Article Summary:
MLB Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera “has a borderline silly baseball swing” reports Matthew Futterman of The Wall Street Journal. In an age of unprecedented pitching ability, the baseball swing has not been able to compete. That was until Miguel Cabrera arrived on the MLB scene, helping the Florida Marlins win a World Series in 2003. What has recently astounded the baseball world was Cabrera’s last two seasons of MLB metrics. Cabrera not only has the power to hit 44 home runs, but has enough bat control to hit .348, get on base 44% of the time, and only strike out 94 times. Even Chris Davis, the latest leader in home runs with 53, only hit a .286 with 199 strikeouts. What is even more astonishing is Cabrera’s latest stat in 2012, when he won the Triple Crown in batting which has not been done since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967. Sport sciences such as physics and bio-mechanics have been trying to crack the code on excellent baseball swings with no success. Experts in sports science like Allan Nathan, physicist, concluded it is wasted energy. Allan Nathan, believes the success of Cabrera’s numerous baseball stances and swings is due to his ability to quickly perceive and adjust to a pitch as soon as it leaves a pitcher’s hand—and sometimes earlier.
With the major success Miguel Cabrera has had since his MLB debut in 2003, begs the question “what is he doing that sport science cannot seem to explain?” Cabrera watches film, only to become familiar with pitch patterns and understand certain pitchers tendencies. Could Cabrera’s natural ability be random or an anomaly; or can simple principles of logic explain how he is so accurate? When a person can perceive more information, they are able to quickly identify natural laws that govern one set of initial conditions [in this case the body motions (times and locations) of a pitcher before he throws], to another set of final conditions [motions up to the point and beyond ball release (trajectory)], helping predict what pitch will be thrown. Cabrera is not accurate because he has a particular stance or swing; rather, he perceives more information quicker than the rest of his peers.
Article Reference:
Miguel Cabrera: The Art of Hitting – Matthew Futterman – The Wall Street Journal – October 3, 2013 — Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303464504579107291140308858.html?mod=trending_now_4
Additional References:
Miguel Cabrera – Wikipedia – October 25, 2013 — Retrieved from– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Cabrera
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