Posted by: Sandman () on Wed Nov 26 15:07:08 2003

Ah, sandbagged again (just like on hsbbweb). Oh well, on that one I didn't fall for it; this one I did. :)

Now, before anyone reads this w/ a tone other than what I intend... I do not mean to be defensive or confrontational. If we were in person, we'd crack open a cold beverage and discuss this amicably. You would understand that I am really just trying to learn as much as possible.

That said, I'd be curious to see a video clip of one of your 11 HRs. I wonder if your HR (or one of your many doubles) swings look just like this one? I'm not saying that a lot of success can't be had w/ a swing that might not be considered "rotational", but that's an entirely different debate. ;) Perhaps the height of this pitch just forced you up onto a straighter axis. But I didn't think the pitch was that high.

Andy, obviously you are a successful hitter, as your stats certainly show. But does that make your swing "rotational"? There are plenty of successful linear and hybrid hitters - maybe not as many at the MLB level - but in college and minors, I'd bet there are more.

This site is dedicated to the study of the rotational swing, which I understood one of its basic premises to be "after footplant, no further forward movement; instead, rotation around a stationary axis". Or as Jack puts it, "The batter has rotated to the launch position and completed his timing step. All forward movement of the body has halted and he is ready to initiate the swing."

Am I the only one who sees continued lateral hip slide after the stride in this swing?

http://members.cox.net/msanda/Andy%20vs.%20Soriano.jpg

Andy, I'm not trying to in any way diminish your accomplishments. I'm just trying to fill in the gaps in my study of the swing.

I agree w/ you that there are other important facets to hitting beyond just mechanics. How often do we see a pro get a good hit off a less-than-perfect swing? I often wonder what it would be like if we could get our hands on some video clips of MLB players having success at the plate w/ their "not-so-prettiest" of swings. ;-)

But still, would we teach our players to emulate those swings or the "perfect" ones? I mean, if Bonds managed to hit a HR w/ a "less than optimum rotational" swing that lacked his usual rotational elements, obviously, it was still good enough to get out. But does that mean that, just because it's Bonds, would we post the swing and consider it "rotational"?

I guess what I'm getting at is that, when we analyze MLB clips, based on the premise that "we might as well study what the best do", I believe they are almost always of a very good hit (probably a HR). Notwithstanding your abilities, and not saying that you don't have a great rotational swing when you hit HRs or doubles, but... can we say the same for the particular swing clip you posted, in which you were hitting in an indoor cage? As I said earlier, I'd be interested in seeing some game swings.

But even if you manage to clobber the ball in games w/ the same swing, that means you have found a way to successfully hit the ball hard. Does it necessarily also mean that your way is purely "rotational"?

Respectfully,
Sandman