Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Nov 18 11:36:38 2003

>>> You guys seem to use these terms a lot.I coach 13-14 year olds and all the hitters on the team and league rotate. I know because I see it with my own eyes. They stride, they land with bat about even with back foot, and they go from this position to contact (and in the meantime I have witnessed the turning of hips). Could it be that you guys are constantly discussing a non-issue? <<<

Hi Coach James

Welcome to the site. – I think we would all agree with you that most batters moves forward (during the stride) to prepare the launch position, and the hips and shoulders do rotate once the swing is launched. But all linear motion ceases before the batter launches the swing and starts to rotate. There is no linear and rotational movement occurring at the same time.

Therefore, a batter is not classified as “linear” or “rotational” based on whether or not he takes a stride or the length of the stride. Below is a post from the archives that defines the main difference between linear and rotational mechanics.

Re: Re: Linear vs rotational?
Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com on Wed Mar 5 22:49:26 2003

>>After 37 years in this game, I have still never figured out what a LINEAR hitter is or who teaches it. I see posts every week about linear vs rotational, but no one has ever given me an explanation or pointed out a book that teaches linear hitting. Who teaches it and what is it. I know what it says in the dictionary. Does any one know?<<<<

Hi Doug

If you have not been a long time visitor to Batspeed.com, it is understandable that you may not be familiar with the Linear vs Rotational controversy. We may not have coined the terms, as 55 speculated, but we were at the forefront in pointing out the difference in the two terms. Therefore, I will try to give a short, clear definition of the two mechanics.

Linear mechanics has been taught by most (probably 98%) of the batting instructors for decades. “Linear” refers to mechanics that promote an inline (A to B) thrust of the hands straight back at the pitcher. It may be referred to as “quick hands”, “knob to the ball” or similar batting cues where the muscles in the arms are mainly used to accelerate the hands in a fairly straight path away from the back-shoulder toward the pitcher.

With Rotational mechanics, the muscles in the arms are not used to accelerate the hands. The hands stay back at the shoulder and are swung (or flung) into a circular path by the rotation of the body. --- The bottom line --- Linear mechanics produce a straighter hand-path – Whereas, Rotational mechanics produce a more circular hand-path.

Note: Regardless of the length of stride, all good hitters rotate around a stationary axis. Therefore, length of the stride or amount of weight shift has little bearing on whether or not a batter is Linear or Rotational.

Jack Mankin