Fundamentals in Photos - Nick Swisher

(Photo courtesy of AP)

Nick Swisher, a long time favorite of In Command, has decided to step away from the game for the remainder of the year. In honor of "Swish", we wanted to use this week's "Fundamentals in Photos" post to take a look at his form.

What should I be looking at?

Follow Through - Any of you who have worked with me know that, since he revamped his swing with the help Kevin Long, Nick Swisher's mechanics look eerily similar to what I teach my hitters. Included in our overlapping preaching is the two-handed finish shown in the above picture. No over-exaggerated upper cut, just a smooth, relatively level stroke that optimizes the time that the bat head spends in the hitting zone.

Back Foot - Swish's back foot is not only "squashing the bug" like we have heard so many times, but the heel is OFF THE GROUND. The pivot allows the hips to open, while the raised heel shows his weight was properly shifted back to center. Perfect.