Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sat Oct 27 09:23:58 2007

>>> The question I have is for jack. I absolutely agree with front hip rotation and if you watch the games every hitters front side rotates. How would I explain to a hitting coach that I know that front hip rotation does exist. He stresses to his hitters that the front foot remains closed the whole entire time throughout that swing and front hip rotation doesn't happen till after the ball came off the bat. <<<

Hi Mike

The short answer is “yes”, with most of the best hitters, the front hip does rotate as the swing is being initiated. However, most coaches have accepted the concept that the batter’s linear momentum, developed during the stride, causes the back-hip to rotate around a blocked front hip. This places axis of rotation at the front hip – like a gate rotating about a hinge.

The hip rotation you refer to places the axis of rotation at the center of the body rather than the front hip. With this axis, the lead-hip rotates rearward at the same rate the back-hip rotates forward – like a revolving door. --- Mike, I think this would be an interesting topic for a motion analysis study. I will address the relationship of “momentum” and “hip rotation” in my next thread.

Jack Mankin