Shivnaraine Chanderpaul Tettleton held the bat almost parallel to the ground while standing straight up - a stance that would get you yelled at by your Little League coach if you tried it today. Country singer details harrowing New Year's Eve run. Known more for his defensive prowess that his offensive punch, the only thing people remember from Plantier's time at the plate was his exaggerated crouch while waiting for the pitch to come in. ( Current )? Speaking of short-tenured Yankees with weird batting stances, here is one of the best hitters in baseball history who had a minimal impact on the Yankees, but a … The Stance Signature: Youkilis is the only one who could give Batista a run for the “weird stances” title. They can stand out by showing off a big arm, cat-like fielding reflexes, or sprinter speed running the bases. 0 0? Pitches shine with blazing fastballs and nasty curve balls that fall off the table. When he whiffed, he looked like a fool, but overall it was definitely worth it. His knees were basically touching, yet his feet were about two yards apart. Take Julio Franco, for example - he won five Silver Slugger awards holding the bat above his head pointing towards the outfield, a stance that no doubt was not the most effective for most batters, but one that worked just fine for Franco. Stop it, Chuck. Baseball players can stand out on the diamond in a variety of ways. Stan Musial was one of the greatest ball players in the history of the game, and for the most part, the lists he usually ends up on are regarding his hitting prowess and where he ranks among other legends. Bonus stance: Some weird kid from Coastal Carolina Ichiro, who already is not a big individual, makes himself even more compact in the box, scrunching himself up into the far corner of the box, knees buckled in and all. I've since graduated from Concordia University with a Major in Journalism and am now pursuing my studies at the University of Ottawa to obtain a Masters degree in Sports Management. Why are his hands so far apart? I think the saddest thing about Craig’s giraffe-like stance is … However, he made it … Stephen. Sheffield's wild swinging of the bat back and forth above his head must have gotten annoying for pitchers, but when he connected with the ball, the whole act was a thing of beauty. How quickly can he uncoil his bat when he sees a pitch he likes? Caution: the following gallery presents major league baseball's most unconventional batting stances and pre-at-bat mannerisms that are not recommended for replication by youth baseball players. Fawad Alam's batting stance isn't as weird as it might seem at first. Even Jason Kendall hit more dingers than that. Mickey was known for his very unique batting stance, where he would literally wiggle his hips back and forth before every pitch, almost in an Elvis-like fashion. 20 Answers. Fawad Alam: The Pakistani had a very weird batting stance while he used to play. If you happen to be a first baseman, your bat has to be particularly marvelous for you to reach Cooperstown. Bro. The batting stance is the beginning of anything that happens during the exchange between pitcher and batter. It's often speculated that had Ichiro had come to North America sooner he would have annihilated Pete Rose's hits record. 1. Some have called the stance "Gary Sheffield Lite," but Weeks did have his own personal touch to it. Ok, I feel better after my mini rant. 1. see batting average 2. see bowling average Away swing see out swing B Back foot 1. Double steak burrito? Those five renegades are the dudes I think have the weirdest batting stances ever. So many questions. Business casual by week, sports chic by weekend. Ten years and, inexplicably, zero retrospective essays on his wonderfully weird batting stance. Most batters come up to the plate looking tensed up and ready to spring onto a good pitch. Others have a tendency of just standing in strange positions for comfort or just to be "different." As baseball fans born in the mid-90's, we were lucky enough to grow up in the golden age of weird and notable batting stances. If I'm not mistaken, didn't Mark Mcgwire have a pretty weird batting stance also? Dude’s a career .255 hitter who hit a whopping 42 home runs in 16-year career. Warning: do not approach her directly after a Steelers loss. SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, PA - AUGUST 28: Baseballs sit on a ledge during the first inning … This made Alou look quite strange at the plate, but no one was laughing once he made contact with the baseball. Close. This College Baseball Player Has The Strangest Batting Stance We've Ever Seen. I don’t know if this was an intimidation technique or what, but it’s one of the weirdest stances I’ve ever seen. West Indies cricketer Shivnarine Chanderpaul's batting stance was one of the most weird batting stances ever seen, especially for a top level international batsman. Craig Counsell. The constant standing still in a squatting position must have done wonders for his legs, but it never translated to much more than an average career as a batter. Health nut. They can stand out by showing off a big arm, cat-like fielding reflexes, or sprinter speed running the bases. It defies science. Does it allow the batter to hit the ball as hard as he possibly can? Share a pic of your favorite weird batting stance with us on our Instagram @BaconSports or on Twitter @BaconSports! 