player who has been terrible…..changed his stance 4-5x, comes into ST with a new one and doesn’t look very comfortable. Perhaps this player just isn’t very good and isn’t MLB caliber? Why all the excuses? What will be the excuse be if he falls on his (bleep) this season??

[OldRed]

I’ve watched many vids from ST
He looks off balanced
Not fluid
Awkward
Rear leg collapsing
A comment I saw on X summarizes it well.
He looks like an athlete from another sport attempting to take BP
He’s cooked.

I’ve only seen 2 videos. Where are you getting many videos? I want to see more. Can’t find them.

All lathered up over analyzing.
2 videos of 2 swings of batting practice pitches to start camp...you can't make this [shirt] up

You don’t think its an issue with a player who has been terrible…..changed his stance 4-5x, comes into ST with a new one and doesn’t look very comfortable. Perhaps this player just isn’t very good and isn’t MLB caliber? Why all the excuses? What will be the excuse be if he falls on his (bleep) this season??

This is a case of the Cardinals messing him up. If he fails this season, it is time to move on from him.

[Voldemort]

The Cardinals did not mess up Walker, per my understanding, because he refused to do what they asked him to do, and he stated it to the press. The few posted swings show a clear difference between Walker's swings of the past and the video swings. It is hard for an MLB player to make changes. Most revert to what they have always done in the past. The old saying is, "It's all that has worked in the past. It's all that will ever work." I heard Johnny Lewis say that years ago when addressing how hard it is to get MLB hitters to make changes.