What are "Power Planes" and Why Are They Important?

Power Planes are extremely important in creating a powerful swing at the plate!  And yet, very few hitters understand and do it correctly.

The best way to understand and explain this "Principle" of Power Hitting is to show you the below photo of Alphonso Soriano. 

 

If you'll look (now hang on...this is dealing with Geometry), draw a straight line 1) through Alfonso's shoulders and 2) then his hips.  As you can see, Alfonso's back shoulder is higher than his front shoulder and as a result, his back hip is higher than this front hip. (Or in coaching terminology, his backside is higher than his frontside.)  This is what allows Alphonso to drive down "into" the baseball, rather than "collapse" with his back side as his swing begins.

When you are teaching a young hitter how to set up in the box, make sure to take the time to teach proper "Power Plane" Positioning if you have a young hitter who is looking to 1)  increase his power or  2) fix "collapsing" with his back side or "dipping" with his back shoulder.