Posted by: Mister X () on Fri Jun 13 07:36:05 2003

I've been reading some of the site and the theory sounds great, especially since u scientifically backed it up. I just don't understand where you stand if you had a 5'6' guy who weighs 150. Are you telling me that he too could hit a ball 500 ft with the right hip rotation and torque? The problem with a lot of hitting theories is they neglect the guy who isnt as big as the others. You mention Bonds, Bagwell, and Sosa who together could move a mack truck. Eckstein and Ferqal are great players but can't hit the ball that far. Are they not setting good enough goals? I think mass of the player definietely has something to do with it. What do you think?




I have yet to see the mass of a person make a difference. Several people here think it does, but they have yet to prove it and change my minds. I believe there are only two factors that affect how far you hit the ball:
1) batspeed at contact
2) how well you make contact (sweetspot)

The speed of the pitched ball also matters. All things equal, you'll hit a 90 mph ball farther than a 70 pmh ball. But you can't control how fast the pitcher pitches. You can only control the two factors above.

I don't know about Eckstein and Fercal. But check out Javy Lopez lately. He's not a big guy but he's killing the ball. I don't know how good his swing is but he's getting results. I'm a smaller guy (5'10, 160) and I can tell I have a lot more power than I used to. Rotational mechanics allow you to maximize your ability. I've never hit a ball with max batspeed and perfect contact so I don't know how far I can hit, but it is a lot farther than before.

The thing is, though, big guys often do have an advantage. Not because of mass, but because they are stronger. They can swing the bat faster/quicker/harder than a guy that isn't as strong. I don't think that just mass has an effect. I'd have to believe Barry Bonds can hit the ball farther than Mo Vaughn. Strength is more important that mass.