Posted by: geoerge stanley (saint_george13@yahoo.com) on Thu Nov 29 07:58:53 2007

> I think that the longer the barrel of the bat travels through the hitting zone the more odds the hitter has of making quality contact with the sweet spot.
>
> So I guess I would want that hitter to be long through the hitting zone with as much velocity on the bat-head as possible. The ideal swing would have the fastest portion of the swing happening in the contact zone.
>
> As far as where contact is made... I think that the hitter has the most strength and leverage on the ball when contact is made slightly in front of the lead foot for a pitch in the middle of the plate.
>
> Contact is more out front for pitches on the inner portion of the plate and no deeper than the front knee for pitches on the outer portion of the plate.
>
> LONG THROUGH THE ZONE WITH CONTACT OUT FRONT.
>
> Jimmy

hey jimmy!
long thru the zone means you are not maximizing your batspeed.. not good.. i do not endorse changing your swing under any circumstances.. to slow you bat or reach out or alter your swing in midswing is a fatal error. with that mindset you will get SOME pitches, but be late on a lot of pitches you should be driving..the tradeoff is not worth it.
the location of your stance should be right on the plate, so you can reach about 2" past the black.. from there you won't have to bend your back or reach for a pitch.. if you do, YOU SHOULD STOP BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT IS OUT OF YOUR RANGE, & YOU DON'T SWING AT THOSE PITCHES.. you leave them alone.. that's the pitcher's pitch, & you don't help him get you out by swinging at a pitch that you can't do much with.. if it's called a strike, oh well.. you weren't going to be able to do much with it anyway, so maybe the NEXT pitch will be a better one.. you must not forget the FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: SWING AT A STRIKE...
you should position your stance so you can take the same hard swing without too much adjustment... of course depending on the location you must change the swing angle SOMEWHAT, but basically if you are in the perfect position, you must let the good pitches come to you, ala barry. don't try to be all things to all pitches... just the good ones. any extraneous motion sideways or leaning back or forward is what the pitcher wants.. for you to swing off balance..even if ever so slightly at HIS pitch.. be discriminating don't do it..
you're putting way too much thought into the smaller less aspects of hitting... concentrate on a basic closed straightaway stance, with a short base, your arms & hands up as high & far back as COMFORTABLY POSSIBLE... ONCE THE PITCH IS RELEASED,a short step & right straight at the ball with no dropping the hands, no circle hitch, no drawing the arms & hands backward.. push off your back foot, land with your front foot closed, let your right side lower body torque your front side open.. exert maximum force on the bat with your grip, as this wil generate more power than a loose grip.. if you do all those things, the rest will take care of itself.. hitting the ball at the optimum point is a timing matter.. something only practice will improve..
making any sense?