Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Jan 2 12:42:39 2008

>>> I am a Mike Epstein Instructor and I truly believe that he has the best drills for teaching the proper mechanics and I also believe that Jack has some very good stuff as well. <<<

Hi Graylon

A few years back, I had the opportunity to discuss batting mechanics with Mike. The key difference in what we teach concerns the way that the lead-arm is used and the resulting path of the hands. Mike insisted that the lead-arm should start “boxed” (about a 90-degree bend), and then extend toward contact. This, he stated, would allow the hands to take a direct path (A to B) to the contact.

I maintained the lead-elbow should remain at a more fixed angle (boxed or straighter) during rotation, which takes the hands in a more circular path. Mike stated that taking the hands is a circular path would produce a longer and slower swing.

Since our discussion, I have read many of his posts on his site that still maintains that the boxed elbow should extend to take the hands straight to the zone. – Do you know if he still holds these views? If so, is this what you teach your students?

Jack Mankin