Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Sat Mar 6 06:58:02 2004

>>> He is adamant that top hand torque doesn't exist as Jack describes it. He argues that skap loading is the key <<<

Hi Melvin

The paragraph below is from the article, Bat Speed Research – Rise in Offense Stats.

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I think the most interesting finding that came from the study was that all the very top hitters exhibited a swing mechanic not found in any of the other players. --- They initiate the swing with what I termed "top hand torque" (top hand pulling back toward the catcher while initiating the swing). In 1988 I identified 21 players who initiated the swing with this type of mechanic --- they dominated the stats.
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I find it interesting that Paul completely discounts the principle of the “top hand pulling back toward the catcher while initiating the swing,” when I defined it as Top-Hand-Torque. But, he finds the pulling back of the elbow (and thus the top-hand) as key when he later labels it scap loading.

As to another one of his comments, what percentage of today’s coaches would you say teaches extending the top-hand forward at initiation (linear mechanics), as compared to those that teach pulling the top-hand back (rotational mechanics)?

Jack Mankin