Mendoza swing vs. Ramirez swing

The swing itself can remain similar because the mechanics involve the same basic steps. Ramirez and Mendoze both have a closed stance where they build up power in their back leg prior to pitch delivery. Upon the delivery both swings go through the three step process. 1. The back elbow stretches back for timing and explosion, 2. The back foot pivots explosively into the ground while finishing pointing at the pitchers, and 3. they take both hand and throw them at the middle of the ball for perfect extension and contact. It is a urban legend that softball swings and baseball swings are completely different. If a player of either sport is taught the basic principles of a swing, it would look almost identical.

The swing is different because the game is different. The basic physics is the same when it comes to putting energy into the baseball. Load, Land, Explode! Accelerate the bat head through the baseball. But the mental approach to the game with different sized fields and different sized balls will be different. I have coached hitting in both sports and came to the realization that my baseball approach to hitting does not work for the softball girls. I can put them in a strong position but the approach is different. My opinion is that baseball players should coach baseball and softball players should coach softball.

I have worked with D-1 players from baseball and softball for 20 years....If you can really teach hitting, you can teach them both....They so similar, except for a few visual ques, tempo patterns etc...The kinetic sequence is the same

the objective is the same in both.....hit the ball hard!!

The reason why their swings are similar is because they have both been taught the proper mechanics to hitting the ball squarely. If you were hitting a golf ball, would you swing any differently? Or would you change you swing specifically for the batting cages?

It amazes me that there are only men answering this question. There are expert women instructors who disagree with the "no difference" philosophy. I am no expert on hitting, but I am on pitching and it is a known fact that that there are enough physiological differences in men and women for the windmill mechanics to be different therefore the swing must be different for the same reason. If your philosophy is that there is no difference and a man's baseball swing is taught then that is what you get. If you understand the differences and a women's softball swing is taught that is what you get. If you make a women train and develop muscles like a man for a baseball swing then that is what she looks like. That has been the failure in the softball arena for years. Men who think that they can make the move from baseball to softball without taking into consideration that women are not the same as men have caused problems in the softball arena. Women are not as strong as men in their

I am a woman and I agree 100% with the Frozen Ropes teaching techniques. I am a coach and most of my team trains at one of their facilities in the Northeast. If you take a look at the elite college softball players and teams you will notice that the swing looks exactly the same as a baseball players. Why has softball been dominated by pitching? It's because so many coaches want to make it different and that has lead to failure for the girls. Hitting is finally starting to come around thanks to people realizing it is the same.

Having played high school baseball and now men's fastpitch, I can say my swing is similar in both sports, but substantially more compact in softball. Everything in a baseball swing needs to be accomplished quicker in softball swing, but the basics are the same. I think the primary difference is in the loading phase, which must be made prior to the release of the ball in softball vs fast pitchers. Hands do not have the time to move backward. If the pitcher is slow, my swing is the same as a baseball swing.