Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Mon Mar 10 12:02:37 2008

--->>> Jack,

Can you please explain the swing plane of the lead arm. I understand that the swing plane should not have waves in it however my question is concerning the attitude or incline of the plane...should it vary to suite the pitch, or should it remain in a consistent grove for all pitches thus requiring timing to make contact? <<<

Hi Tobell

The animated clip below presents a good visual representation of the swing plane. As the clip shows, the lead-arm remains in the plane during rotation. The batter adjusts to pitch location by raising and lowering of the trajectory of the arm. Timing is more an issue of whether the ball is pulled or hit to the opposite field than adjusting for pitch location.

Paul Nyman animation

The post below from the Archives discusses some of the mechanical aspects of generating a clean plane.

A-Rod’s Slumps and the Swing Plane

Jack Mankin