Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Aug 24 10:02:12 2000

>>>JACK...sorry to bring this up again but after having seen some comments at another site i'm wondering if i do, in fact understand what the coaches' 1-2-3 drill was all about......please, bear with me but i would like to be quite specific in my question & your response......in the "2" position TO WHAT DEGREE were they opening their hips & squashing the bug? ....were they attempting nearly FULL hip rotation (perhaps 70-80 degrees or so)....or were they STARTING hip rotation (perhaps opening the hips 15 degrees or so)..........i guess the big difference is that if they are opening their hips a moderate amount (like 15 degrees or so)while keeping the shoulder closed, while this may be a concept that you disagree with, it nevertheless would not be an extreme, out-of-the-mainstream theory.....furthermore, it would be a concept worthy of discussion, pros & cons, here & at other sites........but if these coaches were teaching to attempt nearly FULL hip rotation while keeping the shoulder closed, then of course that notion could be dismissed out-of-hand as utter nonsense.....i would appreciate clearification..<<<

Hi grc

I agree with Joe and Terry that the opening of the shoulders should be a natural progression from the rotation of the hips. There is naturally a few degrees of shoulder lag caused from overcoming the inertia of the upper-torso and bat. But many coaches teaches mechanics that disrupts this natural timing by purposely holding the shoulders closed as hip rotation begins.

In the "1-2-3" method I spoke of, the hips are nearly fully opened while the shoulders are held closed. Grc, you are right in stating - "of course that notion could be dismissed out-of-hand as utter nonsense", but you would be amazed at how many coaches teach it.

Jack Mankin