The Importance of Your Base

There's a lot of confusion out there about just how wide a hitter's stance should be. Some believe that a player should have a wider stance, some believe it should be more narrow. But then why is it a wider or narrower stance works for some players but not others? I mean if wider or narrower is better then shouldn't it work for every player? The truth is the width of your stance or your base is different from player to player. There are many factors that determine just how wide your base should be. Your height, weight, center of gravity, age, overall body strength, all go into determining what the proper base for you is. So that's why we can't just have players widen up their stance or narrow it up, it's all based on finding that optimal width for each player.

So why is this important? Well, first of all the proper base allows a hitter to be in their strongest position at the point of contact. When the bat gets to the point of contact the body and the bat will merge as one as long as the body and the bat are in the right position. This all starts with the base. If the base is weak then the hitter won't be nearly as strong at the point of contact which obviously affects a players performance. The second reason that the base is important is it allows the hitter to repeat their swing more often. A weak base makes the hitter more susceptible to mechanical breakdown. Think of the foundation of a house, it the foundation is weak then it really doesn't matter how well built the structure is, if the foundation is weak then the structure is weak as well. The same is true about your swing. If you have a weak base you will be less likely to repeat your mechanics. As a result you will experience inconsistent performance. So how do you determine what the right base is for you. Attached is a video describing a simple test you can do to determine your proper base. Anytime you begin to experience a drop in performance immediately check your base first. Sometimes the most basic fix will get you back in the groove.