Josh Donaldson has a gorgeous swing; one that every hitter should study in detail.

Josh Donaldson vs. Barry Bonds

Perhaps not surprisingly given his power, Josh Donaldson's swing matches up quite well with the swings of other good hitters.

Josh Donaldson

As it turns out, I had a number of Twitter exchanges with Josh Donaldson during late 2014...

• Talking Hitting With an MVP 

...that give me a chance to match up what he thinks with what he does...

• Matching Up Josh Donaldson's Thoughts and Actions

In the interests of making good hitting information available to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay, I have also made a detailed analysis of Josh Donaldson's swing available for FREE...

• Josh Donaldson Flipscreen Swing Analysis

If you aren't familiar with my flipbooks, I have put together a detailed flipbook analysis of this swing, an older version of which is available for FREE...

• Josh Donaldson Flipbook Swing Analysis

I have also put together a number of other flipscreens and flipbooks that analyze the swing of Josh Donaldson in detail, including one that is available for FREE in flipscreen form...

• Josh Donaldson 2013.09.20 Home Run to Left Field Flipscreen (Third Base Line View) 
• Josh Donaldson 2014.09.21 Home Run to Left Field Flipscreen (Third Base Line View)

Josh Donaldson Detailed Swing Analysis

I first noticed Josh Donaldson's swing in late 2013. I was doing one of my regular searches of the Internet, looking for interesting images that I can use when talking to groups of people and students. I stumbled across the image below, which shows what I consider to be the ideal position at the Point Of Contact.

Josh Donaldson

Josh Donaldson

I have also found a matching high-speed clip of that swing.

Josh Donaldson

Some of the concepts and shapes that you can see illustrated in the pictures above of Josh Donaldson include...

• Rotation
• Connection
• Whip
• Power L

...as well as front knee extension, back knee flexion, and a lack of Squishing the Bug.

Josh Donaldson

The picture above shows a different home run swing. However, the only major difference between this picture and the ones that started off this piece is that the ball is lower in the strike zone. As a result, he has had to make some postural adjustments. However, all of the things that you can see in the first picture are also present in this one.

It's relatively easy to find other pictures of Josh Donaldson that are illustrative of the concepts and movements of the high-level swing.

Josh Donaldson

For instance, the picture above, which shows another home run swing, is an excellent illustration of Rotation.