Posted by: Mister X () on Fri Apr 25 19:22:17 2003

Mr. X
>
> Just a few comments on what you said here:
>
> "You couldn't be more wrong. Mac, Sosa, Bonds, ect. are GREAT examples to look at. They use their WHOLE body to swing and therefore get as much as possible into the ball. Little kids especially need to use their whole bodies, because they aren't as strong. If they just use their arms, they are using very little of their potential strength.
> >
> > In regards to pitch location, you use body tilt. When you rotate, the bat should always come perpendicular to you spine. Therefore, to hit a lower or higher pitch, you bend at your waist.
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> > Questions like that are very good. They challange the mind, because they directly affect your ability to hit. But you must realize that we really do have all the answers, otherwise we wouldn't be pushing to use rotational mechanics. If rotational did not solve all of my problems, I would not endorse it."
>
> Ok, first of all questions like this are very good, and I do not think that you have answered them in a manner that makes any sense whatsoever. To start, I agree that McGwire/Sosa are good hitters to look at. However, when trying to teach a young kid how to hit, it is not always best to apply these same mechanics. This does not mean that you teach them the wrong way, but GOOD mechanics have to be established first before you try to develop into a power hitter. You'll notice that McGwire himself developed more of a homerun/power swing as his career progressed (i.e. he got stronger). Secondly, if you were to bend the body towards the plate in order to hit a high pitch, there is no way that you could get on top of it. Let me give you an example. If you were playing slow pitch softball, with a pitch that had a 12 foot arc, what kind of a swing would you take in order to hit a line drive? An upward path (to match the trajectory of the pitch) would result in either a fly ball, or a homerun (if you miss time it, you may hit a weak ground ball or line drive). In order to hit a solid line drive you would still take a level swing (to the ground). This is precisely my point. In order for a baseball player to consistently hit line drives, they must adjust their bat path according to the location of the pitch. On a low pitch it will be necessary to have somewhat of an uppercut. Every image that you "rotational guys" show to us is of someone hitting a pitch below the letters. What about the pitch at the letters? But, who am I to question someone who already has all the answers?


Never did I say to clone young players swings to MLB players swings. And just for clarity, what age group are you talking about. Because by about 10 years old (especially with the light bats these days) kids are ready for the correct mechanics. Younger kids should still use rotational mechanics, though, just simplified. And Mac and Sosa don't have very "advanced" swings. They just use the correct mechanics and have great strength. Someone with less strength will still have sucess, they just won't hit HR's.

As far as the body tilt, I wasnt' very clear. What I should have said was you adjust you body tilt to adjust for pitch height. In other words, for a low pitch you bend more, and for a high pitch you stand more upright.

So, to hit a high pitch, you will be standing as upright as necessary to match the pitch plane, and your swing will probably be close to level with the ground. Ever heard of "high heat"? Why do you think that term is familiar to many people? It is because the high pitch is very hard to hit. I challange you to show me a pic of anyone with any kind of mechanics who consistenly hit the high pitch hard. A person can't cover EVERY part of the strikezone ALL of the time. Because it is a hard pitch to hit, most hitters don't try to cover it. If they did concentrate on it, they would hit it hard, but then miss lower pitches. Hitters would rather wait for a waist high pitch to drive anyway.

This swing most likely won't work for slow pitch softball. It is a completely different sport than baseball or fast pitch. I have never played slow pitch so I don't know how to hit it. But you have to realize the huge differences.