The load

[tip184]

At what point in the pitcher's delivery should the batter begin to bring his wrists back and put weight on the back foot?

[FiveFrameSwing]

At what point in the pitcher's delivery should the batter begin to bring his wrists back and put weight on the back foot?

The load of the back leg should be performed before the release of the pitch.

The load can be accomplished by simply lifting the front foot off of the ground and by putting the center of pressure solely on the back foot.

The hands don't reach back towards the catcher until the forward weigt shift (stride forward).

[Nater44]

Just remember your hands move away from your stride. As for when this process happens, it varies depending on the amount of movement a hitter makes. In general, I began my load process about half around the time the pitcher was in the balanced position with his leg.

[FiveFrameSwing]

Just remember your hands move away from your stride. As for when this process happens, it varies depending on the amount of movement a hitter makes. In general, I began my load process about half around the time the pitcher was in the balanced position with his leg.

Just to clarify.

The loading of the back leg occurs prior to the pitcher's release.

The forward weight shift, and lead-arm extension of the hands back to the catcher, occur after the pitcher's release.

[soceric]

At what point in the pitcher's delivery should the batter begin to bring his wrists back and put weight on the back foot?

I would say you would have to experiment depending on your stride.. Whether it's large or small.. and whether it takes a long time or short time to get your foot down.

To do this you have to time this to a consistent part of most every pitchers delivery. The ear point just before release is a consistent point. You may load onto that back foot before that or maybe even after that depending on your stride. Then the front foot comes down and your ready to swing when the ball is half way maybe a little more from the plate.

Experiment a little and good luck.

[Dirtberry]

I teach all my clients to load off of ball movement after release.
I call it “load to the ball not the body”. I teach separation gather where the stride foot and Shoulders act at the same time with no backside leg weight gain. This mechanic creates correct initial forward force application at the back of the gather so that the hands never come to a complete stop at the top. By not stopping at the back of the load you gain Elastic bounce, Stretch reflex and good timing on fastball and off speed. I ask them to perform a 3”-6” stride with a 3 “ trigger. If you teach a bigger load you will have to start earlier and your focus will change to the pitchers body, this will give him an advantage because your focusing on the wrong visual area.

Remember that everybody teaches something different in their approach and you will have to fit the timing of your load to fit the mechanic that you are learning, hence there is no such thing as an MLB pattern.