Posted by: THE HITTING GURU () on Tue Jul 29 23:19:52 2003

I am aware that the better ones are supposed to initiate the swing with shoulder rotation, but it seems many use the pull the knob que such as Bonds and Delgado, people such as Mr. Lau Jr believe that initiating with the shoulders slows down the swing and that the hands are faster. What are your guys thoughts




To put this in layman's terms, you stride and then you explode with your hips. (Charlie Lau Sr.) If you focus too much on the hips you may bail out and not clearly see the incoming pitch. The quick hip is the result of proper timing and lower body strength. Watch Jim Thome of the Philadelphia Phillies. He does a particularly good job rotating through the ball by intitating solid hip rotation.

Pulling the knob (staying inside the ball) is a somewhat advanced practice which some players use on inside pitches when they get jammed or swing late on pitches. (See Bonds in the 2002 Allstar Game on the the homerun robbery by Tori Hunter.) That pitch was almost by him, but he was quick enough to bring his hands in, take a full cut and almost hit the ball out of the park to center field. Because of the strength and quickness he possesses he can use principles that do not benefit every hitter. For most hitters on a jam swing it would produce an easy flyout or broken bat. Some occasions call for different approaches. On a day when a hitter is not likely to hit the ball out of the park (Wrigley on a windy day (wind blowing in) it might be better to level out your swing. In my opinion, pulling the nob in is more effective on balls hit down the line. (shortest distance)