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I started writing when I was 10 or 11, writing crazy stories based loosely off weird dreams and fantastical novels (A.K.A the Harry Potter series). When the pitch came he would slide his hand down the bat, so at the end of the day his stance made no real difference, it was just unique to "Youuuuk.". It worked, though, as Bagwell was a fearsome hitter - he finished his career with 449 home-runs. For example, you could often spot ex-UCLA players for years just from the stance taught by longtime coach Gary Adams (slight bend at the knee, upright upper body, "quiet" relaxed hands held at chest level). Others have more moving parts, like Gary Sheffield. The stance is the base of batting as it helps the batsman to face a delivery. He seems to settle into a more orthodox stance before the ball is bowled. His open stance and elbow-clicking just added to the whole show that was a Craig Counsell at-bat. It worked though, as he won seven batting titles using that batting stance. His batting stance, which helped him win three MVP awards and seven batting titles, was definitely one of the strange ones - there were batters who hit "closed" (front foot ahead of back foot), and then there was Musial, who closed his stance so much it's a wonder how he managed to see the pitcher over his right shoulder. I think the saddest thing about Craig’s giraffe-like stance is that it wasn’t even effective. 31. Carew had one of the most unconventional batting stances the game has ever seen, specifically because of the way he held his bat. The college game is more prone to enforce rigid hitting systems among players and to eliminate quirky or "individualistic" stances. His bat is literally three feet behind his head. Considered one of the "laziest" stances in the league, Rios would hold his bat around his belt buckle and keep it straight up. George Bailey's weird batting stance does nothing to ease Australia's macho image. Similarly, you can tell a lot about a baseball player from his batting stance. It didn't work out all that well for Plantier, who never was a walk-drawing machine. Basically, this stance bothers me, and I do not like it. When batting, the foot that is closest to the stumps. Why doesn’t he bend his knees? Some argue that Tony Batista's stance was one of the strangest in the history of the league. Lets Start!!! The Pakistani was known as the “axe man” because of his interesting batting stance. For some reason, Julio Franco really liked to point the top of the bat right at the pitcher’s face. Regardless of how you view Sheffield's stance, one thing is for certain - it was incredibly strange. Chinmay Jawalekar has penned down the list of 11 such players who are best remembered for their weird … You have to be one to get into the Hall of Fame. Podcast Hustle: How To Start A Podcast & Grow An Audience, 30 Days Of Excellence: My Testimonial And Why You Should Join, Lessons Learned From Getting Your First 5500 Podcast Downloads, San Francisco 49ers Faithful To The Bay Campaign Launch with Alex Chang, Bacon Sports & Macon Bacon Join Forces To Help Sports Industry, LeBroncast: All Cavs NBA Finals Everything. Batters, in their own right, want to shine with long bombs and a knack for knocking in runs - but for some hitters (including some of the best of all-time), the thing that stands out the most is their unique, strange, and sometimes downright ridiculous batting stances. Why is he trying to be Julio Franco with the pointy bat syndrome? If you're one of those ballplayers who likes to hold their bat horizontally (and practically parallel to the ground), but get told off by your coaches and parents for it, just point them to a biography of Rod Carew. I use the word dynamic in the opposite sense of "static," because Weeks has far from static in the batter's box. Alex Rios was once an up-and-coming superstar outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays. How? Alou would hold the bat in a relatively normal fashion, but instead of planting his feet "normally," he would plant them and then invert his knees to the point where they would be grazing each other. Tettleton, like Rios, looked like he was simply out for a stroll and was being inconvenienced by the bat, so he would simply hold it in a way that maximized comfort. Phil Plantier's stance was a clear play on the old adage that the strike zone for any batter is between his knees and chest. The owner of possibly the weirdest batting stance in the world is Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Born and raised Montrealer, I grew up with dreams of donning the Montreal Canadiens uniform, scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal and becoming a Quebec hero. Tengo que dicer Craig Counsell, that man just points his whole body up to the sky, just to try to intimidate the pitcher. Since he never truly panned out, however, he's remembered for less impressive reasons - one of those reasons being his batting stance. