Alec Buttfield

Biomechanist and Sport Scientist, PhD, consulting to National and Professional teams - based in Adelaide, Australia

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

@JackDyer17 @mrtonymartin Genius

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

His feel is real, but it's augmented by biomech metrics like stride length and timing of his foot down.

IMO, the role of the applied biomech here is to provide information that supports the pre-existing but also challenges and aids exploration.

Soft skills are the key to this

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Again, not saying this happened here, but if you're a hitting coach reading this thinking that your hitters need high velo training, make sure you keep the variability in there to keep that adaptability in their technique

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Last observation from the article, routine and what has worked in the past is super important to him.

He knows where his peak performance is, to move away to find a different peak risks getting lost in the valley in between.

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

The technique adapts to the certainty of the intercept timing and location. Hitters end up crashing onto their front side, they don't stay stacked on the back side because they know where and when the intercept happens.

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Bregman says that he's pressing forward too much and wants to be more stacked on his backside.

This says to me that the ground reaction force at front foot contact is initiating hip rotation more than he is used to. The force is travelling up his leg and popping open his pelvis

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

I have zero insight into Bregman and his training, so this is just intended to be a general observation - but where I've seen this reaction in the past is from cage work with low variability, particularly high speed machine work where the velo is in a really tight range

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

The reaction to this is that he's losing connection between pelvis and torso, and ends up with his top half spinning rather than building off the power available from his bottom half.

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Bregman says he's getting his foot down and his stride length is the same. This is a great sign that the biomech metrics are available and being used to aid performance at the major league level.

Great work by the front office, not surprising given the biomech staff there

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

He feels that his underlying capacity to swing hard hasn't changed, or has even improved, and therefore how bat speed has changed year on year is not as relevant.

That's a really mature approach to a metric that is still quite new, particularly in the public sphere

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

At the population level, higher bat speed is hugely important. But at the individual level, maximising bat speed on each swing isn't going to help intercept a moving target.

He undoubtedly could swing harder, but it's not necessarily going to help him hit for power

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Bregman says that his pull side power has more to do with mechanics than bat speed, that he's able to move the bat better and is stronger than he has ever been.

This goes back to a previous thread of mine - the measure can't become the target.

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Enjoyed this article by @sahadevsharma about Alex Bregman's hitting approach.

There's a couple of nice insights if you're able to read between the lines.

Thread below...

https://t.co/8d1UGGtfGE

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Final word on this.

Tatis Jr went back to an open stance setup in mid-May (video on the left), but it still takes a couple of weeks to get the timing back.

When it finally clicks you end up with a 450ft hr (video on the right)

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Bringing together a couple of threads sparked by articles feom the Athletic.

https://t.co/HkodZfiWj6

@barrysvrluga @enosarris

[Barry Svrluga @barrysvrluga]

Quick, what team scores more runs than any other, ranks fourth in OPS and has scored at least six runs in a game the most?

The Dodgers?
The Yankees?

That would be the Nationals. On an unlikely offensive explosion and the coaching behind it. Free story!
https://t.co/2MC9uUNheC

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

So while Tatis has lost his pull side power after seemingly changing his setup to be more rotated away from the pitcher at release and gaining bat speed, Curtis has found it by going the other way.

Small changes can make a big difference when you keep an eye on performance

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

An addendum to these threads - by adding another thread!

How a small change can make a big difference, and Goodhart's Law applied to baseball.

Biomechanics of how setup can help to repair timing issues.

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Did a shallow dive on this @enosarris observation - biomechanics behind how setup leads to timing issues with Fernando Tatis

https://t.co/v0XZNaUcON

[Alec Buttfield @alecbuttfield]

Mead's bat speed is pretty much the same in '26 (down by 0.5mph, so within error), but power performance is way up.

Tatis Jr's bat speed is up in '26 (75.2mph compared to 74 in '25), but power performance is down