© Star Tribune/Star Tribune/ELIZABETH FLORES. eflores@startTwins Joe Mauer took to the batting cage for swings during 2010 spring training in Fort Myers, Fla.Derek Falvey saw a video recently of Joe Mauer, at age 3, swinging a bat.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for SKLZ QuickSwing PX4 Baseball Trainer at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Sep 17, 2014 Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for SKLZ QuickSwing PX4 Baseball Trainer at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users.
Something looked familiar to the Twins chief baseball officer.The swing.“I think it was exactly the same,” Falvey said, laughing.Twins fans can probably still see that swing in their mind’s eye. A smooth, compact swing executed with assembly-line repetitiveness.
From his rookie season to Year 15, Mauer’s stroke looked identical.Former Cretin-Derham Hall coach Jim O’Neill first saw Mauer’s swing when he was in fifth grade. Same exact swing, O’Neill said.“It started in the backyard with Wiffle ball,” said Mauer’s older brother, Jake. “I don’t think there was ever a swing overhaul.”Mauer’s career can be cataloged by distinctive markers. His batting titles, his MVP season, his injuries, his position change and his contract.His swing deserves a chapter, too.
Falvey said it’s “as pretty as they come.”“There was a smoothness to it and calmness to the way his bat comes through the zone,” he said. “I know this isn’t physically possible, but it felt like he could adjust after the swing was going to manipulate the barrel of the bat.”Hitting mechanics involve a series of movements working in concert. Mauer made the process look effortless.“It’s just natural,” Jake Mauer said. “It wasn’t anything that was created by a hitting guru.”Well, not exactly. His swing was sharpened on a contraption built by his father.
The device had connected pipes that would drop a ball into the hitting zone, forcing Mauer to have a compact swing and no excess movement. The invention later became known as “Mauer Quickswing.”“I think that had an awful lot to do, if not everything to do, with the kind of hitter he turned out to be,” O’Neill said.Mauer’s swing produced many line drives to the opposite field.
He remained committed — or stubborn in some people’s opinion — to that swing in the face of criticism that he didn’t hit enough home runs.“That was his best trait — he was always trying to be himself,” Jake said. “He’s not going to be who everybody wants him to be. He’s going to be who he wants to be. I think it worked out pretty good.”O’Neill recalled a young MLB scout who visited Cretin-Derham Hall during Mauer’s senior season. The Raiders still had a state playoff game after the Twins drafted Mauer No. 1 overall in 2001.The scout, who worked for another team, returned after the draft to watch Mauer take batting practice.“I said ‘What are you doing?
The draft’s over,’?” O’Neill said. “He said, ‘If I ever see a high school kid with this kind of swing, I’ve got to remember because I’m going after him.’?”Chip [email protected]———©2019 the Star Tribune (Minneapolis)Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) atDistributed.
Product DescriptionHelping You Excel At Bat, No Matter Which Way You Spin It! SKLZQuickSwing PX4 Batting Aid features: Used for developing fast hands,sharp reaction times, and solid mechanics Auto-feed drops balls on aninterval you set for quick hands and reaction training Feeds 12baseballs or 8 softballs every 6, 8, & 10 seconds Use with practiceor regulation balls Dimensions: 45'-60' high, 20' radius base, 43'barrel Four Functions: Auto-feed gravity drop Rebounder for imitationtee hitting Rebounded angled for soft toss Rebounder angled forturn-around double play SKLZ Training Aids.Become Your Potential! Quickswing PX4 - 4-Way Gravity-Drop & Rebounder SystemJoeMauer's original Quickswing is an effective batting aid for developing ashort, quick swing.
The Quickswing PX4 is the next evolution offering 3additional ways to train: tee simulation, soft toss and turnarounddouble play. The PX4 is a versatile solo trainer or coaches tool.
Itauto-feeds 12 baseballs, eight softballs, or 14 SKLZ small trainingballs every six, eight, and ten seconds. If you add the includedadjustable angle rebounder, the QuickSwing becomes a soft toss machine.Features. Multi-use batting and fielding trainer. Develops fast hands, sharp reaction times and solid mechanics.
