Posted by: Bart () on Fri Nov 28 12:35:09 2003

what are some good drills or things to practice getting backspin when hitting the ball...back spin helps the ball travel,
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> The guy that wrote the Physics of Hitting said back spin is worth about 15 feet for a ball hit 385 plus. With that ratio, I would not flirt with that as an objective considering the harm it could do your basic mechanics. Hit the center of the ball hard, on plane with the pitch, and run like hell!



Adair (the Physics of Hitting) did estimate about 15 feet..... Also Bahill and his co-author (I forget his name), authors of "Keep Your Eye On the Ball" said the same thing .....the difference is that Bahill & ? went into much more scientific & mathematical depth than adair....their conclusion was that the optimal place to contact the ball is 1/4 inch below center....

is this worth persuing?....well, how many "warning track" home runs have you seen where that extra 15 feet would have made the difference in a fly ball out and a home run?....if a hitter COULD sucessfully target the ball 1/4 inch below center, i don't see how that would require any changes in his mechanics.....how many times have we discussed why two hitters with similarly good mechanics could produce significantly different results? (maybe one hits home runs and the other ld doubles)?...it COULD BE one of several factors....one sees the ball better, or one is stonger than the other, or MAYBE one does a better job of consistently targeting the right part of the ball...steve garvey, no hall of famer but nevertheless a home run hitter with batting average once said he does exactly that: he targeted the slightly-below-center part of thhe ball....