Aaron Judge reaches for his bat, coils into his stance, and locks his eyes on a styrofoam cup sitting on a table nearby. In this demonstration, the tiny cup represents a baseball. Typically, a hitter seeks to launch his bat forward as quickly as possible. But Judge doesn’t do this. Instead, he begins with a backward shift of the barrel, which runs contrary to virtually all classic swing instruction. He finishes by using his powerful forearms to snap his bat quickly through the hitting zone, stopping just short of splattering the cup’s contents all over the clubhouse.



Rarely does Judge speak in detail of the swing he rebuilt with a self-taught, self-proclaimed “nobody” who had never before worked with a major league player. But understanding the confidence that has fueled Judge’s ascent requires a knowledge of its origins. So one morning before a recent game, he talked through the mechanics that transformed him from a .179 hitter to a bonafide New...