Austin Padgett

BREAKING: EA announces coming updates for CFB25, including fixes to audio/logos/dynasty sim logic. 🙌 (via @CFBDirect)

In the spirit of the Holidays... An open letter to @Teacherman1986: Rich - I'm posting this on my feed because doing it on the back end of 70 posts of you repeating the same thing over and again, will deter even the most rabid fans of the dumpster fire that is Twitting Hitter. Now - this message might be a little long, and for anyone that gets tired reading this, I apologize. It's the only time I ever plan on "poking the bear" (that's what you call it, right?) after years of disparaging remarks towards people I respect, so there's a lot to unpack. For starters, giving yourself the moniker of "Teacher(man)" is about as absurd as a mini schnauzer calling itself "tall." Real "teachers," educate. They don't worry about how much "they know," they worry about how much wisdom they can impart on others. The best of them, don't take credit for their students successes, blame themselves for their failures, and are constantly searching for better ways of passing on the knowledge that has helped them along the way, while continuing to learn, every step of the way. Everything you do, seems to be the opposite. You make EVERYTHING personal, and it's obvious to everyone. You've had the audacity to say that Matt Shaw (don't worry, I'll post the picture of that) has an "inefficient" swing, that it is "too long," and that it "wouldn't succeed at a high level," while he was at Maryland. Just for context, he obliterated college baseball, got drafted 13th overall, and dismantled three levels of Minor League Baseball, because he's AWESOME and @MotorPreference helped him unlock things you refuse to even try and understand. Heck, if you actually looked into some of this stuff, you'd even know why the things you talk about have worked for some, and not others. You'd think that at some point, when someone rakes, you'd finally drop a "Mea Culpa. I was wrong about this one." I guess you just think that humility is way too far off brand for you. You'll just continue down your path, ignoring the fact that the production is there and move on to your next target. Or even better, you'll just say that they started doing what you teach now, and that's why they're hitting. You'll even go as far as to block people like @AKA_WitchDoctor because they can say things that call into question everything that you preach. It's a pretty brilliant strategy. Claim that everyone else is in denial of the "truth," while constantly dismissing and disparaging anything that calls yours into question. That sound about right? You'll even try to tear down Big League All-Stars like @ABREG_1 because he had a Farm Board under his back foot during a cage session (I'd say Alex has done okay for himself without you by the way, but let's deny the fact that he's good, because it would spoil the narrative) because @_joeycunha sells them and has helped some people get better, without coiling and snapping. The best part about all of this? How hypocritical you are about it. When someone tells you that the "drill work" you do is absurd, and doesn't "match video of the greats," and that no one has ever seen any of them doing any of the drills you do, you use words like "poppeycock" to redirect the conversation, and go on telling the world how much better you are at life than everyone else. You tell everyone else that they are "closed minded," and that opening their mind to your information would rip their world apart... Pot - meet the kettle... Strategy - use videos of people doing their own drills to discredit them when you compare them to supposed HLP guys, and then when someone calls yours into question, just call them a name and tell them they're just not on your level. Got it. But you know when you really exposed yourself to me? It was after that one (and only) time I ever spoke to you, as you sang my praises over the phone for the performance I had just had against Canada, in the WBC. You remember that right? I thanked you for helping my friend be more open to the fact that traditional hitting instruction was missing some things, even though it had been a year or more at that point, that he and I were having conversations about how your info was incomplete, but I wanted to thank you anyway. It's the game where that video of me was taken. You know, right? It's the one of me (hitting a homer), that you have constantly referred to and say is not a match to HLP and point out how "bad" @TewksHitting instruction is/was. It was about a month or two before you realized that Bobby was seeing things that you couldn't, and asking questions you didn't have answers to, so you decided you had to try and rip him down. And while I went on to hit 31 homers, got called up to the Big Leagues, and won the IL MVP, there you were, texting me, trying to get me to come hit with you, because Bobby was "messing me up." Talk about someone who didn't have the player's best interest in mind, and just their own agenda... In the history of the "easiest decisions I've ever made," not responding to you then, sits right at the top. The laughs he and I had over those texts were priceless. It was so obvious at the time, to me anyway, that he was exploring things that you couldn't possibly begin to understand, strictly because of your lack of openness to anything that wasn't part of your holy grail. Aren't you the one always saying: "people can only see what they know... and why won't they swing to duplicate?" Imagine if you took some of your own advice! You might find out that your own beliefs are rooted in things that aren't fundamental truths. God forbid you actually listen to any feedback that a player might have for the things they're experiencing. That is probably lunacy in your world. I'm sure the first time someone told you that they felt like they had no chance at a fastball above their waste, you told them that they were doing it wrong. It is abundantly clear from your incessant attacks on other people, and lack of a better response than "match video," followed by some quip, implying that the target of your attack must be curled up in a corner of their basement out of embarrassment, that you have no interest in actually "teaching" anything. You'd rather just get into a battle of "let's see who can outlast the other" in the replies. That'll show 'em who's boss! You're usually good at winning those (if that's what you want to call it), because the more likely scenario in most cases isn't that the target feels any of that. They are probably just carrying on, living their lives, outside of the Twitterverse, and trying to make a positive impact on people around them, and not anxiously waiting for your response to show up in their notifications. You on the other hand, seem to have all the time in the world to peck away at your keyboard incessantly, claiming victory over