Swing Analysis - Dustin Pedroia

9/10/2008

Below are three video clips of Dustin Pedroia hitting singles to Left Field, Center Field, and Right Field.

One thing to note about Dustin Pedroia is that he is basically a high ball hitter who turns every pitch into a high pitch by hinging his back knee to get down under the pitch. However, and unlike Ted Williams proposed and Mike Epstein teaches, this hinge angle does not vary significantly from pitch to pitch.

Another thing to note about Dustin Pedroia is that he is one of the few major league hitters who strides open. However, in most cases, rather than really stepping in the bucket (e.g. stepping significantly toward 3B), Dustin Pedroia only strides slightly open.

Dustin Pedroia - Single to LF

One thing to note about this pitch is that it was a perfect pitch to pull because it was high and inside.

Dustin Pedroia - Single to CF

Dustin had to take this pitch back up the middle because it was over the outer 1/3 of the plate.

Dustin Pedroia - Single to RF

Dustin Pedroia's reaction to this pitch is a little strange. Because of how he bails out, it almost seems like he was guessing that he was going to get something over the inside of the plate but instead got a pitch over the outer half of the plate. To get to this pitch, Dustin Pedroia had to break his connection at the point of contact and instead extend his arms. This enabled him to get the bat on the ball, but kept him from being able to hit the ball very hard.