** Interview with Sean Plouffe, Hitting Consultant **

So Sean again, welcome to the Ultimate Strat Baseball Newsletter.

Now Sean, before we discuss what you do for a living, I like to give to our members a little bit about who you are, your background and what happened to you in your life which propelled you to become a hitting consultant. So lets talk first about your early life, as you were growing up. Can you share this with our members please?

Sean: I played 4 years of college ball and then 2 more seasons of independent minor league baseball. I was a slightly above average player who wanted more out of my career. I knew that I wasn't good enough to be drafted or play in the major leagues. That led me to questioning the things I was being taught and seeking answers on my own. Something inside me knew that there was a definite way to maximize my abilities as a hitter, I also knew that traditional coaching terminology was not the answer.

Wolfman: So what part of the country did you live in when you were younger?

Sean: I am from Ashburn Virginia. There weren't any indoor baseball facilities when I was growing up. If we wanted to practice, we went out in the cold and the snow.

Wolfman: What experiences brought to you an interest in baseball?

Sean: I played football, basketball and baseball. My mom took me to Orioles games when I was young, we also went to Frederick Key's minor league games. I really looked up to the players and knew that I wanted to be just like them.

Wolfman: What team did you root for when you were younger? Who was you favorite baseball player?

Sean: Baltimore Orioles and Cal Ripken. Baltimore has a beautiful stadium and Cal Ripken is obviously a legend. They didn't have to best teams but I never really noticed.

Wolfman: Obvious if you were able to play minor league base ball (which we will discuss this in a bit) you must have played baseball when you were younger, is this correct? Did you play in little league and if so what was your best position?

Sean: I can remember showing up to my first practice at 5 years old, my parents didn't know that I needed my own glove to play. The coach gave me his and eventually I played catcher, I have played every position but mainly stuck to catcher.

Wolfman: As you got older did you play in high school - if so tell us about this? Then what happened when you played baseball in college?

Sean: I played at Broad Run High School and looking back at it now, I realize how raw I was. Kids now have travel teams from the time they are 8 years old. The preparation before they reach high school is much different. I played as much ball as I could and turned out alright. After high school I played two years at Montgomery College. Once I was there, it was time to see what I was really made of. I started slow and hit .260 in my first year. I was fortunate enough to force my way onto a college summer team where I played good competition. I came back and hit .333 my second year at Montgomery College. After that I transferred to Shenandoah University, went to two National Championships but never won.

Wolfman: So, Sean, if you are a hitting instructor now, I would assume during these early days, you must have been a very good hitter in little league, high school and or college? So why did you have success as a hitter?

Sean: Is this just a natural gift someone has, good eye and hand coordination to see a baseball and hit it - why were you so successful. I was moderately successful just based on raw ability. One basic metric for a D1 player is to be able to hit a baseball 90 mph off of a tee, I was able to do that. I had good hand-eye coordination and a good feel for hitting the baseball square. I realize now that if I knew what I know now, I could have been a much better player.

Here we see Sean during his own baseball playing days as we can observe two views of his baseball swing.

Wolfman: Now moving forward in your life, apparently your skills and talents caught the attention of some scouts - I believe you told me in your emails you played minor league baseball but did not make the majors and also played in other professional leagues - can you discuss what happened to you - how did you continue your baseball history as a player?

Sean: I went undrafted out of college but I knew that I was better than the worst player in the minor leagues. So I became determined to play professionally, I knew a local baseball instructor that had some connections, told him I wanted to keep playing and I was very fortunate that he was able to recommend me to some professional teams.

Wolfman: While you were in the minor leagues - what was it like to be a baseball player at this level? Do you have any special memories of games you played in that your performance that day was exceptional and won the game for your team.

Sean: Going from a D3 school to facing 95 mph pitching was a struggle. I played very well defensively but ultimately struggled to hit as a professional. That is around the time that Jose Bautista went from hitting 13 home runs the year prior, to hitting 54 home runs. After that seasons I took a hard look at him and started to piece together the main components of hitting that I teach today.

Wolfman: What other league or levels of play did you participate in - can you explain this - how did you do in these other leagues?

Sean: I played in a local men's league to try to stay in shape between seasons. This is where I was really able to experiment and had very mixed results. Changing your swing is very long and difficult process. You're trying to undo all the years of repetition that your body has learned. Ultimately, I became a much better player but age had caught up to me and Major League teams really dislike anyone over the age of 22.

Wolfman: When did you decide to become a hitting consultant? You say right now you have clients (who you can't share their names due to privacy) who play in both the minor and major leagues - why would a professional baseball player come to you for your help? If you didn't make it to the majors yourself, would they trust your advice then?

Sean: That's a great question. As a hitting coach, all anyone can do is provide information. I know the information that is typically taught to hitters, however I knew that I could provide them with better and more correct information that would really help them. Most of my time is spent un-teaching the bad hitting cues that exist in the baseball community.

Sean: The swing components that I teach are based around the movements and swing path's of the best hitters to ever play. As I mentioned before, there is a disconnect between popular opinion and the actual swing mechanics that the world class hitters have used in the past 100 years. I put together a great clip of Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams and Babe Ruth where you can clearly see that they are using the same movement patterns in their swing. This swing can be taught to anyone, it surely does not take superhuman strength or athletic ability to produce an efficient and effective bat path. Because there is this disconnect between popular opinion and the video evidence of these players, that has opened the opportunity for me to share my information and always back it up with proof (video).

Wolfman: What is it like to be a hitting consultant? What have you achieved in this capacity that you are the most proud about?

Sean: It's extremely rewarding to work with professional players and really make a difference in the trajectory of their careers. I am very proud that I recently partnered with B45 batcompany. They link to my video guides and have been a great ambassador for my website.

Sean: This video titled "The moneyball of swing mechanics" explains a few of the popular misconceptions about the topic of hitting and also introduces the idea and principles that can maximize a hitters ability. To view go to:

This article on Barry Bonds is a good representation what I see when I watch his swing. I think the best thing a player can do is learn from the best players to ever play the game. That just makes a whole lot of sense to me. To read my article go to:

Wolfman: I noticed on your website you show some major league batters with their swing, images of them, did you have to get permission to use those images - do you know these hitters personally?

Sean: I do not know the hitters personally and have no sought permission to use their images. Because the info i'm sharing is free, I don't worry about the MLB shutting down my site. Also, if any player were to request that I remove their clips, I would gladly take them down.

Wolfman: How does your on-line training work to help a person hit a baseball?

Sean: Online training gives players the ability to work with me remotely from anywhere in the world. They send me video clips of them hitting in games or practice and from there I give them feedback and compare them to the best hitters ever and see what might help that particular player. It's obviously much more difficult to work with players online rather than in person, but many players now have learned that their local coach might not have all the answers they are looking for.

Wolfman: Now, going in a slightly different direction, have you ever played any of the fantasy base ball game whether as a board game, computer game or an on-line game where you have a chance to manage the actual MLB players? If so which games did you play and how did you like it?

Sean: I played daily fantasy baseball on fanduel. I had some success and had fun playing against my brother. When I have more time, I would definitely like to play season long fantasy baseball and bet on players that have been able to make the necessary adjustments to their swing. Jose Bautsita, Josh Donaldson, Josh Turner and J.D. Martinez are some examples of players who made adjustments to their swing and had great success.

Wolfman: Is someone wants to contact you what is the best way to do so, if they have other questions?

Wolfman: Thank you Sean for spending time with our members, to offer your unique perspective on hitting a baseball and using the proper mechanics to do so, all the best.