Posted by: Jack Mankin (MrBatspeed@aol.com) on Tue Sep 12 02:15:49 2000

JACK IT SEEMS TO ME THAT ROTATION STYLE USES THE MUSCLES OF THE BODY TO BRING THE BAT AROUND LAST.IT SEEMS THAT THE HIPS AND SHOULDERS NEED TO BE QUICK 1ST OR YOUR PLAYING CATCHUP,AND GETTING JAMMED.I UNDERSTAND THIS MAY BE PART OF WHATS NECESSARY TO GENERATE BAT SPEED BUT CAN YOU OFFER ANY LITTLE ADJUSTMENTS OR IDEAS TO GET THE BODY CLEARED FASTER OTHER THAN EARLIER RECOGNITION.EX.FRONT TOE ADJUSTMENT?

Hi RQL

First of all, let me make a couple of points. - When hitting a 90 mph fastball, you have the same amount of time to rotate on an inside pitch as you would if it was down the middle. In fact the body can rotate faster with a tighter hand-path than with a wider one. So the problem with getting "jammed" is not getting the hips and shoulders rotated. The problem is getting the meat of the bat on the ball with good bat speed. -- Most rotational hitters will allow the lead elbow to breakdown (or flex) and bring the hand-path inward. This will reduce power but will allow the ball to be hit fair.

RQL, as you work on your rotational mechanics, keep in mind that a circular hand-path (from body rotation) can only deliver about 40 to maybe 50 % of the bat speed. The balance will need to come from torque. So just relying on rotating the hands and body without applying the proper amount of torque at initiation will result in the bat-head lagging far behind the hands through the optimum contact point. The optimum contact point is 8 to 12 inches farther back than with extension mechanics. -- This is a big problem for many weight-shifters who are use to waiting to "explode" at the end of the swing (full extension). --- Having to extend the back arm late in the swing means sufficient torque was not applied at initiation (for pitches from the middle-in).

Jack Mankin