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. The stance didn’t allow him to play either … While he wasn't the focal point of an offense that featured Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, "Youk" could hit - his batting stance, though, is what really set him apart from his Sox teammates. No documentaries. Batista's exaggerated open stance was definitely different, but it was something that made him successful. I've contributed to several Concordia publications and media outlets (print, radio and broadcast), as well as better-known outlets such as Cult MTL, VersusFootball and The Hockey News. Aaron Rowand was better known for the work he did with his glove than with his bat, but his batting stance sure was a sight to behold. Improvisation or misplaced bravado? His arms raised high above his head, the bat even higher, it's a wonder Counsell's bat was never clipped by an airplane. As always, MLB The Show 19 List of Generic Stances/Motions - Operation Sports Forums Someone should do a documentary on how he even came up with the idea for such a crazy batting stance (and routine, for that matter). Michael B Kelley. His stance made him a master on backfoot and allowed him to discover a few creative shots as well. Once that dream became unrealistic, I focused on immerssing myself in the sport and team I loved the best way I could: writing. Granted, Batista's "swinging-foot-open-stance" strategy was odd, but as far as we could tell as fans, he was doing it for a reason - it helped him hit the baseball, and it worked. And then some are just plain weird. Bagwell also stepped back towards himself when a pitch came in instead of forward, making his swing even more unconventional. Some of them have had strange ways of holding the bat, whilst some others used very bizarre stances. Whatever the point of it is, it works. Based on other strange stances, the bat held high above his shoulder pointing towards the sky can be forgiven - but the fact that he looked like he was sitting on a comfortable couch lands his batting stance on this list. He went from picture one to picture two while the pitch was delivered. Some have stances which look very weird to us but it is their way of approaching the game. The at-bat won't start until the batter is set in his batting stance, and while some may think of it simply as just a way of standing before hitting a ball, a hitter's stance is important on so many levels. Is the stance comfortable? Ichiro Suzuki is perhaps the greatest hitter the game of baseball has ever seen. For all intensive purposes, this stance was not ideal in preparing to strike a baseball, but for Rios it worked (most of the time). The Englishmen had a very weird batting stance. This is yet another hall of fame stance to immitate on the wiffle or tenniball field and even though Tony Bautista played for many teams in many leagues, his stance made him well recognized no matter what jersey he was wearing. Others have more moving parts, like Gary Sheffield. Some are strong and structured, like Albert Pujols. Rickie Weeks had a reputation as a great hitter coming out of college, and part of that package was his dynamic batting stance. 38,704 posts, read 93,244,659 times Reputation: 29740. From the awkwardly upright, to the creepily duck-like, there’s something for everyone in these stances. His front foot would bounce up and down while his bat wiggled around over his back shoulder. He would position it as an axe, right between his legs and would literally hit the ground like he was cutting wood. I never figured out how you can hit a ball when you're stirring the bat over your head like Counsell does. Some are strong and structured, like Albert Pujols. Not only is Ichiro an amazing hitter, he has a unique batting stance to boot. Top 15 Strangest Batting Stances of All-Time | TheSportster 1 decade ago. A member of Venezuela's Little League squad showed off the most absurd batting stance you'll ever see. The Aussie still scored a half-century, but the example it sets for youngsters is worrying. Originally from Pittsburgh, Rebecca bleeds Black and Gold and cites Casey Hampton as her all-time favorite Steeler. Weirdo. I can’t even. That is said in jest, of course, but the batting stances on this list are legendary not only for the statistics the batters put up, but for the quirkiness of the stances these hitters lived and died by throughout their Major League careers. Answer Save. Sometimes it really is just about comfort (or maybe he was just showing off). While some may argue that having an awkward batting stance hinders your ability to make contact with the ball, there are plenty of examples that show that this is not always the case. The explosive batsman would keep his feet wide apart on the crease and play with an extremely high backlift. Every one has different way of standing to hit the ball in the best way. As I got older my attention turned to sports writing: game recaps, features, profiles, and the like. 2. Video: Player’s Weird Batting Stance Goes Viral During LLWS. About the Nomar thing, guy 5 or 8 answers ago; Yeah, I will never forget that walkoff either. Tony Bautista's stance was the most awkward and unusual stance I have ever seen. I don’t understand how the man hit 332 home runs from that stance. Fawad Alam's batting stance isn't as weird as it might seem at first. Jeff Bagwell had a similar stance to Aaron Rowand, with the only main difference being the way the two held the bat over their shoulders (Bagwell had his about as high but pointed straight back towards the third-base lower bowl). 5 batsmen with weird batting stance, With their unorthodox batting stance, these players have also caught the eyes with their skills. Who was the weirdest batting stance? The legendary speedster played with an open chested stance and with his bat mid-air. One of my personal sayings is, “You can tell a lot about people from their Chipotle orders.” Brown rice and veggies? Relevance. 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