Ideal for any skill level. Auto-feeds 12 baseballs, 8 softballs or 14 small training balls. Releases balls every 6, 8 or 10 seconds.
Unit requires 3 size AA batteries (not included)Four Ways to Use the Quickswing PX41) Auto-Feed Gravity Drop:Setup the QuickSwing PX4 at least a foot above your swing height. Positionthe dial to fit your skill level. Balls will drop every 6, 8 or 10seconds. You can also set up the QuickSwing PX4 in the manual position.The auto-feed gravity drop pitch allows for batters to work on skillsessential for game day. This includes increasing bat speed, betterhand-eye coordination and faster reflexes2) Rebounder for Tee Simulation:Setup the QuickSwing PX4 Auto without the end dial.
Position the rebounderdirectly below where the ball will be dropped from the QuickSwing PX4.The ball will bounce up directly upward to simulate hitting of a tee.While tee hitting is important for working on the mechanics of ballcontact, the QuickSwing PX4 adds another layer to this. The balldropping from the trainer forces batters to react to ball speed and pathto give more of a challenge than an ordinary tee.3) Rebounder for Angled Soft Toss:Setup the QuickSwing PX4 Auto without the end dial. Angle the rebounder todesired angle and position the rebounder so the higher side is belowwhere the ball will drop from the QuickSwing PX4. As the ball hits thehigh side of the rebounder it will angle out for a soft toss stylepitch. Soft toss pitching allows batters to work on their swing withoutthe pressure of live pitching.
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Through repetition batters can work onperfecting swing mechanics for live pitching during game days.4) Rebounder for Angled Turnaround Play:Setup the QuickSwing PX4 Auto without the end dial. Place the rebounder atlevel height below where the ball will be released from the QuickSwingPX4. As the ball bounces off of the rebounder catch and throw for aturnaround double play simulation. To add difficulty, angle rebounderfor a more challenging initial catch. Ideal for use with SKLZ practicenets. Through turnaround double play practice, athletes can work ontheir reaction and catch-to-throw transition times.
By increasing thespeed of the transition, players will be able to make more effectivedouble plays and ultimately get more outs.About SKLZSKLZis committed to elevating the athlete in each of us by guiding andserving athletes on their journeys to be their personal best. As theflagship brand of Pro Performance Sports, based in San Diego California,SKLZ develops innovative athletic performance and skill developmenttraining products, technology and knowledge for serious athletes of allages, skill levels and sports including baseball, football, soccer,golf, softball and basketball.
SKLZ is known around the world fordelivering durable, high-performance training products used byprofessional and amateur athletes as well as their coaches and trainersseeking to improve on a sport-specific skill or a performance-focusedgoal such as speed, agility, balance or core strength. Customer ReviewsMost helpful customer reviews6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.Joe Mauer QuickSwing PX4,By jayc934I have a son that is 6 & with this device his hitting has reallyimproved! Teaches him hand eye coordination, & has severaldifferent ways to use this with the included trampoline! Only draw backis that sometimes the balls don't roll down & you have to give themachine a little shake! All in all this machine is well worth the money& will definitely help on your swing!5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.It delivers!By markieExcellent product. It's simple, but delivers results. I as a coachlike it so much because I (and auto-feeder) can feed balls to a batterwhile I'm checking his swing.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.Quality product, easy to use!By Cbomb43Great product, easy to set up, looks much more sturdy in pics thanit actually is but the thin plastic actually keeps it lite and frombreaking when transporting it around.
My sons team of 7-8 year olds loveit. But beware your kid must be mentally advanced enough to swinglevel. If not it will ruin their swing. A lot of the kids startedchopping at the ball as it came out the shoot, thus, messing up theirswing. Other kids like my son were able to wait for the ball to comedrop into the hitting zone and hit it. Another thing, this thing needs acarry bag, it's not heavy but theres lots of parts and the box is tobig and hard to deal with.
All my other baseball products i use withthis. Catch net, come with carry bags.