Posted by: Jack Mankin (Mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Apr 20 00:25:08 2003

>>> Dear Jack,
The front heel must drop BEFORE hip rotation is initiated. If the heel is still "in the air" when one swings, it becomes an "upper body swing."

Sincerely,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com <<<

Hi BHL

It has been awhile, good to hear from you again. --- Lower body rotation is initiated by (or as) the heel lowers to the ground. Due to the load of bat inertia (resistance of a mass to acceleration), shoulder rotation and the hands are still back in the inward-turn position as the heel lowers.

In my instructional video/dvd, I instruct the batter to stride to a closed front foot (heel up). To initiate rotation the batter rotates the heel back toward the catcher as it lowers. This rotates the lead-knee around toward the pitcher and the lead-hip back toward the catcher. This is why I like plenty or flex in the lead-leg at toe-plant. Most of the best hitters rely on bottom-hand-torque to generate much of their bat speed. Having flex in the lead-leg allows the extension of the leg to drive the lead-hip and shoulder back toward the catcher just before contact. --- Since I have taught this method of lower-body mechanics, all the “lunging” problems disappeared.

Jack Mankin