Posted by: Jack Mankin (mrbatspeed@aol.com) on Sat Mar 6 22:04:01 2004

>>> Now you're stooping to the ridiculous. Tell me what force the stride puts on the bat. Can we talk about the stride? What force does loading put on the bat? None. It stretches muscles about to be used. Can we not talk about that?

Are you running from a difficult subject??? That's not like you. <<<

Hi Teacherman

Maybe, I can offer you an example of how you could have addressed the stride question you posed. -- You could have stated:

There is more to a good powerful swing than just sound mechanics. It takes timing and rhythm for all the mechanics that comprise the baseball swing to sync together for maximum efficiency. As if that were not difficult enough, a batter must also coordinate the rhythm of his swing to the timing of pitches with varying speeds.

For many players, this is where the importance of a short timing step can not be over emphasized. Matching the timing of the soft stride movements to the rhythm of the pitcher’s delivery assists the batter in arriving at the optimum launch position for applying THT, CHP and BHT.

However, Teacherman, I doubt that you would agree with the statement I gave, so why don’t you give it a whirl and shed some light on your version of the stride?

P.S. I must admit that I have neither the time nor the inclination to dwell into kinesiology as deep as you have. If my novice opinion that ‘muscles are stretched in order to do work’ has offended you and others, then I offer my most humble apology.

Jack Mankin