Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Jul 28 23:10:38 2003

>>> Thank you for clarifying that this is a hitting forum. I can see that you have some knowledge of hitting. The analogy applies because the body performs simple functions in the same manner. The complexity of hitting is not in how you swing the bat, but in the hand/eye coordination it takes to actually make contact. Over analyzing human movement complicates the issue which is what has been done by many self-proclaimed hitting gurus. throwing in the manner describd requires identical mechanics to swing a bat, golf club, tennis racket and many other activities that involve the arms and hands. Don't over complicate it. The swing is simple. Making contact is the hard part. <<<

Hi Dr. David Chambers

I doubt that anyone would disagree that hand/eye coordination plays a major role in the baseball swing. But at the same time, the quality and consistency of the batter’s swing plane also has an enormous bearing on the batter’s ability to make solid contact. I have found that in most cases, when a good hitter goes into a batting slump, a definable change can be noted in his swing plane. Flaws in the swing plane are the result of flaws in the batter’s swing mechanics.

As I pointed out above, variations in a batter’s swing mechanics has a great effect on a batters ability to make contact. And, I think you will find that gaining an understanding of what constitutes efficient or flawed mechanics is not as easy as you make it out to be.

P.S. You stated “throwing in the manner describd requires identical mechanics to swing a bat, golf club, tennis racket and many other activities that involve the arms and hands.” Dr. Chambers, that sounds like an off-the-cuff statement, not something that has been thought through.

Jack Mankin