Why offset is important for hitting?
What is offset in the swing? Where does this occur? How can we train this? Why is offset important?
Looking Into Offset in Baseball Contact
Offset is essentially how far from the center of the baseball the bat makes contact with it. This holds several key factors when it comes to hitting. First offset can be traced back to the following metrics in hitting:
Exit Velocity
Launch Angle
Batted Ball Spin
Batted Ball Spin Axis
These factors can lead to many other ideas in hitting but I want to focus that it is the offset which is the cause for all the above “effects”. Offset is something that many people don’t really talk about when they look into hitting. One of the factors that is limiting this is quality detail about it. As only a few select people have conducted any type of research on this topic.
There is a optimal offset to make contact with the baseball. Studies conducted by Alan Nathan conclude or suggest that there is a small range that optimizes the results from the swing. See the chart below which is used from the study. The results from this study to me make it clear that we should be attacking the baseball upward in order to optimize the results from our swings. This study also to me points to the importance of backspin on the baseball.
I have included a chart here of batted ball spin chart. The chart is important because it looks at the amount of spin that is placed on the baseball. As stated earlier the amount of spin can be traced back to the contact point of the bat, and the ball which is the offset. There is a such thing as over spinning of the baseball. I like how Josh Donaldson talked about it when talking on MLB Network, “If you swing down on the baseball, you will overspin it. Which will lead it to balloon.”
This ballooning effect is real. Even my own research has shown that baseball that are struck at high Exit Velocites can be overspun and lose distance on them.
Where does Offset occur?
At the point of contact. Use the chart above when looking at reverse engineering the swing. I really like the idea of taking the end metrics that Dr. Nathan has presented, and try to see how we can retrofit the swing to match these results.
How can we train for this?
Training the offset is vastly underrated. This is such an important “skill” to have to be able to “barrel” the baseball on the optimal offset. One of the best training methods that I have seen, and experimented with is the use of plyocare baseball. These baseballs are rubber coated, and stuffed with sand. Contacting these baseball gives players immediate feedback into how they struck the ball. They slightly morph after contact to give more direct feedback on what type of swing they have.
These balls are important because without solid “contact” or “offset” they don’t go anywhere. Players in my opinion think they square up baseball way more than they actually do. The use of these baseballs can be used to not only help train the offset, but to also have players get a better idea of the type of spin they are putting on the baseball.
So for the most part we have examined off set vertically on the bat at contact. One factor that I think is not looked into even more than this is going to the “offset” from the barrel of the baseball. Really the goal of the hitter is to barrel the baseball every time they come to bat “correctly” or at what I would call the “optimal offset”. Some hitters are obviously better at this than others. This is where looking to see how often a player is barreling the baseball not only vertically on the “offset” but also looking at the offset of the bats barrel.
Is a player hitting the ball more at the end of the bat? Or are they getting handcuffed inside? One thought for this right away is that if a player seems be be hitting baseballs at the end of the bat they could consider swinging a smaller bat to help train their mind for this. They could also look into cutting a wood bat just above the barrel to help them “feel” the offset on the barrel.
