Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Thu Mar 4 02:17:59 2004

>>> Great improvement!

Suggestion for more clearity in your description of the mechanics. when i was young and my mom asked me a question i didn't know i would "shrug" my shoulders and answer i did not know. "Shrug" to me and i'm sure many others means raising your shoulders up to your ears in a shrugging fashion.

To make absolutely certain that your readers understand what you mean i might suggest that you just change the words to say, "shrug your front shoulder "forward"... and to even futher explain the sequence i would add "and at the same time you are shrugging your front shoulder "forward" you shrug your back shoulder backwards."(erronously refered to on the boards as the "scap load")

Let's have a poll... when you hear the term "shrug your shoulders" how many of you guys and gals think pull your shoulders up to your ears?

Jack your the greatest!! keep improving, all the best, Rich <<<

Hi Rich

Now that you point it out, I can see where someone could view “shrugging the shoulder” differently than I do. My interpretation comes from my military tour. Our TI would always bring us to attention by adding, “Don’t let those shoulders shrug - Get your chest out.” I agree that using “forward shrugging” or maybe “inward shrugging” of the lead-shoulder could possibly add more clarity.

As far as the term “scap loading” is concerned, someone needs to clarify just what “loading” actually means. I had always thought that loading a muscle meant it was being stretched in preparation to do work. Such as stretching the leg muscles by squatting before jumping. But when “scap loading” is used in reference to applying top-hand-torque, work is actually being done (accelerating the bat-head back toward the catcher). Therefore, the scap is not just loading (or stretching) in preparation to do work – something is contacting to perform that work.

Pulling back on a bowstring pinches the shoulder blades together, but I would not call that “loading.” It would seem to me that the “forward shrugging” (credit to you, Rich) of the lead-shoulder we discussed earlier would be a more accurate example of “scap loading.” The muscles are being stretched or loaded in preparation to pull back the lead-arm and knob end of the bat.

I suppose that “internal rotation of back arm” is referring to the wrist rolling in one direction or the other. However, I could be mistaken in my interpretation.

Jack Mankin