This post has two parts. A setup, then a story. The setup will discuss Miguel Cabrera and his natural hitting ability. The story is about Chris Colabello. Read the whole thing as the two parts blend together. This will likely be the most important post I’ll ever make at TewksHitting.com.

Please Note:

There is a lot of video on this page. Viewing on cell phones without 4G will need some time before all video is loaded!

Part 1: Miguel Cabrera Is a “Natural Hitter” Just Like Everybody Else

During Sunday night’s Tigers/Rangers game, one of the announcers mentioned that Jim Leyland said Miguel Cabrera has the best opposite field power of any hitter he’s ever seen. Big words from a guy with a rich baseball history. (Remember that guy named Bonds that Leyland coached?)

Here’s a look at the first of three homers Cabrera hit that night:

I was fairly busy on Twitter that night shamelessly plugging my May 6 post on Cabrera – Miguel Cabrera is the Best Hitter in Baseball – when a question popped into my head. Here was my tweet:

The big question… Why do coaches keep pushing info that prevents what Cabrera does?? — Bobby Tewksbary (@TewksHitting) May 20, 2013

Miguel Cabrera is a special hitter. But WHY is he so special?

Is he the best athlete in the big leagues? No.

Does he have the best bat speed? No.

Is he the best hitter? Yes.

The perception is that Cabrera is just a natural hitter. And he is… just like everybody else.

Everybody has a natural swing. Everybody is a natural hitter. It’s just that Cabrera’s “natural” happens to make him the best hitter on the planet.

The missing piece is that when stating that Cabrera is a “natural hitter,” people ignore the concept that HOW he swings – the pattern he uses, the characteristics he creates – is an incredibly significant factor in his ability to perform. They don’t differentiate between the way he swings compared to other hitters. They don’t look at his swing objectively compared to other hitters who are just as good athletically, are just as strong and have just as good hand-eye coordination.

If he swung differently, he would perform differently. Built into his “natural” ability is a swing pattern that creates a mechanical advantage.

And this is where my issue with “traditional” swing mechanics begins. Instead of trying to achieve his swing pattern, the vast majority of coaches opt to teach what is traditional. The write off what Cabrera does as impossible to teach just because Cabrera happens to do it naturally.

Here is a tweet that I got in response to the above question. This was from a scout, but it doesn’t matter who it came from because this is the most typical response I get.

@tewkshitting it’s a safer bet to coach what is more traditional, IMO.

In my eyes, “safe” means teaching something far inferior. It means decreasing a hitter’s opportunity to be successful. Hitters need to learn some way to hit. They need to learn and ingrain some set of mechanics. After thousands of swings, it will become “natural” to them. It will become their normal. So choosing the safe option will create a “natural” swing for those hitters too… It will just be a swing that is different than what Cabrera does.

Now let’s move on to Part 2.

Part Two – Chris Colabello’s Changed His “Normal” Swing (And You Can Too)

In light of Leyland’s comment on Cabrera and opposite field power, I texted Chris to ask him how many center or opposite field home runs he had hit IN HIS LIFE before the 2011 season. (We started working together after his 2010 season. His answer:

Up to that point in his career, Chris had been a successful player in the Can Am League for six years. And make no mistake about it – he was a good hitter. He hit over .300 each year, had seasons of 8, 7, 13, 16, 9, and 13 homers.

I can’t track down the official game recaps, but it is safe to say that Chris has over 20 center field or opposite field home runs since the 2012 season began. Here is a spray chart of his home runs I made up for the 2013 season alone:

So a guy who had 5-7 home runs to center or the opposite field in his life before the 2011 season now has 8 in just 49 games in 2013. (5 WBC, 44 AAA regular season.)

UPDATE:

Chris hit another homer last night – a grand slam to right field. So add another dot to right on that spray chart! Here’s what the Rochester Red Wing broadcaster tweeted out last night.

