February 20, 200323 yr My question is why was Walt Hriniak fired in 1995? from what Ive heard, he was pretty good, and a tremendous help to Frank Thomas.
February 21, 200323 yr If I recall his philosphy didn't go well with many of the players. Frank and I think Robin liked it, but a lot of the players didn't like how he pretty much had one way of teaching and if you didn't buy into it, then tough luck. I'm sure someone else has more info on this though, cause I was just 12 at the time, so I'm going off what I read much after the fact.
February 21, 200323 yr he believes in the charlie lau theory of hitting...worked great in KC for charlie but i think it fell out of favor when big bucks for home run hitters took over free agency
February 21, 200323 yr My question is why was Walt Hriniak fired in 1995? from what Ive heard, he was pretty good, and a tremendous help to Frank Thomas. I never ever understood that
February 21, 200323 yr he believes in the charlie lau theory of hitting...worked great in KC for charlie but i think it fell out of favor when big bucks for home run hitters took over free agency I feel rather dumb here...but what is the Charlie Lau theory?
February 21, 200323 yr If I recall his philosphy didn't go well with many of the players. Frank and I think Robin liked it, but a lot of the players didn't like how he pretty much had one way of teaching and if you didn't buy into it, then tough luck. That's pretty much it..... in a nutshell Chisoxfn.
February 21, 200323 yr My question is why was Walt Hriniak fired in 1995? from what Ive heard, he was pretty good, and a tremendous help to Frank Thomas. I never ever understood that That makes two of us, CWSOX. I'd like a full explanation from someone. Please!
February 21, 200323 yr he believes in the charlie lau theory of hitting...worked great in KC for charlie but i think it fell out of favor when big bucks for home run hitters took over free agency I feel rather dumb here...but what is the Charlie Lau theory? charlie lau theory...biggest proponent ws george brett...his theory on hitting was to be way off the plate and dive into the ball...guys who hit this way usually held the bat parallel to the ground..alot of them actually rested it on their shoulder (remember in little league , "hey get that bat off your shoulder"..lol)...alot of opposite field hitting...his idea of a home run was it was a mistake...he created alot of doubles and triples hitters..good contact hitters..guys hitting the ball into the gap....if you look at george brett's stats they are perfect for the charlie lau theory of hitting...40 doubles . 10 triples about 15 to 20 homers.. if you go to baseball reference .com yopu can look at each teams stats from every year..you can see how all the royals hitters of that era were doubles and triples hitters..cant argue with the success the royals had i nthe mid to late 70's
February 21, 200323 yr he believes in the charlie lau theory of hitting...worked great in KC for charlie but i think it fell out of favor when big bucks for home run hitters took over free agency I feel rather dumb here...but what is the Charlie Lau theory? charlie lau theory...biggest proponent ws george brett...his theory on hitting was to be way off the plate and dive into the ball...guys who hit this way usually held the bat parallel to the ground..alot of them actually rested it on their shoulder (remember in little league , "hey get that bat off your shoulder"..lol)...alot of opposite field hitting...his idea of a home run was it was a mistake...he created alot of doubles and triples hitters..good contact hitters..guys hitting the ball into the gap....if you look at george brett's stats they are perfect for the charlie lau theory of hitting...40 doubles . 10 triples about 15 to 20 homers.. if you go to baseball reference .com yopu can look at each teams stats from every year..you can see how all the royals hitters of that era were doubles and triples hitters..cant argue with the success the royals had i nthe mid to late 70's Great explanation of Lau. It works for some but I don't believe in "one size fits all." Some hitters are just not comfortable with that method. I think a good hitting coach has to be flexible and come up with a plan that suits each particular hitter. Same with pitching. Lots of different styles. I won't argue with Lau's success and many guys praised him to the heavens.
February 21, 200323 yr IIRC, Hrniak and Sosa never exactly saw eye to eye. My problem with Hrniak was his "one size fits all" philosophy. I think his appraoch obviously works for some (e.g., Frank and Robin) but not for others. He didn't seem able to adjust his philosophy for those who were unsuccessful using the Lau approach.
February 21, 200323 yr IIRC, Hrniak and Sosa never exactly saw eye to eye. That's because Hriniak told Soso to lose the Mr. T Starter Kit
February 21, 200323 yr IIRC, Hrniak and Sosa never exactly saw eye to eye. That's because Hriniak told Soso to lose the Mr. T Starter Kit That is a very unfair slam on Mr T!
February 21, 200323 yr IIRC, Hrniak and Sosa never exactly saw eye to eye. That's because Hriniak told Soso to lose the Mr. T Starter Kit
February 21, 200323 yr If I remember right (or wrong) on the Hriniak style it was as mentioned in other posts, but he was a proponent of... going the other way with the ball meaning smack or slap it to right field if you were a righty, etc. There was a lot of complaining about that style from would be homerun champions thinking he was a proponent of singles and got blamed when power production dropped off. He might also have been a scapegoat for some and wasn't a favorite of management at that time. I had the opportunity to get an instructional video starring Hriniak and produced by the Chisox around 1993/1994. He talked hitting obviously and it was a good tape for youngsters to watch and learn from. I always had a lot of respect for the man.
February 22, 200323 yr The Charlie Lau style of hitting also called for an early release of the top hand, Frank still does it to some extent, in order to keep your head down longer. Hriniak's last great project was Michael Jordan, during his ridiculous attempt at pro baseball.
February 22, 200323 yr More on Hriniak: Naturally, I hope he helps Frank this year. If Frank hits .300, we have a great chance at the playoffs. But I remember when Frank came up to the Sox. He was such a frigging stud, it made my eyes water. Even Hawk said that he was the best looking hitter to come to the bigs since Ted Williams. And Hriniak got hold of him and made him hit in the Lau style. I still believe he took a lot of power away from Frank and cost him a ton of home runs. Frank was so good then that he would still have hit for a high average with a tradtional swing. But if he helps this year, he has my blessing.
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