Customer Reviews

Charley Lau - The Art of Hitting .300 [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a 14-15 year old senior league baseball coach I have found Mr. Lau's techniques for hitting extremely useful. What was most helpful from the video was Lau's focus on a good weight shift, which makes it possible for a lightweight hitter to make strong contact with the ball. I found his talk about lead arm extension useful as well--not only does it allow for a complete follow-through, but stresses the importance of keeping your head "down on the ball". I would recommend this video to anyone interested in improving their swing through the use of sound mechanics.

Charlie Lau was a student of the best hitters in the history of baseball, thus is it any mystery that this video would be the "best" about the "best" from a professional hitting instructor. Charlie Lau breaks hitting into easy to understand components, then assembles these components into a successful hitting system. Follow the method and be successful. Many of today's baseball stars are using this system very successfully. - Reviewed by a coach having extreme success teaching hitting!

The first impression one gets when viewing this video is the poor audio and video quality. Was this video filmed by my 8 year old son on the family camcorder?

The second impression is that Charley Lau is not really a 'people' person. His on camera presence is one of arogance and distain for the high school kids he is demonstrating to. He also continually 'name' drops baseball stars who have no real presence in the video.

Note: that all demonstartions are done from the left side of the plate. This may be not be a negative issue, but it should be something to be aware of before purchasing the video.

If you want pure hitting instruction, this is the video you need. Charley Lau didn't win any personality contests (as you'll be able to pick up on in the video), but his students still sing his praises over his hitting techniques. He was so good, that his techniques (taught in this video) are still called "Lau style" today, 25+ years later. The video is so basic and fundamental that a Little Leauger can understand it, and is also so enlightening that it should be required viewing for anyone wanting to hit, regardless of their age.

While Charlie Lau was one of the most renowned hitting coaches, he comes across in this video at times as a comically grumpy old man. The portion of the video where he is demonstrating his fundamental approach to hitting is invaluable (even though it is obviously not rehearsed or scripted, and, therefore, could be more focused). The portion where he answers questions from the players is not as strong as he sometimes mumbles dismissive answers. The final portion is not instructional, he merely gives his opinion of the players he considers to be the best hitters of all time. Still, this is a very good video, especially if you watch it in conjunction with the one made by his star pupil, George Brett. Brett's video by itself is filled with fluff and not really very useful but it does show proper execution of the lessons in Lau's video.

CHARLIE LAU HITTING PHILOSOPHY IS LEGENDARY. HE WILL BE REMEMBERED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST HITTING INSTRUCTORS OF ALL TIME.