Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Dec 12 19:42:23 2007

>>> hi doc!!
the thing about hitting long balls in bp is because of the slow speed of the pitch, the hitters are usually loading up.. that is, they are taking a 16" softball windup with their bat prior to swinging... which does not translate to success when the pitch is at game speed.. if the hitter is maintaining a short compact swing just as though they were facing a 90 MPH FB, then ok... but that is usually not the case. slower pitches result in a longer backswing & allows for bad habits like dropping the hands, doing a littl circle hitch, & drawing back the arms & hands after the pitch is released... simply because have the time to do those bad things & still get there on time..unfortunately these are ALL fatal errors... also, i see hitters swinging at a lotta bad pitches in BP.. they should not forget to swing only at a strike.. because of time restrictions, or limits on number of pitches allowed, i see too many hitters forgetting the first order of business- SWING AT A STRIKE ONLY.. that is the problem with BP... IT'S ONLY PRACTICE.. & NOT THE REAL THING... CONSEQUENTLY YOU SEE HITTERS DOING A LOT OF THINGS THEY WOULD NOT BE DOING OTHERWISE. BP can be a minefield if you do things which are detrimental to your mental discipline, as well as teaching you a different swing from your game swing..<<<

Hi George

I think you make an excellent point about not swinging at bad pitches in BP. Not acquiring plate discipline has stalled the advancement of many otherwise talented players. However, video analysis of some of the games best hitters does not support another part of your statement.

You state, “slower pitches result in a longer backswing & allows for bad habits like dropping the hands, doing a littl circle hitch, & drawing back the arms & hands after the pitch is released... simply because have the time to do those bad things & still get there on time..unfortunately these are ALL fatal errors...”

Even when facing 95 mph pitching, video shows many of the best hitters are still “dropping the hands, doing a littl circle hitch, & drawing back the arms & hands after the pitch is released.” As an example, I have clips of Gary Sheffield that show his bat bobbing up and down at the pitcher as the ball is released. However, by the time the pitch arrives, he has accelerated the bat-head and hands back to a good launch position to initiate his swing from.

Therefore, I fail to see why you would call these hitter’s pre-launch movements “fatal errors.”

Jack Mankin