BaD Radio interviewed Strawberry today so this popped in my head...who are your top 5 prettiest swings? And i'm talking players you've actually seen...like, I know Stan Musial had an amazing swing, but I never got to see him play. Mine:


1. Ken Griffey, Jr.

2. Darryl Strawberry

3. Will Clark

4. Josh Hamilton

5. Hanley Ramirez

Tony gwynn

1. Griffey
2. Palmeiro
3. Hamilton

Manny Ramirez

1. Griffey
2. Will Clark
3. Gwynn

Why does it seem like lefties have the prettier swings?

Griffey, Palmeiro and Hambone are the first three I thought of.

The best swing in my lifetime goes to Griffey hands down

Griffey
Clark
Gwynn
Olerud
DB Sweeney as Shoeless Joe in Eight Men Out

strange...it is an attribute that primarily belongs to left-handed hitters.

Griffey and Will Clark would be at the top of my list for the past 20 years. Perhaps add Rod Carew going further back.

not easy to think of a right-handed hitter with a smooth swing. Maybe Edgar Martinez or Moises Alou

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Why does it seem like lefties have the prettier swings?

Griffey, Palmeiro and Hambone are the first three I thought of.

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true, which is why it always struck me as odd how violent and ugly Blalock's was

A very underrated pretty swing was Daryl Ward. Dude had a stroke

Billy spires had a sweet one too

Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera have great righty swings

Paul Molitor
George Brett

Gotta give credit to A-Rod. He worked at it to make sure he looked good striking out

Griffey is #1 for me by a long shot. Looked so effortless. As an astros fan I always thought Lance had a smooth swing from the left side of the plate

cano

No votes for Pujols?

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Why does it seem like lefties have the prettier swings?

Griffey, Palmeiro and Hambone are the first three I thought of.

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I think this is a function of two things:

1). The prevalence of right handed pitchers throwing to left handed hitters.

2). The camera angle broadcasted from the pitcher's right shoulder.

I think if it were inverted (lefty throwing to a right handed batter with the camera angle over the pitcher's left shoulder) the right handed hitters would appear more natural and fluid.

When left handed hitters face left handed pitchers, many appear awkward in the box.

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quote:

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Why does it seem like lefties have the prettier swings?

Griffey, Palmeiro and Hambone are the first three I thought of.

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I think this is a function of two things:

1). The prevalence of right handed pitchers throwing to left handed hitters.

2). The camera angle broadcasted from the pitcher's right shoulder.

I think if it were inverted (lefty throwing to a right handed batter with the camera angle over the pitcher's left shoulder) the right handed hitters would appear more natural and fluid.

When left handed hitters face left handed pitchers, many appear awkward in the box.

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To add to Chowdah's take on this....

If you've ever accidentally watched your television through a reflection on a window or mirror making righties appear as lefties, you'll realize that a ton of righties have great looking swings as well.

Manny Ramirez is a good example to try this out. I'd like to see what Edgar Martinez' swing looks like in reverse.

Paul Molitor was a great example of nice looking short swing.

[This message has been edited by Corporal punishment (edited 1/30/2014 4:37a).]

I love the Griffey logo.

One guy who I don't know if I'd say has a pretty swing but I always loved to watch hit was Jeff Kent.

Seemed like he always made solid contact with the ball and one I always thought came off as a professional hitter.

Not going to put him in Top 5 all time (yet) but I think Bryce Harper has a pretty sweet lookin swing.

[This message has been edited by Ag_07 (edited 1/30/2014 9:19a).]

Mickey Tettleton was sweet from the left side.

[This message has been edited by ramirez78 (edited 1/30/2014 9:54a).]

Much like the MLB logo, your eye can see this silhouette as either left handed or right handed.

His swing looks pretty awesome either way.

FWIW, when I see the MLB logo, I see a righty. I have to focus for a second to see him as a lefty.

Came here to post Jr. You guys are all over it though.

Of current guys cano's is gorgeous as well

Berkman had a pretty smooth swing from the left side. Not so much from the right, though

But I agree. Ken Griffey Jr is definitely the prettiest swing that I've seen

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Berkman had a pretty smooth swing from the left side. Not so much from the right, though

But I agree. Ken Griffey Jr is definitely the prettiest swing that I've seen

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God just cut and paste what I already said

:-)

Pretty amazing everyone thinks of Jr. Has to be a combo of age, being a superstar and that trademark finish. Just so perfect.

But, the most memorable moment of Jr's career for me was not batting, it was sliding into home plate.

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Pretty amazing everyone thinks of Jr. Has to be a combo of age, being a superstar and that trademark finish. Just so perfect.

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Say what? Has nothing to do with age, trademark finish, etc.

Has to do with the fact that he has a beautiful swing. Smooth, explosive, timed perfectly, no wasted movement, and just the right amount of uppercut. I think if you ask this question to any baseball expert, scout, writer, etc they would answer with Ken Jr.

I agree it is amazing and the first I thought of.

But, there are others and it's amazing how many of us just think of Jr. Maybe he was a huge star because that swing was so perfect and that's why we thought of him. It just amazes me that like 75% of us think of him and the other names mentioned are all over.

Cano does have an amazing swing.

Also love the Tettleton reference...i'm not sure how pretty it was, but his stance and swing were easily my favorite as a kid. He just unleashed.

It may not have been pretty, but I LOVED watching Canseco swing. I have never seen anyone else with the bat speed he could produce.

As for Gwynn, I guess he would count if you consider slapping a baseball with a toothpick as a "swing".

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God just cut and paste what I already said

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Totally missed that the first time I read your post.

The credit is all yours, Bond.

^^^