How Ryan Fitzgerald Leveraged Physics to Improve His Swing—and Eventually, to Reach the Majors

[Lucas Seehafer PT]

Image courtesy of © Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Ryan Fitzgerald is 31 years old and has appeared in nine MLB games. He’s likely not in the Twins’ plans beyond the 2025 campaign, and his days in professional baseball may be numbered. That’s just the reality for a player of Fitzgerald’s ilk. But one doesn’t amass over 400 games at the Triple-A level without having talent or the desire to improve. For Fitzgerald, this desire came to the fore during the 2020 COVID-cancelled minor-league season. 

“In 2019, I had the highest line-drive percentage of the Statcast Era. I think the next-highest was like Freddie Freeman’s, around 31%. I think I was half a percent higher or something like that. So I was trying to figure out, ‘Ok, I’ve got a below-.700 OPS but I’ve got a really high line-drive rate. What’s going on here?’” said Fitzgerald, who was in the Boston Red Sox organization at the time. “I was like, ‘I’ve gotta add bat speed.’”

Bat speed has become one of the hot buzzwords in the baseball lexicon over the last few seasons, due largely to MLB publishing swing data for every MLB player on their hyper-specialized stats site Baseball Savant. However, teams have been tracking bat speed and other swing metrics for quite some time.

“I think my average bat speed in games in 2019 was like 68 and change [miles per hour]. Obviously, league average is 71.3, somewhere around there. So going into 2020, I got with a guy named Ryan Johansen, who was at the time one of the hitting coordinators for the [Chicago White Sox]. I was working with him pretty much that whole offseason—all of 2020. Just trying to figure out how I can increase bat speed.” 

Fitzgerald's swing speed in limited MLB action? 71.3 mph.

 

 

Swing metrics are one of the many aspects of baseball that successfully marries concepts of physics to the sport. As the sport is largely rotational—one can’t throw a ball or swing a bat without rotating, after all—all of the forces generated by the athletes are technically torques, the rotational equivalent of linear force.

However, linear force (F) is familiar and easy enough to understand, so it is often used to explain the benefits of increased bat speed. As Isaac Newton described over 300 years ago, force is equal to the mass (m) of an object multiplied by its acceleration (a); the famous F=ma. Acceleration can further be described as the change of velocity (v) over time (t), morphing the equation to F=m(v/t). So, at its most basic level, force production is directly related to velocity—or in the case of Fitzgerald, swing speed. 

“[Johansen] put me on a bunch of different programs and kind of got me right,” Fitzgerald said. “I went and got a bat-fitting done, changed my bat. That helped a lot. I was swinging a really small and light bat. I went to a bit longer bat, and slightly heavier; a different model.”

By increasing the weight (literally the mass) of his bat, Fitzgerald improved both variables that contribute to force production, m and v/t. The result was a career minor-league OPS of .770, though outside of a poor .704 mark in 127 games in 2022, his numbers regularly landed north of .800. That kept his career viable long enough to eventually bring him all the way to the place players dream of reaching—the majors.

But how, exactly, did Fitzgerald go about improving his bat speed? A mix of weight training and bat speed work.

“I linked up with a trainer after the 2021 season named Bill Miller, and he got me on a ton more weight room-specific bat speed stuff,” Fitzgerald said. “Ryan Johansen helped me more with my swing and stuff like that in the cage, but then I was able to couple that with Bill’s training. A lot of isometrics. A lot of fast-twitch movements. I mean, we measure pretty much everything I do in the weight room there, so that’s been huge for me.”

Measuring force and power output on a regular basis is standard practice at all levels of professional baseball (and increasingly, college and high-school ball, as well). The primary tools used to gather such metrics are force plates. These sensors, which can be embedded under a batter's box or used as isolated above-ground units, can measure force and power data to ridiculously precise degrees. This allows teams to determine an athlete’s strength and power, and develop appropriate training protocols. One metric commonly used by teams is the Dynamic Strength Index, which is determined by finding the relationship between the athlete’s maximal force production during an isometric pull (strength) and a jumping task (power). If the athlete can produce a lot of force but not very quickly, they’d benefit from power training, which emphasizes moving weight quickly. If they can produce force quickly but not very much, they’d benefit from strength training, which is all about producing as much force as possible.

For Fitzgerald, he needed to improve his power.

“I’ve always said, squatting more weight in the weight room isn’t really gonna help you on the baseball field. If you can get to a certain threshold, I think that’s plenty of strength that you’re gonna need. Developing those Type 2 muscle fibers and those fast-twitch muscles are really what you want to do,” Fitzgerald said. “I’m not concerned about squatting 400 pounds in the weight room; I’d rather move 225 extremely fast. I think that’s gonna play better, in terms of bat speed, athleticism, pretty much everything you need on a baseball field.”

