You are looking at a video of the unorthodox batting stance for Alex Buccilli, a DH and outfielder at Coastal Carolina. We’ve seen plenty of players with extreme open stances (think Andres Galarraga or Tony Batista), and we’ve seen guys in a ridiculously low crouch (think Jeff Bagwell or Kevin Maas), but this dude incredibly combines both aspects to form one of the weirdest stance you’ll see.
But here’s the thing: It’s not just for show. Oh no. Buccilli is actually good.
Busted Coverage, which spotted the stance, tells us Buccilli is batting .313 with three home runs and 20 RBIs on the season. His .461 slugging percentage is second on the team. So even though the stance looks, it’s actually pretty effective for him.
Big League Stew did a little more research on Buccilli’s stance and learned that it’s a product of working with a sports psychologist. According to Myrtle Beach Online:
The stance originated from a discussion with Brian Cain, a sports psychology consultant who met with the team over the summer to talk about the mental side of the game. Feeling he had been hindered over the years by lacking a consistent stance, Buccilli adopted his elaborate pre-pitch routine to help him focus in on one pitch at a time – much to the amusement of his teammates, that is.
“We’ve been making fun of that since the fall,” Witten said with a smile. “It’s old news to us by now. We see guys on the other team laughing at it and people in the stands laughing at it. We almost forget he does it by now and then we get reminded when we see everybody laughing at him. Whatever makes him feel good. As long as he keeps that up, I don’t think anybody’s got any complaints about it.”
The Sun News provides more insight into Buccilli’s path onto the Coastal Carolina baseball team, and he has a great story. You have to respect him for ignoring the critics and sticking with an unusual stance that’s produced strong results.
