Stance too wide?

[STM4UA]

My son bats with what I consider an extremely wide stance. I've seen advice that the stance should be "at least" shoulder width but is there a point where the stance is too wide? If so, what problems would a stance that was too wide cause?

I don't have any video to post and I haven't actually measured how wide his stance is but I am guessing it is approaching double his shoulder width.

TIA

[Chris O'Leary]

My son bats with what I consider an extremely wide stance. I've seen advice that the stance should be "at least" shoulder width but is there a point where the stance is too wide? If so, what problems would a stance that was too wide cause?

I don't have any video to post and I haven't actually measured how wide his stance is but I am guessing it is approaching double his shoulder width.

Some pros (e.g. Pujols) can pull this off, but most pro stances are just wider than their shoulders.

Too wide of a stance can limit hip rotation and momentum transfer.

[virg]

If his is a stringbean frame with hips wider than shoulders (like TWilliams) relax the shoulders-wide rule. Wms had 36 inches of footwork when his stride landed.
Mantle, a stocky guy also had extremely wide ftwork, proportionally even worse.

I guess the real question is does the kid hit?

[STM4UA]

He is actually very small for his age. He turned 14 yesterday and also had a physical for school ball and measured at 4'11.5" and 81 lbs. He is currently hitting pretty well so I hesitate to change much. Of course he could always hit better. He fights a tendancy to chop at the ball and I wondered if this could be related to his stance width which is why I asked the question.

Thanks to both of you for the replies.

[bluezebra]

He is actually very small for his age. He turned 14 yesterday and also had a physical for school ball and measured at 4'11.5" and 81 lbs. He is currently hitting pretty well so I hesitate to change much. Of course he could always hit better. He fights a tendancy to chop at the ball and I wondered if this could be related to his stance width which is why I asked the question.

Thanks to both of you for the replies.

To coin a cliche', "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Joe DiMaggio had a 36" stance, and he did fairly well at the plate (and I don't mean pasta at his restaurant).

Bob

[callyjr]

I always start my students off with the length of the bat they use as a reference point and then let them adjust from there until its comfortable for them.