Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Jan 14 10:34:04 2008

Hi Jude

Welcome to the site. -- I am probably as big a fan of Williams, Mays, Musial, Aaron, and Mantle as you are. However, from the number of clips I use Bonds’ swing to illustrate good mechanics, I can see why you may think I favor him over other great hitters. That is not actually the case. If I had 60 fps video of those hitters, I would certainly use them.

I would also like to point out that although I may show a clip of Bonds to illustrate a batting mechanic, I could use any one of those hitters. They all exhibit the same mechanics. They may have different styles in how they arrive at the launch position. But once the swing is initiated, they all exhibit the efficient principles not found in the average MLB hitter.

When I point out a flaw in A-Rod’s swing, it is not to demean his mechanics. It is to point out that even the best hitter’s performance will suffer if they develop flaws in their swing plane. A-Rod is my ‘Poster Boy’ for illustrating mechanics that can cream outside pitches. I will soon post a clip using his swing to show how THT is applied.

Jack Mankin