The Prettiest Swing

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John says Manny's swing is prettier than Pujol's. So who's got the sweetest swing in the game today? I would probably say Mr. DL - Ken Griffey, always was impressed by the amount of power he could produce considering he isn't nearly as hulking as most power hitters. J.D. " a little like Mantle" Drew is another good one. Who else?

(Please note how my first ILBB thread has a little twee-ness to it.)

― bnw (bnw), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 22:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Reggie Jackson.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 22:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Edgar!

old-school: Will Clark

twee-est swing belongs to Ichiro!

― Gear! (Gear!), Tuesday, 17 August 2004 23:40 (twenty-one years ago)

R. Palmeiro.

― Rock Hardy (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 02:32 (twenty-one years ago)

I'd probably go with Pujols at this point. I love to watch that guy swing the stick.

Can we just call him Albert at this point? I'd say he long-ago earned first-name status.

― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 02:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Strike one of those "at this points". One or the other, it doesn't really matter to me.

― Monetizing Eyeballs (diamond), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 02:38 (twenty-one years ago)

but they're so symmetrical!

am i alone in thinking albert's swing is actually pretty ugly? i'm not knockin' it, but it doesn't do much for me. he also rarely seems to get all of the ball and really knock the cover off it, which doesn't really mean anything in the end but makes him slightly less exciting to watch than the likes of barry or manny, if nonetheless just as interesting.

i'm surprised "sweet swingin'" jimmy edmonds didn't get a mention from bnw.

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 02:51 (twenty-one years ago)

Not trying to score brownie points w/ the mod: Barry. I'm a sucker for efficiency.

― David R. (popshots75`), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 02:55 (twenty-one years ago)

his swing his first few years was pretty wild. like a long, looping sword slice.

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 03:01 (twenty-one years ago)

but it's too fast to be pretty it's over before it's begun.

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 03:02 (twenty-one years ago)

I love watching Thome swing too, he just lets it rip.

And Bret Boone, okay, that's my favorite swing right now. The FLIP!

― Gear! (Gear!), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 03:02 (twenty-one years ago)

ugh i hate that smug bastard

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 03:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Manny
Jim Thome

― Velveteen Bingo (Chris V), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 15:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, I think Thome is maybe the most intimidating in the box. That guy is a bull.

― bnw (bnw), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 16:03 (twenty-one years ago)

I'ma say Barry, too, for sheer destructive economy. Bonds is Glen Gould to Pujols' Artur Rubenstein.

― briania (briania), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 16:26 (twenty-one years ago)

And Sheffield's, like, Jerry Lee Lewis.

― briania (briania), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Barry's swing could get out of bed, turn out the lights across the room and be back in bed under the covers before the lights went out.

― Mr. Tony Plow (Leee), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 20:01 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm having a hard time figuring out how "sheer destructive economy" = prettiness, which is why i'm right and you're all wrong.

― John (jdahlem), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 22:06 (twenty-one years ago)

...eye of the beholder, etc. On one hand I think of a "pretty swing" to be about the smoothness of the stroke (how homoerotic), but then I doubt I'd have even noticed Griffey's if it weren't for the results. Maybe we should have an "ugly swings that are strangely effective" thread. I would vote Edmonds w/ his constant upper-cut and good ole WIllie McGee.

― bnw (bnw), Wednesday, 18 August 2004 22:21 (twenty-one years ago)

everyone always says lefties have the sweetest swings but i've never understood what would make them any different from righties (this was often said about strawberry, who did have a very pretty swing)

robin ventura, alfonso soriano, got to agree abt manny

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 21 August 2004 18:06 (twenty-one years ago)

too much energy in soriano's swing for me. i can't even remember ventura's, probably blocked it out. nah, he was good that one year and i always liked him, but he was capable of really rotten stretches where he'd either a)strikeout or b)ground in to a double play for weeks on end.

― John (jdahlem), Saturday, 21 August 2004 18:13 (twenty-one years ago)

btw, i guess i don't pay enough attention, but about differences b/w righties and lefties, isn't it often that lefties will have little to no stride? i don't think edmonds strides at all, bonds doesn't much at all, and it's more flat footed w/ lots of front foot spin action. could be completely wrong about all of this, but few righthanders seem to do that, dunno if it changes swing dynamics or not.

gawd, i'm watching manny's grand slam last night and he wins this contest by a wide margin, i'm sorry.

― John (jdahlem), Saturday, 21 August 2004 18:28 (twenty-one years ago)

he does the awesome walt-hrniak-hand-pulling-off-the-top-of-the-bat thing as he follows through (which never really worked for rich gedman for some reason)

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 21 August 2004 18:30 (twenty-one years ago)

otm, that's a big part of it. but don't a lot of guys do that now, or it my imagination?

― John (jdahlem), Saturday, 21 August 2004 18:49 (twenty-one years ago)

nineteen years pass...

Tracer Hand was saying about how people always talk about “that sweet lefty swing” but not understanding why left handed hitters swings are considered prettier. Is there an actual reason for it or is the “loop” of their swing longer?

― ydkb (gyac), Monday, 28 August 2023 20:09 (two years ago)

everyone always says lefties have the sweetest swings but i've never understood what would make them any different from righties (this was often said about strawberry, who did have a very pretty swing)robin ventura, alfonso soriano, got to agree abt manny

Oh my god

― ydkb (gyac), Monday, 28 August 2023 20:09 (two years ago)

maybe it's just a visual trick related to how lefties will, with their stride after they connect for a hit, naturally move in the direction of their follow-through.

― omar little, Monday, 28 August 2023 20:26 (two years ago)

idk maybe it's just naturally smoother-appearing as a result of how they don't run through the swing but run alongside it if you know what i mean.

― omar little, Monday, 28 August 2023 20:28 (two years ago)

Olerud was a lefty who had a beautiful swing. I can't see any reason why handedness would make a difference, though...Omar's theory makes sense.

― clemenza, Monday, 28 August 2023 20:29 (two years ago)

On the other side, Red Sox Stats was pointing out exactly how fucking awful Jarren Duran’s stance and following swing used to be:

Two years ago tonight, in the middle of a game, this was born and lasted a few days. Has come a long way! pic.twitter.com/TOP3kYCJTC
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) August 27, 2023

― ydkb (gyac), Monday, 28 August 2023 20:38 (two years ago)

maybe it's just naturally smoother-appearing as a result of how they don't run through the swing but run alongside it

yeah i think it's because a lefty's follow-through carries him toward first base while a righty kinda has to fight against it

(might also have something to do with the tendency of outfield television cameras to be left of center, and there's film theory at work? although i guess a fair number are now straightaway)

― mookieproof, Monday, 28 August 2023 20:45 (two years ago)

Another famously beautiful lefty swing: Billy Williams. I'm not really seeing anything out of the ordinary in the three clips I've looked at. (I saw him on TV as a kid, but no memories.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwHeM8RUPto

― clemenza, Monday, 28 August 2023 20:57 (two years ago)

ten months pass...

Posnanski's post today is "The Five Sweetest Swings of All Time."

5. Yaz
4. Royle Stillman...I never have either, so: "Royle Stillman was a left-handed hitter from Santa Monica, Calif. The Dodgers took him in the 22nd round of the 1969 draft, and he went to Ogden, Utah, where he promptly hit .330 in 62 games. It was around that time that teammates started calling him 'Sugar Man,' because, yes, because of his sweet swing."
3. Junior
2. Sam Snead (worth a smile, but I'd rather see another player)
1. Billy Williams

― clemenza, Monday, 8 July 2024 16:49 (one year ago)

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