Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Wed Sep 10 10:54:04 2003

Question/Comment:

>>> Your Guerrero clip really shows scap load and THT well.

Here it is:

http://webpages.charter.net/nickkio/Guerrero01.mpg <<<

Jack Mankin's reply:

Hi Nick

Your address for the Guerrero clip in no longer live. However, I think the A-Rod/Bonds clip below illustrates the mechanics we are discussing.

Bonds/A-rod side by side of PLT/THT/BHT

Also, Below is a post from the archives explaining the necessity of the in-ward turn to a good swing.

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Hi Tim & Everyone

First let me wish you all a belated Merry Christmas and a fulfilling 2000. Over the past few days our home, here in Sunny California, has been blessed with family and friends from all over the frozen Midwest and points east. Also I have been busy outlining the topics I want to cover in the video I am producing. So, I have allowed my e-mail replies and post to the site to get ahead of me.

I have though taken time to review the posts here at Batspeed and some of the other sites. I am finding it quite refreshing to read posts from coaches who are actually searching for the true mechanics of the baseball swing. Some posts were insightful and deserve everyone's consideration. I think Paul (Setpro.com) and I deserve some of the credit for giving coaches a different way of looking at things and the open forums for freely expressing their thoughts and findings. I have no problem with coaches who has a legitimate disagree or may have erred in their conclusions and need to rethink their position. This is a far cry from those who are mainly looking for a way to justify a position because it is a long held belief or it's in their best interest.

I hate to beat a dead horse but I would like to point out that a batter does not have the option to choose whether or not he will use torque and an angular hand-path to develop his bat speed. These are the only two major forces that can. It's just a matter of how much and how long his mechanics will supply the forces. That smooth, loose ever-accelerating swing of a great hitter is the result of these forces being constantly supplied from initiation to contact. That tense jerky look comes from a batter who has a straight hand thrust (knob first with the bat-head trailing behind) and tries to explode the bat-head around at full extension.

Tim, I am glad to here of the progress your son is making with rotational mechanics. Something I was writing today for the video may help in his advancement. I was discussing the "inward-turn" and why it was so important to a good swing. --- The inward turn is just that, a turn. It's not the shifting back and forward of the axis or the hands. It's a turn. There are two main benefits that result from this move. During the swing, the shoulders will rotate somewhat more (about 120 degrees) than the hips (about 90 degrees) during rotation. The "inward-turn" stretches the muscles of the torso so that there will be less slack (and in a stronger position) when the hips start to rotate. But even of more importance is the position the inward-turn brings the hands to.

The forces applied to the bat during initiation produce trajectories that will set the tone for the entire swing. It is very important that the first directional movement of the hands be arcing perpendicular (or as close as possible to it) to the line of flight of the ball. This will induce the greatest amount of angular displacement into the bat and propel the hands into the correct path. ---The inward turn should bring the hands, center of axis and the pitchers mound in line. If the batter will then allow the rotation of the body (stationary axis) against the lead arm to accelerate the hands, the first movement of the hands will be propelled perpendicular to that line (or parallel with the catcher's shoulders).

The top hand can also aid in getting the hands started in the correct direction (rearward pull from the top-hand). We will discuss this later. Hope this helps. It's a lot easier to show than write about.

Jack Mankin