Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Wed Jun 18 15:27:12 2003

I'm having trouble hitting a long homerun ball. I'm hitting hot line drives to the middle of the outfield but I can't get it up enough. I play golf and hit the ball up to 320 with my driver. I see all the players in the majors having the bat ahead of them in a straight line making contact out in front of them but in a straight line, is there anything I can draw from that? why i'm not hitting HR balls? thanks for taking a look.
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> > In golf, do you hook, slice, draw, fade or hit straight. This will help me to understand your hand path better. I've witnessed many a golfer that could hit it a ton, but not control it. I have always felt the tranfer mechanics in golf should be the same in baseball. That said.....99% of the problems I see in baseball hitters is the improper use of the hands. The try to hit the ball with them, rather than letting the ball get in the way of the swing. This may sound strange, but it's true for max power. Be honest of your assessment in your golf swing and I'll try to help you. If you say you hit straight, then forget baseball and join the tour (Ha Ha!!).
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> > Respectfully,
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> > Coach C
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> If you're hitting hot line drives to the middle of the outfield, what are you worried about? I'd take a double every three at-bats vs. a homerun every 8 at-bats with a bunch of Ks. I'm not saying that if you hit HRs you have to K a lot, but it does happen often.
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> And Coach C is exactly right. You have to let the ball get in the way of the bat. You can't go out after it, or adjust to every pitch location. In your dry swing there is a spot that makes perfect contact with the ball with a lot of power. You have to learn to trust yourself, and let the ball get to that spot in your swing when you get the bat there.

Hi All,

A home run is always better than a double. If a ball is hit perfectly, on the right trajectory, it should go out of the park. If a person homers once every 8 at bats, that is an achievement in itself. Who cares about strikeouts? Sosa strikes out, and look the number he puts up. So does the fantastic Barry Bonds.

Now, C does imply that Bonds may have an advantage over Sosa, all things being equal, including avg., and hr fre. I respect his opinion that if does not strike out, he will make more contact with two strikes, some of which will go for home runs.

But I disagree that you have to strive for doubles, rather than home runs. Look at Barry--short stroke, excellent mechanics, and consistent home runs. With all due respect, I think this is where Mankin's idea of "perfecting the mechanics rather than lowering the goal" has some merit (please check his Truism and Fallacies section, as my quote may be somewhat imperfect).

Please consider this argument.

Sincerely,
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com