Posted by: Bart () on Sun Apr 20 07:58:01 2003

>>> It's called linear. Some can hit that way. Most cannot. <<<
>
> Hi Teacherman
>
> If by “linear” you mean "hands straight to the ball", please explain how he makes up for the loss of bat speed generated by the angular displacement of the hands (circular hand-path)?


>
Jack, this is the danger of being arbitrary in labeling someone "rotational" or "linear". A-rod does seem to have SLIGHTLY less CHP than someone like Bonds. A-rod does seem to have SLIGHTLY more X-T than Bonds. A-rod seems to be be SLIGHTLY more upright than Bonds.BUT...A-rod has all the fundamentals of MOST major league hitters. But SLIGHT deviation from The Perfect Model does not mean he is "Linear".

As a matter of fact, what is linear, anyway? Is "linear" a hitter who has a "conventional" fence drill swing? I know of few major league hitters who do. Or is "linear" a hitter who does not fit in every detail the Perfect Model? If so, I know of very few major leaguers who do conform to the Perfect Model. Is a "linear" hitter a hitter who has the type of swing used in Bart's not-yet-patented "modified" fence drill? If so, most major league hitters are linear!

And finally, a question that is not directly related to this thread but is nevertheless a question that might be explored another day on another thread: in determining the amount of power of a hitter, we talk about batspeed & we talk (much less) about pitch speed & bat weight, but what about the "3rd Force"?