Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Sun Mar 16 13:23:39 2008

>>> As to the "doctoring" charge....anytime one plays a clip at less than full speed....to claim movements do or do not exist....IMO they are doctoring....IF THEY DON'T ALSO VERIFY WHAT THEY THINK THEY SEE IN THE FULL SPEED CLIP. This is THE most common video analysis mistake. Said differently.....you can slow down any clip you want to any speed you want to attempt to "see" what is there....but if you don't subsequently play the clip at full speed to verify that what you think you see is possible ...at that speed....FULL SPEED...then you are doctoring. <<<

Hi All

Teacherman accuses me of “Doctoring” because I analyzed a clip at less than full speed. Then, he has the audacity to show an even slower motion clip of Hamilton to show his version of what I defined as PLT 15 years ago. If I were guilty of doctoring, would he not also be? How would you describe a person’s character that accuses others of the very thing they are doing?

Years ago, I defined PLT (Pre-Launch Torque) as the movement of the forearms, hands and wrist that “Sweeps” the bat-head from a cocked forward position back into the swing plane. In the post below from the Archives, I explain why a distinction must be made between the mechanics of PLT and THT. I point out that the “rolling of the forearms,” as Teacherman describes it, must cease before the initiation of rotation and the swing is initiated. Torque applied to the bat after initiation must come from the push/pull of the forearms (THT) – not the rolling of them.

PLT to THT

Keep in mind that the “sweeping” of the bat-head, or the “rolling of the forearms” can only occur while the bat is being brought back to the launch position. If the rolling of lead-forearm (and thus the lead-hand) should continue past that point, the bat would be forced down through the swing plane, which leads to all kinds of problems.

One of first things we teach a new student is not to allow the wrist to roll until after contact. The pre-mature rolling of the wrist during the swing is a killer flaw. – If you have any other questions regarding my teachings vs Teacherman’s, feel free to ask.


Jack Mankin