The 10 Most Violent Swings in the MLB (with Video)

Some batters step up to the plate and put everything they have behind their swing. Many of these players are guys with both big home run numbers and high strikeout totals.

These hitters with violent swings occasionally look like they will hurt themselves when they are taking a hack at a pitch. When most of these guys make contact, they have the ability to drive a baseball very, very far.

10) Alberto Gonzalez

Alberto Gonzalez may initially seem like an odd choice for this list. He is a light hitting infielder. Take a look at the video.

Yes, this is only one example of Gonzalez swinging so hard that he almost knocks himself over, but this is just enough to put him on the back end of this list.

9) Jeff Francouer

During his time with the New York Mets Jeff Francoeur drew a lot of criticism for his struggles to make contact with his big swing. He has done a much better job making contact since he has joined the Kansas City Royals.

Francoeur has arguably turned his career around this season. He still is one of the hardest swingers in the MLB and his strikeout rate is still high.

8) Jose Bautista

Jose Bautista's swing may be one of the hardest swings in baseball, but it is incredibly effective. Ever since he worked to change his stroke, Bautista has been one of the best players in the MLB.

He is able to generate an impressive amount of power and still has solid contact rates. Bautista's power is put on display by his long home runs. The video also shows that he was able to hit a foul ball up and out of Rogers Center.

7) Dan Uggla

Before he went on his 33-game hitting streak, it looked like Dan Uggla and his ugly swing would be headed to the Atlanta Braves bench. Uggla is known for taking big swings which often results in him having big misses.

For his career, Uggla has a 73 percent contact rate. That number puts Uggla towards the lower end of the spectrum along with many of the other players on this list.

6) Ryan Howard

There has been a lot of talk over the years about if Ryan Howard's propensity to strikeout limits his value. In looking at the seasons in which he has played over 100 games, Howard's lowest strikeout total is 151 and that is this season. He will likely eclipse his full season low of 157.

With his big swing also comes a lot of power. Howard has put up impressive home run numbers during his time in the majors.

5) Carlos Pena

Carlos Pena is a true three outcomes hitter. From 2007 to 2009, he was one of the top players to be considered a true outcomes hitter. He is still amongst the leaders today.

During his career, Carlos Pena has always been known for his big swings and his big home runs. He is constantly amongst the league leaders in strikeouts every year.

4) Mike Stanton

Mike Stanton is one of the strongest baseball players in the MLB. He generates a massive amount of force and bat speed when he swings.

With so much power going into every swing, it is no wonder why Stanton has had some big whiffs. Rumor has it that those sitting behind home plate can even feel a relaxing breeze every time he swings and misses.

3) Adam Dunn

Three times in his career, Adam Dunn has led the National League in strikeouts. It was acceptable considering the fact that he was hitting 40-plus home runs at the time.

However, this season, Dunn's problems and his violent swing have been magnified by his shocking loss of power and his atrocious batting average. As of September 1st, Dunn actually has 49 more strikeouts than total bases.

2) Mark Reynolds

Mark Reynolds is yet another player who has a violent swing that generates a lot of power. The one problem for Reynolds is that he struggles to make contact.

He has led his league in strikeouts for each of the past three seasons and is on pace to do it yet again this year. When Reynolds does make contact, he has been able to absolutely mash the ball.

1) Vladimir Guererro

Every time Vladimir Guerrero swings at a pitch it seems as if there is a chance that he will fall over as a result of all of the force and torque that he generates when he whips his bat through the zone.

One of the most amazing things about Guerrero is that even though he has the most violent swing in baseball, he has been able to control his strikeout rate throughout his career. Guerrero has never struck out more than 95 times in a season and he has had years where he walked often than he struck out.