Colabello’s GS went to RF. Each of last 6 HRs have gone to CF, RCF or RF. Hasn’t pulled one of them. Teams keep pitching him away. — Josh Whetzel (@JoshWhetzel) May 21, 2013

Now we need to take a look at his swing to understand what is allowing this change in performance to happen. Let’s start with the first video I have of Chris.

Chris Colabello “Before” – 2007 – 2010

January 2007 – Side & Behind Views (Same Swing)

(Nice hair, CC!)

February 2008 – Behind View

And here is some game video of Chris from that time as well.

Game Swing – 2008 – Front and Side Views

Game Swing – 2010 – Front View

2011 Season

We first started talking about swing mechanics after the 2010 season. In 2011, he had a very strong season (.348 with 32 doubles, 20 HR, 79 RBI, 1.010 OPS in 92 games) and was named the 2011 Baseball America Independent Player of the Year.

This was the only video I was able to get that 2011 Season:

2011 – Homer to Center, Single to Left

2011-2012 Off-Season

After the 2011 season, we got back to work and starting building on his success. Chris starting his own hitting lessons back up and teaching the swing made him learn it more. When he would come up to my facility, he would report that his patterns were getting better.

Let’s look at some clips of his swing that off-season before the 2012 season. He would go on to sign with the Twins before the 2012 season.

2012 Off-Season Swing – Front, Overhead & Behind Views

2012 Season

Chris had a successful 2012 season. After some early struggles adjusting to affiliated ball. He really found his stride in June. He went on to finish 2nd in MVP voting for the Eastern League while finishing near or at the top of many offensive categories.

Here are a couple clips from the 2012 season:

2012 – Double to Right Center – Front View

2012 – Double to Left Center – Over the Shoulder View

2012 – Homer to Left – Front & Side View

After the 2012 season, he played winter ball in Mexico. He picked up right where he had left off the AA season. In Mexico, he went .332 with 13 doubles, 17 homers, 33 RBI and an OPS of 1.043 in 57 games. He had a stretch where he hit 8 home runs in 8 games.

When he got back in December, he came to hit with me and something was different. Watching him swing then actually shifted the way I view swing mechanics. His “normal” swing had changed. He was no longer working to try to achieve the mechanics we discussed. He was simply doing them.

Here is a swing I got video of while throwing him some BP when he had returned from Mexico.

December 2012 – After Mexico – Behind View

His normal – now natural – swing created the routine result of a line drive through the middle of the field. His normal swing created that direction through the middle, it created that swing plane, it created that timing. These weren’t things he was trying to do. This was simply what happened as a result of his normal swing.

Compare that to hitters who must force the ball up the middle, who must work hard to create a line drive, who must work hard to let the ball get deep. When you swing with the pattern that hitters like Miguel Cabrera use, these things are normal… natural.

2013 Season

The 2013 year is young but it has already been exciting. First, Chris was invited to Major League Spring Training with the Twins. Then he was invited to play in the World Baseball Classic for Team Italy. Like his first year with the Twins, I helped him drive down to Ft Myers for Spring Training. I took this video of him during his first BP session.

(Compared to Braun because it is the only version I can find right now.)

After being at ST, I was able to attend the WBC in Phoenix and Chris had a nice showing. He had a huge game against Canada going 4-5 with a home run. It was pretty exciting to see Chris have that game on that stage and I know it was special for him because he had a solid group of friends and former teammates there to share it with.

Here’s a clip of that homer from the front and over the shoulder views:

Team Italy advanced to Round 2 of the WBC in Miami and Chris again put his name on the map with a 3-run homer agains the Dominican Republic.

Check out that clip from the front, side and over the shoulder:

His 2013 regular season has gotten off to a very positive start. He was just awarded his 2nd Player of the Week award for the AAA International League. He is currently (as of May 20) hitting .361 with a league leading 17 doubles, league leading (tied) 11 homers, he is 3rd in RBI with 24, leads the league in total bases and is second in OPS at 1.076. This in the highest level of baseball he has ever played.

