Here’s a drill we tried yesterday for one of our hitters that wasn’t quite getting everything he needed out of his front leg. He ended up hitting his furthest ball of the day from this drill.
In order to fully transfer our energy into the baseball, our front leg needs to be stable. The less it gives at contact, the less energy we’ll leak and the more we’ll be able to put into the baseball.
If you swipe left you can see Acuna, who is a very good example of a solid lead leg. He’s a guy who fully extends and locks out his knee, making it easy to visualize what we want to have happen.
Not all players, however, are structurally created the same. Swipe left again and you’ll see Rizzo, who doesn’t quite get full extension of the lead leg. That doesn’t mean it’s not stable.
What we’re looking for is any give at contact, whether the lead leg is slightly bent, or locked out. Whatever the case, we don’t want to see the knee leaking forward into contact.
Less leakage = more power available up top.