Posted by: Chuck (jcsherwood8458@sbcglobal.net) on Mon Mar 3 07:23:55 2008

> Hi coaches
>
> I have watched your clips of Bonds & Williams it appears the reason
> they both have early bat speed is because they both start their swing with vertical bats. They have no choice but have early bat speed.
> Because they must get their hands flat in order to get in the plane
> of the pitch.I also see this when John Elliot imulates some of the
> great hitters on your dvd's.Mike Epstein strongly advises the use
> of the fence drill.Looking at the old clips you showed their was an
> older gentleman performing the fence drill.I noted inially his hands started in a small circle,but as his shoulders started to rotate his
> hands followed that rotation.Untill the hands were about even with
> the front hip,i think it is a smooth motion from start to finish.
> It does not appear that the bat stops because of the shoulder rotation
> But because they use these mechanics they still have leverage enough to shut the swing down if the ball moves out of the hitting zone.
> I think getting your hands flat and use shouder rotation following
> the hips to contact satisfies your theory. And of course planeing
> the pitch.does it seem to you Jack not many modern hitters start with
> a vertical bat?
>
> Bob
> don't see how you can catch up to the pitch any other way.

Jack,
I know that you are not fond of the fence drill, but in the earlier post with the older man doing the fence drill you seem to equate that swing to being linear, which I don't think is fair.

My understanding and opinion is this: (please say where you agree and disagree)

Mike Epstein uses the fence drill to reinforce certain aspects of the rotational swing - slotting the rear elbow, shoulder rotation pulling hands through, etc.

Sometimes movements are most easily learned when they are practiced in a slightly exagerated manner, as in the fence drill.

No one would advocate that a player swing like the man in the fence drill.

Comparing the fence drill swing to Ted Williams' live swing in terms of early batspeed is wrong. The man in the fence drill is in Epstein's #1 position - a static position designed to eliminate pre-swing or pre-launch motions for the purpose of concentrating on other mechanical aspects of the swing. Obviously, from this starting position he couldn't possibly have early batspeed.

Clearly you have identified forces that generate early batspeed in some of the games greatest hitters and I believe that you concentrate on this aspect of the rotational swing more than Mike Epstein does, but that doesn't make him wrong or linear. I don't think that if one were introducing a linear hitter of any age to rotational mechanics, that you would begin by focusing on THT and accelerating the bathead rearward towards the catcher, although at the higher levels it may be what separates the greatest from the rest. There would be other aspects of the rotational swing to learn first, and I think that is the only purpose of the fence drill.

Thanks,
Chuck