weighted donuts in baseball does more harm than good

[pico]

i saw this show sports science talking about how batters warm up with 6 lbs donuts in baseball. according to the show it kinda train different type of muscle so your instinct is off, so the batter will miss the sweet spot.

but in mlb, it seems like every batter use donuts during warm ups.

[Shortstop]

We used to swing a sledge hammer, donuts were too dangerous.

[Matt Rain]

There was this local guy who was drafted by the Astros in the early 90's, I forget his name. We'd see him running around the park, swinging a ~6-foot long metal bar, I guess a barbell with no weights.

We gave him some space.

[Shortstop]

Next time you're in a pool, try swinging a baseball bat under water. This is probably the best strength and conditioning exercise for a hitter. It's not easy.

[pico]

it is good for training , but bad for when you're about to bat for real. imo

[Shortstop]

Funny, but true story, we weren't allowed to play wiffle ball back in high school and college.

It fukks up your timing.

[Immortality]

Funny, but true story, we weren't allowed to play wiffle ball back in high school and college.

It fukks up your timing.

Coaches don't like you doing anything that might affect your timing. My college coach overheard me telling a few of my teammates about the homeruns I hit for my friends slow pitch softball game the night before. Coach was pissed and made me jog around the field for the whole teams batting practice (90 minutes). Needless to say I stopped playing softball.

[Mudcat]

I think this is a case of over-thinking something with science. When I played ball, I liked to use the donut in the on-deck circle. I hit plenty of sweet spots.

[pico]

I think this is a case of over-thinking something with science. When I played ball, I liked to use the donut in the on-deck circle. I hit plenty of sweet spots.

the point is you might hit more sweet spots if you don;t use the donuts in the on-deck circle.

[UntilTheNDofTimE]

[texhooper]

"taking off the donut" has become a new favorite analogy of mine. like when texas was favored by a lot a few weeks ago against missouri after that tough win over oklahoma, i told my friend "this will be like texas taking off the donut tonight, you know, after the oklahoma game, this will be like a walk in the park, like taking off the donut going into the batters box. although i don't have the sack to bet it". texas took off the donut. they hit the sweet spot. i won the under in the second half after i finally summoned my manhood to make a play on the game.

but the moral of the story is this: please, let's not spread these falsehoods about the donut. it is good. do not take this analogy away from me. please.

[Mudcat]

the point is you might hit more sweet spots if you don;t use the donuts in the on-deck circle.

But my point is, I wouldn't hit more sweet sports without it. It works well. Show me the exact criteria of the study and I will show you what they have overthought or overlooked.

It is the same principle as the weighted donut I use on my wang before sex. It feels good and my sexual accuracy is outstanding.

[Otters27]

Mudcat is right. The study probably left a lot of variables out. I have a masters degree in sports psychology. One of the main functions of a donut is to instill confidence. This is done thought physical sensation. For example. If the bat feels lighter the batter may believe they can catch up to the fastball, especially inside. This changes many other variables in the at bat. There is more to an at bat that just hard science done in a lab.

[poker_dummy101]

not as stiff

[bradthebloke]

Next time you're in a pool, try swinging a baseball bat under water. This is probably the best strength and conditioning exercise for a hitter. It's not easy.

absolutely

[Chi_archie]

shouldn't affect anything, its a not a timing thing when you warm up, you aren't using the "timing" of any hand eye coordination mechanisms, you are just getting the muscles more limber and loose. and a heavier weight, whether it be a bat w/ a do-nut, a log, or a sledgehammer is going to make that easier...


now if you took batting practice with a much heavier bat, that would mess up your timing mechanism.... that would be like practicing foul shots with a medicine ball right before you shot real free throws...


but not just swinging a heavier bat around without bringing the actual hand eye coordination into play shouldn't really matter.

[Shortstop]

Great thread! I never wore batting gloves, even when it was cold.

[pico]

the show made a comparision to swinging golf clubs. the pro golfer's drive was on average 30 yards shorter after he warmed up with weighted driver.