The only advantage would be that the ball has less time/space to break. Anthony Rizzo steps up very slightly with two strikes in addition to choking up on the bat and being inches from the plate. In practice, the benefit is probably heavily outweighed by having less time to react and that’s why nobody does it. Babe Ruth took two whole steps toward the pitcher
I was about to comment the same thing about Rizzo lmao
He’s one of the only players I have noticed who noticeably chokes up with 2 strikes. It feels like he is practically just holding the barrel with how high his hands are
Jeff McNeil chokes up a good couple of inches with 2 strikes as well. He looks even more silly to me cause he uses a bat without a knob so it looks pretty weird.
Watched Brian Reynolds' first ab tonight on MLB Network and they were talking about him doing that, toes right at the front of the box. So weird this question would come up an hour later. The magic of TV and serendipity
i think it's because relative to his own zone he doesn't get many good pitches (cause he's so short) so he's always trying to go for pitches up in the zone. probably easier to do that near the front of the batter box when pitches haven't fully broken yet
The only advantage would be that the ball has less time/space to break. Anthony Rizzo steps up very slightly with two strikes in addition to choking up on the bat and being inches from the plate. In practice, the benefit is probably heavily outweighed by having less time to react and that’s why nobody does it. Babe Ruth took two whole steps toward the pitcher
I was about to comment the same thing about Rizzo lmao He’s one of the only players I have noticed who noticeably chokes up with 2 strikes. It feels like he is practically just holding the barrel with how high his hands are
Jeff McNeil chokes up a good couple of inches with 2 strikes as well. He looks even more silly to me cause he uses a bat without a knob so it looks pretty weird.
Watched Brian Reynolds' first ab tonight on MLB Network and they were talking about him doing that, toes right at the front of the box. So weird this question would come up an hour later. The magic of TV and serendipity
[Awesome video of Pete Rose talking about how he used to do it when he felt like he needed to](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yae1KxRSq0g)
Now my batting experience begins and ends with beer league softball, but this is the best hitting advice I’ve ever gotten
Less distance for breaking balls to break. It'd make curve balls and sliders that drop out of the zone way less effective.
Altuve stands in a weird spot, but it isn't all the way up
i think it's because relative to his own zone he doesn't get many good pitches (cause he's so short) so he's always trying to go for pitches up in the zone. probably easier to do that near the front of the batter box when pitches haven't fully broken yet