Here is are two recents swings he took on home runs:

How Are Cabrera & Colabello Able to Hit With Power to the Opposite Field

Now with all this story on Colabello’s swing changes and development laid out, let’s look at why he is able to do things now that he wasn’t able to do before.

First, let’s look at Cabrera’s barrel movement when the pitch is approaching him. (I know the clip is dark, but you can still see the barrel!)

I also wanted to share this clip and a quote from the previous Cabrera post I made.

This is one of my favorite clips I’ve ever made to show the angles and the process of creating swing characteristics. You can’t see the front foot, but it is working toward the ground. Watch how the shoulders stay closed for so long as the barrel movement happens. The pitch is roughly 8 frames of video out of the hand when this clip starts. From release point to contact took 14 frames. So consider that these frames are starting when the ball is halfway to the plate. This is what CREATING depth, direction and plane looks like. His is swinging AND loading by creating these characteristics!

This is where Cabrera’s ability to hit the ball with power to the opposite field happens. He has bat speed before his bat turns to the ball. He has bat speed into his deep swing. He is letting the ball get deep, but the barrel movement that occurs DURING that “let the ball get deep” part is what makes him special.

Colabello’s Swing Change Creates Ability of Oppo Power

Now let’s look at Colabello barrel movement as the ball approaches. For Chris’ swing, we are going to look at the front, side and behind/over the shoulder angle to see the difference in his swing. This is a huge, incredibly important set of clips!

And before moving forward, I’m not trying to say Colabello is as good as Cabrera. I’m trying to show how the swing characteristics they both create allow them to establish a mechanical advantage and an ability to hit for power to the opposite field!

Before:



Current:



The barrel movement here is obvious. As the ball is approaching, Chris now creates bat speed. Before, he just held the same angle with the bat. By just holding the bat, he had to create all his bat speed from that spot. It makes sense that he had power to the pull side because the barrel had time to get some speed and get through the ball. On pitches away, he had to force the barrel to the ball working hard to stay on top and stay inside. He had to muscle the ball that way. No oppo power.

Before:



Current:



I think this side angle is tremendous to really see the angle being created. I often talk about how a hitter may have a decent angle, but not a good pattern. In the before, you can see the decent angle being maintained, but in the current he was accelerating the bat into that angle.

Think about it… Stationary barrel in loaded position has no oppo power. Active barrel with loading movement creates ability to hit the ball with power to opposite field.

Also, this is where depth is created. This is where direction is created. Maybe these clip helps you understand the difference in patterns!

Before:



Current:



More of the same. In the before clip, you can see that barrel angle being held. He doesn’t “turn the bat over” to get to the ball. He kind of sets the angle, then goes to the ball.

Now the barrel is actively arcing back, actively moving into a deeper position before turning to the ball. And despite John Smoltz saying Marlins Park offers “relief” to righty hitters in right center, the gap there is like 392. This ball had room to spare. This was certainly not a cheap homer.

Closing Thoughts on Colabello

Keep in mind that this is something Chris has been doing consistently now. Before, no oppo power… Now, lots of oppo power. And another thing – since his slow start to 2012, Chris has been getting progressively better from AA to Mexico to AAA. The more he owns this swing, the more he engrains his process, the better he gets.

Scary to think that a 29 year old non-prospect who is hitting .360 while top 5 in doubles, homers, RBI, total bases, and OPS in AAA could be getting better…

Just don’t say he came out of nowhere! He has made the most of his opportunity by improving as a hitter, making adjustments and working his process every day!

Final Thoughts

If you want to know what TewksHitting.com (and my facility A.B. Athletic Development) are all about, this post covers it. There is tremendous opportunity across all levels of baseball for hitters to improve. Chris went from a strong independent league hitter to the door step of the big leagues. He has put the work in, he chose to see if there was more after the 2010 season. The results speak for themselves. Lots of more work to do. He’s already gotten his #process text for the day from me!

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