Product Details

• Actors: Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, MLB
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Atlantic / Wea
• DVD Release Date: June 26, 2001
• Run Time: 47 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005KH4I
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #106,750 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
You don't have to be a physics major to appreciate this insiders' look at the combination of science, mechanics, and instinct that has produced baseball's greatest hitters, past, present, and future. Mark McGwire may say, "You see [the ball], you hit it," but as the 45-minute program thrillingly demonstrates, it is not that easy. Hitters on Hitting fields an awesome lineup of Hall of Famers and contemporary superstars, from "students of the game" (Ted Williams, Wade Boggs, and Tony Gwynn, praised here by his peers as "the thinking man's hitter") to the "naturals" (Larry Walker, Ken Griffey Jr.). The legendary Williams, the last player to hit .400, notes that hitting a baseball is the game's "hardest single thing to do" (and, he adds, perhaps the reason why so many slugger wannabes eventually give up and retire to the golf course). Wade Boggs echoes, "You can do everything absolutely right, and still fail." Slow-motion batting practice footage and awe-inspiring game highlights complement the hitters' expert, albeit sometimes arcane, commentary. Adding their perspective are pitchers such as Mike Marshall and Randy Johnson, who discuss "the art of keeping the hitter guessing." There is also a humorous segment on unusual batting stances (Tony Batista) as well as unusual pre-bat rituals (Nomar Garciaparra).

The DVD features a text history of one of the All-Star Game's most popular events, the Home Run Derby, as well as highlight footage from each Derby from 1989 to 2000. Another supplemental segment further explores the "Science of Swing." But as Cal Ripken Jr. states at one point, "It's too darn complicated to explain." So just relax and enjoy watching in action these "students" who are in a class by themselves. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description
"They give you a round ball and a round bat and tell you to hit it square." - Ted Williams. Major League Baseball's best-of-the-best sluggers discussing hitting and fascinating aspect of their craft you have never imagined. Baseball's most popular and proficient hitting machines reveal the secrets to their successful split-second decisions and adjustments in the batter's box. This DVD includes an exclusive segment on the history of the MLB All-Star Game Home Run Derby. Featuring the legends of longball lore, this section celebrates the fence-bustin' strokes of McGwire, Griffey, Martinez, Thomas, Gonzalez and MLB's best home run bashers over the past 15 years.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a "how to hit" video, April 24, 2004

By A Customer

I ordered this DVD under the assumption that it was a "how to hit" video. It is not. It is a highlight film of hitters which features interviews with the hitters about hitting. What I was hoping for was a breakdown of the swings of several hitters using the most modern technology -- super slow motion, zoom, multiple camera angles -- showing the mechanics of how to hit a baseball. They and a narrator would discuss these swings, from the proper grip of the bat, to stance, to swing -- weight shift, hip rotation, bringing the hands through -- to follow through. There are many nice scenes of famous hitters hitting the ball, and kind of talking about how they do it, but never any photographic or motion picture break down. I suppose I was looking for a "The Louisville Slugger Ultimate Book of Hitting" or Ted Williams' "The Science of Hitting" on DVD. This is not it. Although it IS educational, and one can use the slow motion of your DVD player to slow down and analyze the swings on one's own, it is not, in its truest sense, a "how to hit" video.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big stars, entertaining but not instructional, August 21, 2001

By	Dallas E. Moon "[e-mail]" (Tallapoosa, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Major League Baseball Hitters on Hitting - Finding the Sweet Spot [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This tape has some of baseball's biggest stars like Mark McGwire and Cal Ripken, Jr. Overall it is a good video that is entertaining and would be good to watch to get you pumped up before a game because of the music, the highlights and the fast pace of part of it. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of five was because from the title and description is sounds like it is very instructional. The players tell you somethings that work for them and how they have changed hitting styles as they learn over the years but it didnt really teach me anything about hitting myself. So in all good video that was entertaining but not instructional

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good. Lots of action. Home Run Derby highlights a +!, November 2, 2001

By	Andrew Ho (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Great DVD. From 2001 and some of the clips are even from the current season. Cool tidbits, including a 5 minute evaluation of all of Ripken's batting stances (narrated by Cal himself). I like the extra feature of the highlights from the previous 10 Home Run Derbys or so. Also, if you're curious of the 'science' of baseball, there's a neat little extra feature on that as well.