Holliday sports stroke of genius
Rockies slugger reinvented his swing at the plate
By Troy E. Renck
The Denver Post
3/23/2008

Excerpts from the article:

Holliday's first rule of hitting is developing a proper swing path. He discovered through trial and error that a correct swing path can eliminate myriad bad habits. It creates better timing and allows him to get full extension with his arms.

"Where you make contact with the ball changes, but not the swing. It took me a long time to understand this. I was constantly drifting, trying so hard to hit the ball out front," Holliday said. "Now I hit it where it's pitched."
The statistics bear this truth out. Entering the playoffs, Inside Edge, a service used by many major-league teams, scouted 2,526 pitches thrown to Holliday. The results spoke of the complete hitter the 28-year-old has become. He hit fastballs (.338), curveballs (.373), sliders (.331) and changeups (.429). Under 'weaknesses,' the line was blank.

"I don't go up there looking dead red (fastball) because that would limit me,' Holliday explained. "I am looking for a pitch in a certain zone, regardless of what it is."

Holliday's second principle of good hitting is timing. His failure to get his body in a good position to hit ... sabotaged his minor-league career. He couldn't keep his hands back. Adding a leg kick solved the problem. His kick has only gotten bigger over the last two seasons, which helps articulate his mushrooming power numbers.

"Every guy would love to have his (pre-swing movements), but it's hard not to drift forward," shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. "He's able to keep his hands in great position."