Posted by: mb () on Thu May 8 11:11:40 2003

Just some more thoughts on the batspeed at full extension vs. at the "L" position.
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> I had the great privaledge to see the long drive competition on ESPN tonight. Obviously, the goal of the competition is to hit the ball the farthest (also somewhat the straighest, but mostly the farthest). And to hit the ball the farthest there are two things involved.
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> 1) hit the ball squarely on the sweet spot.
> 2) hit the ball with a lot of batspeed.
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> If you would have watched the competition, you would have seen that nearly all of the players hit with clubs that had 50 or more inch shafts AND all hit at extension. Why is that? The laws of circular motion tell you.
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> If you put a bat, golf club, or anything with a length into circular motion, which part is moving the fastest? The farthest most part on the object (the bat head or golf club head). That is because the end of the bat or club is covering more distance in the same about of time.
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> So what does this mean. It tells me that the long drivers know that they need to get max club speed to hit the ball the farthest. And they know they have to use long clubs and hit at extension to do this.
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> Same thing in baseball. To hit the ball the farthest, the same two factors apply. But in baseball, the ball is not sitting still on a tee. It is moving at high speeds and comes in at different locations. So players choose to hit in the "L" position because it allows them to make better contact, at the cost of losing some batspeed.
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> Max batspeed (club speed) occurs at the farthest point out (at the tip of the bat/club with extension). Long drive golfers know that, and we baseball players should know it as well.
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Here is a clip of Sean "the beast" Fister one of the all time great long drive champions. http://www.megspace.com/sports/moetown/videos/fister_side_clip.html
Full extension is achieved after the hit.