others, through nothing other than someone else's loss of interest, or lack of time to engage in a "type-a-logue" with you. I will give you credit for this. You are persistent. And why wouldn't you be? The infinity loop of doom that people enter, any time they engage with you, is nothing short of spectacular. It must be incredible to live in a world where you can just continue to tell people that they can't see what you see, and that they are in denial of truth. "This person, disagrees with me... Nonsense. Show your work. Denial of truth. Blah blah blah." You can literally never lose an argument where all you do is redirect. The real truth is, that all the people getting sucked into the vortex of reading anything that you type, are the one's losing. The amount of times people bring to my attention some absurd post you make is astonishing. My life would be much better if I didn't get at least one text per week, with a meme following another "Rich Bashfest" thread. As for your tireless rants about how no one else can see (or feel), what you can see... WE CAN ALL SEE IT. At least those of us who have eyes. I suppose it's just your built in defense mechanism at this point. If we're being honest, it's become a brilliant marketing strategy. Tell anyone who questions anything that "they can't see what you see," and "they've never felt it," and create doubt for anyone who is reading it that may be unsure... And I'd be willing to bet, that most have tried some application of the three to four core principles of your discourse... Let me see if I can get this right... 1. Coil around your rear hip 2. Pin the bat back 3. Snap 4. Stay one-legged And no, Barry Bonds does not "match" Miguel Cabrera, when he swings. If you overlay their movements in the swing, they don't match. Stop saying that they match. The same way neither of them match Miguel Cabrera. Or Mike Trout. THEY'RE NOT THE SAME. You're not allowed to just pick and choose the things that you want to "match," and disregard all the other ones that don't, when you're telling everyone else that they're idiots. And no, none of the principles that you talk about that allow for Bonds, or Cabrera, or Pujols (or anyone else for that matter) were part of what allowed them to become who they are/were. You didn't "teach" any of them. You helped @TheJudge44 in some small way, and for that, I'm sure he is grateful. I've been told by people close to me/him that he is a wonderful human. It's wonderful that HE, has become the hitter that he has and it's a shame that you don't ever give him credit for ALL THE OTHER THINGS that he does well without your help. Those other guys though? They became great all on their own. Mostly thinking/feeling things that you never talk about. So when you talk about "the greats," stop insinuating that you know what they do. It would be the equivalent of me watching a bunch of videos on how to do UCL surgeries, and then acting like I'm the only person in the world that can do a Tommy John procedure. And yes, we know that you've never spoken to any of them about hitting either. How could you? You would tell some of the greatest hitters in the world that they were inferior to you because you've trained yourself to "snap" better than them off of a tee. And oh by the way - if we want to get into the nitty gritty here, the reason you win your "snap-offs" against everyone is because you've practiced the act of not reloading once you've gotten to stationary. Literally no one else has. That's why most of "the greats" you always refer to, are working up/back into launch. They don't go from stop. If you had a "snap-off" with anyone and let them have rhythm into gather/load, you'd never win. It's a neat little magic trick that creates confirmation bias though, I'll give you that. And oh by the way, this is where adjustability comes from, for most of "the greats" you talk about. They are starting without committing. Their rhythm allows for their adjustability to happen. It allows their acceleration to happen easier. It's what allows them to be moving into recognizing, and why at times, they'll stretch more than others. All of your demos involve you pinning it back, stopping, and snapping. Everything you talk about from an adjustability standpoint screams "I have never had to get into a batter's box against the type of pitching that I claim to have all the answers for," all because you put a machine on once, and actually squared a ball up. As for why you wouldn't know what that type of adjustability feels like? Well, it's because you've probably never felt good doing it, more than likely because it would make you be OUT OF PROFILE (See @MotorPreference for more information). It literally defines why people like to move a certain way versus others. You know, like all those videos that you say are the same, but aren't. How short sighted can you be, to insinuate that everyone is moving the same, when it is ABUNDANTLY CLEAR, that they're not, and that everyone who has success, does what you teach (well, except for anyone that is attached to someone who you're trying to tear down). So congrats Rich. You've accomplished a few things. 1. You've gotten me to "dive into the mud" after ten years of disparaging remarks about me and many others, all because you don't like my friend. Maybe all the moons of the seventh circle of Venus are aligned. I congratulate you on pulling me in. 2. You've polarized the hitting community in a way that I didn't think anyone could. You've created so much doubt in young players and coaches, that it is literally paralyzing to their careers. There are hitters across the country who have fallen victim to your words, and are more concerned with "finding the HLP" than producing on the field. 3. You've helped me (more than likely) get a bunch of engagement on this post, or at least a whole bunch of texts and calls, because I just typed what everyone has been thinking for the last ten years. 4. You've created a new circle of doom for Twitting Hitter to talk about. Excited to see what unoriginal stuff you come up with in response. For context, I won't care about a single thing you write, and I'll more than likely be living my life and not engaging with you ever again, while you try to shred all the "truth," I typed with a bunch of side-by-side videos (that look nothing alike) and the same company lines you've been writing since Hitting Illustrated. 5. This one is just an FYI... The reason no organization has called you about working with hitters is because you're arrogant, and say things like "if a team asked me to work with their hitters, they wouldn't have to draft any pitchers, because they would be an offensive juggernaut." I'm sure that only sounds absurd to people that don't "know the truth" like you do. There's a small piece of me that hopes someone gives you a chance so we can all get our popcorn ready... Merry Christmas to all! Yours truly, CC