Have you ever wondered *why* a hitter waggles his bat at the plate? What’s the significance of where they’re waggling the bat
Well, as MLB Network’s Pedro Martinez and Harold Reynolds explain, the reasoning is simple – that’s usually where hitters like the ball.
My mind was actually blown when they rolled out the heat maps for Mike Trout, Nelson Cruz, and Albert Pujols, and they lined up almost perfectly with where they were waggling the bat during their plate appearances.
And of course, Pedro brings up a fair point – if you notice a player doing the bat waggle in a specific location, you should probably try to avoid that general area when you’re pitching to them. But then again, video and data analysis can bring you to that same conclusion, but in the heat of the moment on the mound with an unfamiliar hitter at the plate, it can be a life saver.