(Writer’s note for clarification: Type 2 muscle fibers are often referred to as fast-twitch because, among other things, they contract more quickly than their Type 1 counterparts.)

However, not all athletes would benefit from the same approach as Fitzgerald. In fact, it’s possible that he would have seen similar results from squatting 400 pounds. Again, consider the equation F=m(v/t). This formula stipulates that there are three viable ways to increase force production: 1. Increasing m (i.e., squatting 400); 2. Increasing v/t (i.e., moving 225 really fast); or 3. Doing both.

The key to developing individual athletes is working together with them to determine their preferred method of training and developing training programs to improve their weaknesses. Johansen and Miller did that expertly with Fitzgerald, and it paid off. 

---

Matthew Trueblood contributed reporting to this story.

View full article

[LambchoP]

Hitting .188 is considered much improved lol? Then again, most of the Twins lineup has a BA of .200 or so ....

[Patzky]

9 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Hitting .188 is considered much improved lol? Then again, most of the Twins lineup has a BA of .200 or so ....

He is who we thought he is. No argument.

 

Having said that..

I'm a fan of the Twins and their players and other fans too. Fitzgerald may get maybe ten more AB this season and that's all.  But you won't read any of this stuff about him and appreciate the tinkering and work that went into him even getting to the point where he has these ten ABs.. anywhere else but here. His HR at Target Field will be forever etched in his mind, and some fan who was there to see it. Fans remember the most insignificant things. I went to an Oakland -Twins game at the Dome way back in the 1990s. I don't remember much except two things. The friend I went with was shocked that I chose to see an A's game. And a pitcher named Dave Telgheder for Oakland got hurt and never pitched again. Moments. Like Fitzgerald's HR. Like Gasper's first hit 

I hate Rocco's managing decisions quite often. I'm dismayed with ownership. I'm saddened by the malaise many players display. But I'm not going to stop cheering for the Twins. Even if they have a .188 batter. Even if they trot out guys like Julien and Margot over and over.  

 

[RpR]

18 minutes ago, LambchoP said:

Hitting .188 is considered much improved lol? Then again, most of the Twins lineup has a BA of .200 or so ....

LOL-They brought Lewis up out of AAA this year while he had a .129 average there.

If Fitz had as many at bat in the Bigs as Lewis has had, he would probably look just as good, if not better,  right now as Lewis does , only with a much better glove.

[rdehring]

Interesting, Lucas.  Very interesting.

The fact he plays several positions relatively well, I can see some value in having a guy like him around.  Probably won't happen, but how can you not cheer for someone like him?

[DJL44]

I'm thrilled for him that he's going to get 43 days on a roster to get a pension and health benefits.

[Parfigliano]

1 hour ago, RpR said:

LOL-They brought Lewis up out of AAA this year while he had a .129 average there.

If Fitz had as many at bat in the Bigs as Lewis has had, he would probably look just as good, if not better,  right now as Lewis does , only with a much better glove.

Lewis had a bobblehead day too.

[Parfigliano]

30 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I'm thrilled for him that he's going to get 43 days on a roster to get a pension and health benefits.

I thought you needed 45 days to qualify on the pension-benefits.

[NYCTK]

Not that I'm advocating for his longterm spot on the 40 man roster, but Ryan Fitzgerald is a more valuable player than someone like Austin Martin, someone that will likely hit better than him but whose inability to competently play the field makes him pretty useless as a utility player. 

[Sjoski]

I tip my hat to Ryan for his accomplishment, but " reaching the majors" is relative.

The Twins have:

1) major league admission prices. 

2) a minor league roster,

3) and a beer-league bullpen. 

 

[NYCTK]

29 minutes ago, Sjoski said:

3) and a beer-league bullpen. 

Fun Fact: The Minnesota Twins bullpen has performed better than the 5 bullpen arms that were sent away. 

5 former Twins: 1.43 WHIP  4.95 ERA 

Twins Current: 1.35 WHIP 3.60 ERA 

[glunn]

Why not implement this training program for all hitters?

[Patzky]

3 hours ago, Sjoski said:

I tip my hat to Ryan for his accomplishment, but " reaching the majors" is relative.

The Twins have:

1) major league admission prices. 

2) a minor league roster,

3) and a beer-league bullpen. 

 

So you get to enjoy the best of all worlds at Target Field!

[Patzky]

2 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Fun Fact: The Minnesota Twins bullpen has performed better than the 5 bullpen arms that were sent away. 

5 former Twins: 1.43 WHIP  4.95 ERA 

Twins Current: 1.35 WHIP 3.60 ERA 

Hey that's on Jax. 🥴

[Patzky]

5 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

I thought you needed 45 days to qualify on the pension-benefits.

Pohlad knows exactly.

[Sjoski]

2 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Minnesota Twins bullpen has performed better than the 5 bullpen arms that were sent away. 

