Posted by: george stanley (saint_george@yahoo.com) on Sun Dec 23 17:00:41 2007

> >>> hey joe!
> do not ever underestimate the poewr of gravity... despite what anyone might tell you, to be coming up on a high pitch will slow you batspeed to the point you will not get thee in time... thus popping up, fouling off, or missing completely.. always keep your hands as high as comfortably possible.. from this vantage oint you will be coming down even if just the slightest bi will accelerate your bat enough to get you thee in time to drive the ball instead of popping it up. start with your hands eye-high before the pitch is released, & go from there. <<<
>
> Hi George
>
> Your point that gravity is a factor in generating bat speed is well founded. I noted you mentioned to Joe that he should keep his hands as high as comfortable. Would you also say the same is true for the bat-head? In other words, would a batter attain greater bat speed holding the bat vertical above his head than he could having the bat behind his head in the normal launch position?
>
> Jack Mankin

hello, jack!!
first of all, wishing you & yours the most wonderful holiday of all & many many many many more!!
many guys are hurting themselves first of all with the starting point of their swing as well as with the planes of their swing...
viewing the hitter from the opposite batters box... at the very worst the bat angle in reference to the ground should be perpendicular to the ground (180 degrees)... to go past the perpendicular & have the bat end pointing at the pitcher (ala JULIO FRANCO is the extreme poster child), or at the SS (ala KONERKO or VLAD) MEANS YOU BAT IS TRAVELING BACKWARD TOWARDS THE CATCHER 12"-18"
BEFORE IT STARTS FORWARD TOWARDS THE BALL.. ALL AFTER THE PITCH IS RELEASED?!?!?!...YOU DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!!! YOU WILL BE LATE LATE LATE LATE LATE TO PITCHES UP IN THE ZONE INNER HALF (i call this area the hitter's black hole.. pitches go in but they never come out).. i call that "buggywhipping".. on pitches down/in, you will get there in time... but other pitches in other spots will leave you jammed or sawed off.. i would tell my pitcher if FRANCO ever got a hit off him ,he would do 100 laps directly after the game..franco lives for the down/away pitch ha can drive to RF.. because of his cocked up stance, THERE IS NO WAY HE CAN GET AROUND ON A PITCH INNER HALF ANYWHERE...so that is what you must feed him exclusively..

the optimum angle for the bat is about 155-160 degrees, NEVER PAST THE PERPENDICULAR (180 DEGREES)..

from the pitcher's view, the bat angle in relation to the ground should be about 145-150 degrees.. lots of hitters are at 135 degrees or less..what this does is lower the distance from the bat head to the ground, thus giving you less distance to be coming down on pitches..it also lessens the number of pitches you will be coming down upon.. the extreme poster child is OMAR INFANTE, who has his bat wrapped around his neck at about 110 degrees.. coupled with the bat head pointed at the SS... its hard to get much lower... from there your swing has a very flat plane, & combined with holding your hands down around your shoulders, makes for a very low plane,which slows your bat speed to the point it makes you vulnerable on pitches up in the zone..

i draw an analogy to jet fighter pilots, or military commanders or viking warriors... they all seek the high ground, from which they can
come down with the greatest force with their weapons.. viking fighters lifted their axes above their heads so they could be coming down on the enemy.. if given the chance to wind up, they weren't uppercutting.. the military commander wants to have the high ground so he can be shooting down on the enemy.. you don't see him looking for the gullies if the high ground is available.. pilots climb as high as they can, so no one is above them.. from there, they come swooping down on the enemy.. they are not flying at ground level looking to come up at an enemy... GRAVITY!!! A HITTER'S BEST FRIEND!!!
USE IT!!! keep your hands up as high as comfortably possible, so that no matter where the pitch is you will be coming down on it, even the shoulder high pitch you got suckered on.. you just might get enough of it to drive it instead of popping up, fouling off or missing completely..

HAPPY HOLIDAY TO ALL!!!!