One-on-one with "Teacherman", the man who helped Aaron Judge become the player he is

Question #1: You played catcher in college. How does that experience help you when working with professional ball players today?

When in college I did not know what I know now about the swing. But thinking back on that experience, we faced a couple of hitters that were significantly better than the rest.  I couldn’t put my finger on what they were doing better than everyone else at that time, but I know now and wish I knew it then.

Question #2: Have you always been a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals? Do you still keep up with the team as a fan?

I grew up in a small town in Iowa. Our weekly TV game of the week was a Cubs broadcast, so I was aware of the Cubs/Cards rivalry. The games were always good TV. My extended family lived in Dayton, Ohio, and we went to a family reunion in Ohio every summer. I was a serious Cincinnati Reds fan. 

I graduated college with a degree in education and moved to StL in 1978 and became a Cards fan. I loved the Whitey Ball teams. Loved the McGwire and Pujols eras. I follow the Cards; daily results, but I watch every Yankee game. 

Question #3: What makes Barry Bonds' swing, something you use as a template today, such an effective approach for hitters?

Bonds' swing was (still is, in my opinion) the most efficient swing ever. Very quick. Very sudden. Very powerful. He could create tremendous rotary power from within a very small/tight space. He hit "from within a phone booth". He did not have a big forward move. By studying him I learned how he created a stretch of his body against his rear leg that snapped suddenly at launch.

Question #4: When you heard that Dave Matranga wanted to connect you with Aaron Judge in 2016, what was your initial reaction? Also, what were some things that a young Judge was wanting to work on/needed to work on the most the year when you first started working with him, in your opinion?

I did not know anything about Aaron when first asked to work with him. I was excited to work with someone who had big-league experience. Most of my experience at that time was with 10-16-year-olds online. I did have prior experience with two pro players: David Matranga and Matt Kata.  

The first year with Aaron our work throughout the season was to keep him "feeling" the quick snap. That included maintaining the rearward hand snap from one weighted leg, the rear leg. Prior to working with me his swing was pretty much the exact opposite. So, my teaching was new to him and it took a lot of work to keep him tuned up. 

Question #5: What has working with Aaron Judge done for your career and business?

Aaron won the Rookie of the Year in 2017, and he set a new rookie home run record. In January 2018 he endorsed me on Twitter. I was in Pennsylvania putting on a weekend clinic for a 12-year-old team. I got 1,000 new followers almost instantly, and from that point forward, I traveled the country putting on clinics and working with prospects. In December of 2019, I opened my facility in St. Peters, and now, for the most part, people interested in my teaching come to me.  I’ve had people from every state, Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, and Mexico come to my facility. Business is good. 

Question #6: Have you worked with any other players in Major League Baseball? Any players on the St. Louis Cardinals?

I have a dozen or so major league clients and a lot of minor league and college players. In a recent minor league playoff game, four starters on each team were clients of mine, and there was a total of 12 clients on their combined rosters. I have worked with a couple of Cardinals in the past. 

Question #7: Which player would you most like to work with right now in baseball?

People who say "there’s more than one way to swing a bat" or "Teacherman’s stuff doesn’t work for everyone" are simply uninformed. They come to that conclusion thinking I teach home runs. Aaron hits homers, so they conclude that is what I teach. They think I teach launch angle. They think I teach bat speed. They think I teach exit velocity. I do not. You’ll never hear those words spoken during a lesson of mine. In fact, I’m against launch angle and exit velocity swing training. I teach "launch quickness." I teach getting the bat up to your bat speed quickly. Instantly. Not over time and distance. Now.

Aaron has introduced me to friends before as the guy who helped him hit homers. That is not accurate. The launch quickness I taught him helps him barrel the ball. They go far because he’s big and strong.  Everyone who plays wants to barrel the ball. Regardless of player size. Launch quickness is the key to consistently barreling the ball. So what I teach is key to everyone who plays. A big guy’s barreled balls will go further than a little guy’s. The big guy might hit 50+ homers. An average guy might hit 25 homers with 30 doubles.  A small guy might hit 10-15 homers with 40 or 50 doubles. Make no mistake about it, regardless of your size, you must barrel balls to be a big leaguer. Launch quickness is the answer.   

To your question, .as I watch MLB games, 80% or more of the players don’t have launch quickness. They’re good athletes. They have fast twitch muscles, but they don’t have the best mechanics. So, I’d like all of them to learn what I know.  It’s the difference maker. 

Question #8: Do you have any interest in joining a Major League coaching staff in some capacity one day?

I do not want to be a hitting coach or a hitting coordinator. I’ll be 70 in November. I don’t want to work that hard.  I don’t want to take someone’s job either. But, I also want others to learn and teach this amazing swing. I want all players to feel it. It is simply undeniable when you feel it. It’s the cheat code to hitting. So I’d love to be a consultant to an organization where I teach the teachers to teach it. 

Question #9: A writer for Redbird Rants wrote a couple of months back that Jordan Walker should consider working with you due to his similarities to Aaron Judge. Have you ever analyzed Walker's swing on a personal interest level? If so, what adjustments would you help him make to tap into his abilities?

Every organization either teaches the wrong thing (yep. I said it. It’s true), or they don’t recognize when their hitters are violating the most important absolute of hitting: proper weight distribution at launch. Video of all the great hitters proves my point. They all do the same thing, and the rest do something else. It’s a shame every player doesn’t get taught the mechanical advantage of a launch quickness swing. 

I’m available. And I will guarantee successful improvement of everyone I work with IF THEY BUY IN AND WORK HARD.