@DrivelineBB Hitting trainer | Wilmu baseball alum | Former Hitting Coach/Recruiting coordinator RCSJ-Cumberland
Joined March 2014
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Jack McDonald retweeted
Art of Acquiescence - “to accept rather than fight every little thing.”
It can be a liberating feeling when you stop “caring” about the result, but I think it’s more about “accepting” whatever happens/the result.
Control what you can. You cannot fully control results.
NLCS MVP Jake Bauers shares how letting go of results helped him find a different level of freedom as a competitor.
"I think what changed for me this year was I stopped caring about results. I started caring about competing. I started caring about being in the moment and getting out of my own way."
Sometimes, the biggest obstacle to performing at your best isn't a lack of preparation or ability.
It's the pressure you place on yourself to produce a particular outcome.
You become so concerned with what you want to happen that you lose touch with what the moment actually requires.
Any performer can unlock a new level when they learn how to be fully invested in the competition without becoming imprisoned by the outcome.
🎥: Fox Sports
Jack McDonald retweeted
Two hitters can have the same attack angle at contact and get there in completely different ways. Full signal attack angle shows us how the path enters the zone and how it travels to contact, so we can see what’s actually driving the number.
Jack McDonald retweeted
More of our machine games tool, we've now added the ability to track swing decisions. This allows us to get very creative with some of our environments.
Here's @jlivingston45 absolutely dominating Banger+ off of a Fastball/ Curveball mix.
Jack McDonald retweeted
Bat speed doesn't just help you when you connect, it improves the quality of a miss as well.
Smash Factor is @DrivelineBB's measure of bat to ball skills, essentially how well a hitter translates bat speed into exit velocity. Most batted balls fall between a .9-1.2 Smash Factor. The lower the Smash Factor, the less bat speed the hitter translates into exit velo, the bigger the miss.
Here are the 3 lowest Smash Factor postseason homers since 2023. A great example of why swinging the bat fast can make your misses valuable.
Last year, Cal Raleigh hit the lowest Smash Factor homer of the last four postseasons.
Smash factor: 1.047. 🧵
Jack McDonald retweeted
While this trend is universal, there are many variables that alter the specifics — one of which is pitch location
For a typical hitter, deep➡️on time➡️out front might be:
Outside pitch — hard GB oppo➡️LD oppo gap➡️FB CF
Inside pitch — low LD to CF➡️LD pull-gap➡️HR pull-side
Jack McDonald retweeted
Trying out a new video format to better visualize the barrel at contact for MLB hitters in game.
With the World Series starting on Friday, here are the top swings in terms of Win Probability Added so far this Postseason.
1. Jackson Chourio: 1B v. SD (DS)➡️+.736 WPA
Jack McDonald retweeted
Here's how the projected position players on the Rays and Brewers World Series rosters line up in terms of their average bat tracking metrics.
Jack McDonald retweeted
An underrated aspect of being a good coach IMO is your ability to get athletes to "buy-in" to what you are trying to accomplish.
@DrivelineBB I believe this comes from the intersection of a data-driven objective approach & real relationship building.
More on this ⤵️⤵️
Jack McDonald retweeted
Trea Turner:
'25 - 6.5 fWAR, .352 wOBA, batting title
'26 - 1.1 fWAR, .298 wOBA
He went from one of the best shortstops in baseball to a below-average hitter in one year, what changed?
🧵
Jack McDonald retweeted
Bat speed gives you a bigger margin for error.
ALCS Game 6. Junior Caminero chases a splitter off the plate and doesn’t square it up. Usually, that’s an out.
He swung 81 mph and pulled it in the air for a home run.
Moving the bat fast makes your misses more productive.
Jack McDonald retweeted
MLB hitter's full signal attack angle data pre and post season.
Left side: February
Right Side: September (more green, this is good)
It's really common to lose bat speed throughout the season, but huge to see the attack angle in a better place - Both getting into and staying in ideal ranges for a longer period of time.
Example of an in season adjustment that can set you up to make big progress throughout the offseason.
Jack McDonald retweeted
3 years ago, I started at @DrivelineBB
I didn’t even know if I wanted to be a hitting coach.
And here we are.
These are 3 of the biggest things I’ve learned in the last 3 years 🧵
Sometimes as a coach, what you don’t say is more important than what you do say.
When an athlete is learning a new move, the best solution is usually the one they find themselves, that's self-organization. Our job as a coach is to guide them, not control them. 🧵
As coaches we must design a practice environment that promotes self-organization.
- pitch type
- pitch angle
- bat type
- ball type
- physical constraints
- ball flight goals
This doesn't mean setting up the environment and just stop watching the hitter.
A coach still monitors the athletes' progression. Create the environment for targeted changes and steer the player in the right direction.