Jhoan Duran Philadelphia Phillies 1.89 1.12 57.0 62 23

Griffin Jax Tampa Bay Rays 5.06 1.33 53.1 82 0

Danny Coulombe Texas Rangers 1.85 1.05 39.0 41 2

Brock Stewart Los Angeles Dodgers 2.38 1.09 34.0 41 0

Louis Varland Toronto Blue Jays 2.61 1.18 58.2 58 0

____

Jax has sucked....but 4/5 haven't. 

 

Show me the five guys that have replaced theses 5.

[DJL44]

16 minutes ago, Sjoski said:

Jhoan Duran Philadelphia Phillies 1.89 1.12 57.0 62 23

Griffin Jax Tampa Bay Rays 5.06 1.33 53.1 82 0

Danny Coulombe Texas Rangers 1.85 1.05 39.0 41 2

Brock Stewart Los Angeles Dodgers 2.38 1.09 34.0 41 0

Louis Varland Toronto Blue Jays 2.61 1.18 58.2 58 0

____

Jax has sucked....but 4/5 haven't. 

 

Show me the five guys that have replaced theses 5.

For their new teams, it's actually

Pitcher Name ERA WHIP IP

Jhoan Duran 1.17 0.77 7.2 (excellent)

Griffin Jax 8.59 1.636 7.1 (horrible)

Danny Coulombe 4.50 1.375 8.0 (mediocre)

Brock Stewart 4.91 2.18 3.2 (bad, then out injured)

Louis Varland 5.59 1.552 9.2 (bad)

The Twins have leaned pretty heavily on Sands and Topa and both have pitched pretty well. Hatch has also done good work. Erasmo Ramirez was effective (somehow) for 11 innings.

The only pitcher they've missed is Duran and I don't think they want to hit the "undo" button on that trade.

[LA Vikes Fan]

24 minutes ago, Sjoski said:

Jhoan Duran Philadelphia Phillies 1.89 1.12 57.0 62 23

Griffin Jax Tampa Bay Rays 5.06 1.33 53.1 82 0

Danny Coulombe Texas Rangers 1.85 1.05 39.0 41 2

Brock Stewart Los Angeles Dodgers 2.38 1.09 34.0 41 0

Louis Varland Toronto Blue Jays 2.61 1.18 58.2 58 0

____

Jax has sucked....but 4/5 haven't. 

 

Show me the five guys that have replaced theses 5.

Just a nit. I think you have the all season stats, not the "since I got traded" stats. Since joining the Rangers, Coulombe is 1-1, with a 4.50 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, Varland is 0-0, 5.59, 1.59 WHIP, Jax is 0-1, 8.59, 1.64 WHIP,  Stewart 0-1, 4.91. 2.18 WHIP and on the IL with a shoulder injury (his 35 innings a year limit was reached).  All bad. Coulombe and Stewart more likely than not to be available in the off season for not being on a 40 man roster.  Duran though is 0-1, 1.17 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 7 saves in 8 chances. Very good.

So, of the 5 relievers we traded, 5 have pretty much sucked with their new clubs but Duran has been golden. 

[Bodie]

9 hours ago, NYCTK said:

Fun Fact: The Minnesota Twins bullpen has performed better than the 5 bullpen arms that were sent away. 

5 former Twins: 1.43 WHIP  4.95 ERA 

Twins Current: 1.35 WHIP 3.60 ERA 

God, bullpens are fun!

Kill all relief pitchers: it is good for your long-term mental health...

[Doctor Wu]

12 hours ago, DJL44 said:

For their new teams, it's actually

Pitcher Name ERA WHIP IP

Jhoan Duran 1.17 0.77 7.2 (excellent)

Griffin Jax 8.59 1.636 7.1 (horrible)

Danny Coulombe 4.50 1.375 8.0 (mediocre)

Brock Stewart 4.91 2.18 3.2 (bad, then out injured)

Louis Varland 5.59 1.552 9.2 (bad)

The Twins have leaned pretty heavily on Sands and Topa and both have pitched pretty well. Hatch has also done good work. Erasmo Ramirez was effective (somehow) for 11 innings.

The only pitcher they've missed is Duran and I don't think they want to hit the "undo" button on that trade.

Does that includes Duran's ninth inning meltdown yesterday?

[Doctor Wu]

Back to the original post, very interesting article about Fitzgerald and his desire to improve bat speed and production. I wish more players took the time to look into stuff like that and try to back improvements. Literally, every little bit helps. 

[Patzky]

8 hours ago, Bodie said:

God, bullpens are fun!

Kill all relief pitchers: it is good for your long-term mental health...

Duran Varland and France all floundering last night. Paddack good except against us. Beefsteak out for the year. Castro hardly plays on a sinking team.

Coulombe still doing Coulombe things..

We have new broken toys to replace the old ones.