Posted by: Jack Mankin (Batspeed@verizon.net) on Thu Dec 20 16:01:31 2012

> Jack,
> Excellent point. I looked at Jessica Mendoza's swing and she also has
> an upper cut on her swing. Here is the youtube video I am referring
> too:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qCrRTG17Hc
>
>
> However, lets talk about the art of pitching in softball and the
> release points. In baseball your typical release point would be around
> the head ( height wise). In fastpitch softball the release point is
> the hips and if you look closely the upward movement of the ball (on a
> fastpitch)is immediately after the ball is released. After that it
> stays on the plane and does not rise. Here is a link to the NPF vs.
> Florida :
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKOwC0WcyUc
>
> I think with all of this you can see that although many of the hitting
> instructors are writing and saying the swing should be more down ward
> ... video and evidence are telling us otherwise. Just my .02 worth.
>

Hi Toby

Your $0.02 worth is correct. Sports Science plotting of the "Rise Ball" showed that its' trajectory about level to the ground at 'Letter High' pitches and on a downward trajectory for lower pitches. -- Gravity is stronger than the Magnus effect on the ball.

Jack Mankin