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Joey Votto channels Alex Noren with odd-looking pre-swing routine, promptly strikes out
Dylan Buell
If you've never watched Alex Noren's pre-shot routine, you need to right now. Then again, you may want to wash your eyes out after, so viewer discretion is advised. Here is the 10-time tour winner preparing to hit a tee shot during the 2018 Dell Match Play looking like an absolute nut job as he contorts his body in an odd-looking way:
What Noren is doing is over exaggerating this move at the ball to prepare his body and mind to execute something similar to that when he actually swings. He doesn't actually stop on the downswing. When he does eventually make his move, he'll produce something that looks like his pre-shot routine in full motion.
What does this have to do with anything? Well, I'm going to make a forced comparison to Noren's pre-shot routine to another professional athlete, because it's Friday of Memorial Day Weekend so why not?
Earlier this week, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto channeled his inner Noren prior to a pitch from Milwuakee Brewers pitcher Zach Davies by doing one of the strangest pre-swing drills you'll ever see from such a legendary hitter. As you'll see, it looks as though Votto is practicing how to check swing. Why anyone would do that I'm not sure, but this is a guy with nearly 2,000 hits, so we'll defer to the professionals. Of course, he promptly struck out on what looked like a check swing, so he might want to try a new drill next time:
The difference between Noren's and Votto's routine? One results in a ball actually being hit. No disrespect to Votto, but that, plus the skipping into the batter's box, was one of the weirdest things ever. My man is pretty much lost in the batter's box right now, batting .208 with just four homers and eight RBIs. But he's still the internet's favorite baseball player, so he's got that going for him.