Posted by: Jeff Tisdale (contactspec@aol.com) on Thu Jul 17 16:56:11 2003

Try a drill where you have to cradle a volleyball or basketball (depending on your age) when you are practicing hitting. This emphasizes the rotation of the torso with the shoulders during the second and third quarters of the swing. This also helps keep you from reaching for the pitch. Reaching for the pitch keeps you from keeping your energy within the rotational axis that is from your crotch to the top of your head. (Compare the angular velocity of a skater when the arms are extended vs. held in... the skater spins slower with arms out vs. arms in.)

Hitting is totally rotational. The eleven frame animation on this website says it all. That batter could be Sosa, Aaron, DiMaggio, Gherig, Jackie or Frank Robinson, Rose, or any other great hitter.