Posted by: Jack Mankin (Batspeed@verizon.net) on Thu Jan 3 12:28:24 2013

In this post, we discuss the linear baseball hitting mechanic,"Get your arms extended." I use video analysis of good baseball batter's mechanics to access this linear cue.
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>>> Hi Jack Manken,

No problem. You can answer question two and three whnever you caN. i am 6'4," 234 lbs, and hit a cuople 330 feet (est.) at practice. Two things i was surpised at--one mnior, one majr. Minor, this double L thing at contact??? Never herd of it. i have heard of shift yur wt agressively from bakc to gfront, wich is from charley lau's book. i feel that following that book, though, i dont get enough hip rotation, or shoulder rotation (thanxs jack, nevr herd of it either, i'll read it when i get the chance.

i really want to know how far the ball will drive once i rederess my swing, and incoportate yur mechanics into my swing. i did look at ny man'S SITE TOO...i think i would be in a body cast jarringg my body the way he say he dus.

Mree important, if i buy a bag, is the bag suppose to create a SonAC boom each time i hit it? At my size, i think i should be hiting a lot futher thn a i can.

jAck, i want to thank you for providing a free Site with greatt infromation oN it. Lots of sites i know charge mony, or evne argue ober who is wright, and how is wrong. i think i'll give this site a shot, as it is 100 precent scientific, and is based ansd facts, not ficshion.

(My book That i used was chrlie lau's art of .300, but i think i can hit evn better by learning NEW material).

BTW, great clipps!

Thanxs for responsing,
Grand Slam Man <<<

Hi Grand Slam Man

I am addressing questions 2 and 3 from your first post and this post should cover most of your concerns.

Question #2 "What is the classic L in both the front and bacck leg at contact? Arn't you supodsded to PuSH with that back arm, and drive hard with the back nee?"

Video analysis of most high quality swings show the back-leg and back-arm are in an "L" shape at contact. Obviously, the back-leg would need to be in an inverted "L". I am not nearly as concerned with the angle of the back-leg as I am of the back-arm at contact. The angle of the back-leg is governed mainly by the distance between the feet and angle of tilt in the axis of rotation.

Hitters who have their axis tilted more rearward and keep their feet wider apart (like Mantle) will have a more defined "L" shape than a batter who has a more vertical axis and drags the back-foot forward at contact (like Clemente or Aaron). I find equally great hitters with varying degrees of axis and back-leg angles, therefore have not made an Absolute rule on which is most productive. Note: I teach a rearward axis tilt of about 15 degrees.

Grand Slam Man, let us concentrate on getting you to understand why practicing making contact with your back-arm in an "L" configuration is key to your maximizing your potential as a hitter. You stated in your question, "Arn't you supodsded to PuSH with that back arm," -- This is a common misconception of most batters. They feel that for the top-hand to drive forward requires the extension of the back-arm. That is simply not the case.

In high quality swings, body rotation supplies most of energy that powers the top-hand to contact. Professor Adair has calculated that it requires about 3 torque HP to hit a ball 400 feet. He states that the arms can contribute about 1/3 HP. This means that with efficient transfer mechanics, the larger muscle groups of the legs and torso must be allowed to supply most of the energy.

With that in mind, consider the sport of boxing. Would you rather be hit by an opponent's 'jab' (extension of his arm) or his 'hook' (arm remains in the "L" shape and power by shoulder rotation)? - Now let's see how this appears in the baseball swing with this clip the back-arm of 4 good hitters.

Back-arm mechanics of 4 good hitters

Note: See all of Batspeed.com Youtube Videos at - MrBatspeed Page

Note that although the top-hand of these hitters moved in an arc about 24 inches from his launch position to contact. Also note that his back-elbow remains back at his side during rotation and is still in the "L" position (like the boxer's hook) at contact. The arm did not extend until well after the ball was gone. This is the contact position found is most of the best hitters for pitches middle-in.

It should be obvious that if the batter is swinging at an outside pitch or his bat has rotated more to pull the ball, his back-arm must extend out more to rotate the bat to that position. This is why in my study, I placed great importance on a batter's position when his bat had rotated to perpendicular (ball would be hit straightaway) than to the pulled contact position.

They make the centerfield fence the deepest for a reason. The batter is in a more powerful position hitting straightaway than when hitting down the foul lines.

This post is getting long again. I will cover the heavy bag next.

Jack Mankin
Batspeed.com