Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Jun 20 23:55:19 2000

>>>I was wondering if you have ever looked at Edgar Martinez (Seattle Mariners) and/or Alex (A-Rod, for short). Do they posses the mechanics you describe?

The reason I ask is I do not see them "torqing" the lower body with both legs pushing in opposite directions (constantly, or even close). I see them using the trunk/torso extremely well and the front leg, but constantly applying force with both legs would/is hard to believe.<<<

Hi Shawn

It would help our discussion if I could clear up a couple of points. --- Are you saying that Edgar and Alex use only one leg to generate rotation? Do you believe they rotate around a stationary axis or does their axis shift forward?

Shawn, unlike Edgar and Alex, the players that request help on the site are not initiating their swing with top-hand-torque. If they are to attain good bat speed by contact it will come mainly from applying a lot of bottom-hand-torque. This means they need the full shoulder rotation that comes from using both legs. --- The more bat speed a batter develops earlier in the swing from applying top-hand-torque, the less shoulder rotation is required later in the swing.

Jack Mankin