Thread by @SteveEnglishbey

Well, first things first and conforming to my developed sense of "questioning the premise" I'll say this: The "lean back" is a RESUALTANT, i.e., it is an EFFECT of prior movements/muscle actions. And as such, it has ZERO "contribution" to any so-called "adjustment."

https://twitter.com/ItDiscovers/status/1474275604744790035

Thus, the obvious implication of what I am saying is this: From a causal---and most importantly---a TEACHING perspective THE most important question is along the lines of:

What movements/muscle actions/postural dynamics are involved in optimally "lining up" with a low/outside location?

Within this kind of conceptual framework, I would add this well developed principle [that I have come to utilize MANY times in trying to understand complex/ballistic movement]:

Not all seemingly similar movement is....."created equally." In THIS context, this means that not ALL "lean backs" are...."created equally."

Meaning that, in this context of trying to optimally "line up" with a low /outside pitch, there CAN [and typically IS] a BIG difference between "adjusting" via LATERAL FLEXION ["back side bending"] vs. SUBTLE modulation of lead hip FLEXION/ABDUCTION...

...typically happening from toe touch to full heel plant. In this context I will once again assert that ..."the hips are the bottom of the swing plane."

Again meaning that the more proximal actions of the pelvic region can ----and typically do in the specific context of numerous elite level hitters---substantially contribute to "lining up" well on a ball.

Are there other components that contribute? OF COURSE! But in this context/question of "lean back" I did want to try to address some things that Slay's question did not really include/address

Let me add a few more points that I think are relevant here. Yrs. ago Paul Nyman asked Jesse Barfield along the lines of ..."when do you really see a curveball?" Answer: I see it BEFORE release.

This answer is VERY consistent with the motor learning concept of..."anticipation." Established research which finds that elite level athletes develop a greater capacity---via "external cues" tacitly derived ---to better "see"/predict the future.

In the context of elite level hitters, this translates into beginning to recognize pitch speed/location BEFORE full foot plant. Which, I would argue, then allows subtle manipulations---in the more proximal region [the pelvis] to happen...from toe touch to full heel plant.

And THIS kind of subtle manipulation is consistent with a basic principle that I think is very rational from a biomechanical/physiological perspective.

Which is this: When in doubt [so to speak] when trying to optimize force/momentum in a ballistic context, try to maximize contributions from the MOST powerful segments [in this case that is the pelvic region musculature].

So, with all of the above in mind I would say this about Slay's original question: In the context of elite hitters and how they "adjust" on low/outside locations I would answer by saying:

They have developed a high level degree of "anticipation" [cognitive/"feedforward" processing] AND optimal manipulation of the more proximal actions happening within the pelvic musculature.

And would add to Slay et al feel free to in any manner argue otherwise.

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