By BK, Athletic Hitting Development
Complete Hitters Aren’t Born. They’re Built… and Earned.
Key takeaways
- A short swing is a DIRECT swing: the barrel takes the shortest efficient path to the ball, then stays in the zone. It is not a weak, arms-only swing.
- Long swings usually start early. A barrel that gets away from the body at launch, a sweeping path, or a hitter who starts late and tries to muscle it.
- Film from the side and pause at launch and halfway to contact: if the barrel is far from the back shoulder, the swing is long.
- Fix the order first, then the path. Hips and shoulders turn, the hands bring the barrel, and the barrel works through the ball.
To shorten your swing, get the barrel to the ball on a more direct path: start the swing with the body turning, keep the barrel close to the back shoulder at launch, and let it work into the zone instead of sweeping around. Short means DIRECT, not small. You keep the bat speed and lose the wasted distance.
To shorten your swing, make it more direct: let the body start the swing, keep the barrel near the back shoulder at launch and let it work into the zone instead of sweeping around. Short means direct, not small, so you keep the bat speed and lose the wasted distance.
Train it: Swing Structure & Mechanics → Free tool: Swing Sequence Builder →Every coach has said it. “He’s long.” “Shorten up.” Then the kid chokes up, chops at the ball with his arms and hits a weak grounder to second. That’s not short. That’s small.
Here’s what a long swing really is, what causes it, how to check it on video and the work I use to fix it without stealing the hitter’s power.
1. What does a long swing mean?
A long swing takes too much time and distance to get the barrel to the ball. The bat travels away from the body, around, and then back in. Against slow pitching, he gets away with it. Against good velocity, he’s late.
Here’s what it looks like in games:
- Late on the fastball, especially up and in.
- Jammed a lot, because the barrel can’t get there and the hands do.
- Starts early to compensate, then gets fooled by off-speed.
- Lots of foul balls back and to the opposite side on pitches he should drive.
Short does NOT mean “arms only” or “chop down on it.” A good short swing still uses the whole body. It’s just efficient. I’d rather a hitter be aggressive and athletic with a direct path than “short” and soft.
A LONG SWING
SHORT MEANSDIRECT.
- Barrel gets away at launch
- Arms start the swing
- Late, so he muscles it
- Too much bat
NOT SMALL. NOT ARMS ONLY.
2. Why is my hitter’s swing so long?
In my experience, a long swing almost always starts before contact. Here are the usual causes.
- The barrel gets away at launch.The hands push the knob away from the body, so the barrel swings wide and around. That’s casting.
- Arms start the swing.If the arms go before the hips and shoulders turn, the barrel has to travel the long way.
- Starting late.A late hitter tries to muscle the bat, the arms take over, and the path gets longer.
- Too much bat.A bat that’s too long or too heavy drags the barrel out and down. Check the bat size chart.
Good hitters have Mechanically Advantaged Angles (MAA) at launch: the back elbow, the hands and the barrel sit in positions where the body can deliver the barrel direct. A long swing usually breaks those angles in the first few inches of the swing. For the bigger idea, read Direct Bat Path: Position, Plan & Aggression.
3. How do I know if a swing is too long?
Film from the side and from behind, chest high, slow motion (120 or 240 fps). The setup is in How to Film Your Swing for Analysis.
- Pause at launch.The barrel should be near the back shoulder, not drifting behind the head or out over the plate.
- Pause halfway to contact.From the side, if the knob is pointing out away from the body and the barrel is wide, the swing is getting long.
- Check the order.Hips, then shoulders, then hands and barrel. If the hands move first, that’s where the length comes from.
- Score a 10-swing round.Firm front toss, up and in; count the balls hit hard and write the number down.
Want a fast way to learn the order? The free Swing Sequence Builder has you put the 7 checkpoints in order and pick where a problem really starts. Then run the free SwingChecker to rank your hitter’s top priority in about 3 minutes.
4. What drills shorten a long swing?
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter. Pick the one that matches the cause, do it daily for two or three weeks, then retest.
- Barrel gets away? Fence or net drill. Set up a bat length plus a little from a net, take slow swings, and don’t hit it. Short and controlled, not a full-speed game swing.
- Arms first? Turn-to-launch tee swings. Slow swings where the hitter feels the hips and shoulders start the bat, then speeds up only once the order holds.
- Late? Start earlier. In front toss, load as the tosser’s arm goes back. On time removes the need to muscle it.
- Up-and-in rounds. Tee and firm front toss up and in. A long swing can’t get there, so the hitter has to find the direct path.
Short to it. Long through it.
That last line matters. The barrel should get to the ball direct, then stay on the ball’s line through the zone. If you shorten the finish too, you lose the line drives. Ten to fifteen minutes a day is plenty, as long as every swing has a target.
5. Will shortening my swing cost me power?
Not if you do it right. Power comes from the body turning hard and the barrel arriving on time on the right path. A direct path gets the barrel there sooner, which buys the hitter time to see the pitch longer. That’s The Hitting Processor: see it, time it, decide, attack it, trained DAILY.
What costs power is “shortening” by taking the body out of it. The goal is controlled violence on a direct path. Strength and explosiveness matter here too, so a stronger hitter can keep the bat speed with less wasted motion. That’s why AHD builds all 4 Pillars of a Complete Hitter.
The Swing Structure & Mechanics course teaches the swing in order, as principles, not one copied swing. 16 lessons, $139, one-time price, and Lessons 1–3 are free. Want my eyes on the video? Text Coach at 480-881-5447.
THELESSON.
- Fix the order first
- Barrel near the back shoulder
- Short to it, long through it
- Retest up and in
Complete Hitters Are Built…Earned.
Want to go deeper? Read A Direct Bat Path Is Not Enough and The 9-Millisecond Window: How Bat Path Buys Time.
Quick answers
Does choking up shorten your swing?
Choking up makes the bat a little easier to control, which can help, but it doesn’t fix a swing that gets long because of order or path. Fix the cause first, then choke up if it helps with two strikes.
Is a long swing the same as casting?
Casting is one of the most common causes of a long swing. It’s when the hands push the barrel away from the body early, so it travels wide and around instead of direct to the ball.
How do I know if my kid’s swing is too long?
If he’s late on fastballs, jammed often and gets beat up and in, the swing is probably long. Film from the side and check whether the barrel stays near the back shoulder at launch.
Will a shorter swing hit for less power?
Not if the body still turns hard. A direct path gets the barrel to the ball sooner and on time, and on-time contact on a good path is where power comes from.
Don’t collect drills. Build a complete hitter.
Complete Hitters Aren’t Born. They’re Built… and Earned.
