Josh Thole Has a Weird New Batting Stance

If ever there was a time to experiment with one’s swing, this would be it … during Spring Training. Troy Tulowitzki is using a brand new leg kick with great success, as are a few other players on the Blue Jays roster.

But Josh Thole has taken a different approach. Last week during the Spring Training broadcasts, Mike Wilner spoke about Josh Thole’s unorthodox new batting stance.

But you really can’t get a feel for it unless you see it live on TV, which Sportsnet cameras just so happened to catch over the weekend.

Joe Sidall, a former catcher himself, explained the changes made by Thole at the plate.

“You see the angle of the bat right now? Most hitters will do that before they try to get into their load posisition. Josh in the past has really had his bat on his left shoulder and not really had that bat cocked and loaded. So what he’s trying to do … is start it there so that it’s an easier move to get to his launch position. He’s trying to eliminate a step that he’s really had trouble getting to.”

Thole’s new stance is something between Ben Revere and Julio Franco and Kevin Youkilis. He’s added a subtle bat wiggle, but he’s also angled his bat towards the pitcher, not away from the pitcher.

Josh Thole has a weird new batting stance dot gif. pic.twitter.com/qrgMUFfXPG

— Ian Hunter (@BlueJayHunter) March 5, 2016

It’s almost as if Josh Thole is now using a reverse Garth Iorg stance.

Ah, now it makes sense … Josh Thole is using the reverse Garth Iorg batting stance. pic.twitter.com/SKb2ZABqOA

— Ian Hunter (@BlueJayHunter) March 5, 2016

I guess, whatever works for Josh Thole. Although he’s been relegated to R.A. Dickey’s personal catcher, it really couldn’t hurt for Thole to experiment with his swing.