Swing Analysis - Albert Pujols

8/21/2008

The video clip below is 60FPS video of Albert Pujols hitting a home run to Left Field off of Carlos Zambrano. The thing to pay attention to in this video clip is Albert Pujols' timing; what he does relative to where Carlos Zambrano is in his pitching motion.

Albert Pujols

The first thing Albert Pujols does is pick up the heel of his front foot. He does this in Frame 47 as Carlos Zambrano's Pitching Arm Side (PAS) forearm is about to pass through the high-cocked position and he's 10 frames or so from releasing the ball.
     Albert Pujols' front foot reaches its maximum height in Frame 64. By this point Albert Pujols has read the pitch, has finished his load, and has to start the process of swinging.
     In Frame 74, Albert Pujols' front heel has planted and he has started to swing. It is at this point that Albert Pujols' hips start to rotate and his back foot come off the ground.
     Notice how Albert Pujols is quite connected in Frame 83, which is the Point Of Contact (POC). His hands are quite close to his back shoulder and his back elbow is close to his side as a result.
     It isn't until Frame 88, which is 5 to 6 frames after the POC, that Albert Pujols reaches full extension. This demonstrates that extension is the effect of a powerful swing rather than the cause of a powerful swing.