Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Jan 3 11:53:19 2008

I looked at both clips. In my opinion the clip of Brian (more evident on first clip) is a more a swinging gate than revolving door, however Rose clip is the revolving door. You will note that Rose did not have great power numbers.

On Brian you can see the tilt of the body and if you drew a line through the head along this angle at contact you will see the axis is not a straight veritcal line (revolving door), whereas with Rose on the overhead clip you CAN draw a line almost vertically through the head, down his back, and out of his butt -- revolving door. Maybe we are talking semantics here but if you look at elite hitters at contact where they are tilted forward and their unstrech of the load is occuring which brings their body back towards the catcher --- this line through the head (which is where the axis has to start) will almost always be shifted back to front or forward from where they started -- resulting in a swinging gate. I "believe" the overhead of Rose where the line is almost completely vertical is the exception.

Hi Coach Steven

I agree that our difference may just be a matter of semantics. From my point of view, whether or not a batter’s axis in vertical or tilted rearward has no bearing on whether he rotates around an axis like a “swinging gate” or a “revolving door.” For the sake of clarity, we need to agree on a common definition of these terms.

To me, rotating like a “revolving door” (or “spinning) means the front-side is rotating rearward while the back-side is rotating forward. This would place the axis of rotation at the center of the body (the spine). – In his book, Jim Leferbvre states the following regarding this type of rotation. -- “Hitting power cannot be produced by a simple turning or spinning motion of the entire body. In fact, such a motion can produce undesirable, inward-directed centripetal force.”

Whereas, with a “swinging gate” the front-side remains posted while the back-side rotates around. This would place the axis of rotation (or hinge) at the front-side rather than the center of the body. – Jim Leferbvre writes, “The back side of the hitter’s body, including the rear hip and shoulder joints, rotate forward in the approach phase.”

I assume Leferbvre’s statements would be true regardless of whether the axis is vertical or tilted rearward. – I think the above points out the differences between his teaching and that of Batspeed.com. – Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Jack Mankin