Posted by: tom.guerry (tom.guerry@kp.org) on Fri Sep 15 21:37:20 2000

tom.....thank you 4 u'r most recent response to my q's on top hand
torque....i reviewed my clips again (most of which i got from
setpro).....i made the following observations based on clips of aaron,
sosa & ramirez, & i would appreciate your comments & interpretations
of my observations......(1) back elbow reaches it's peak level of
"horizontalness" (for lack of a better word)real close to, but
slightly before front toe touchdown ......(2) barrel of bat's pointing
in the direction of the pitcher also peaks real close to but slightly
before front toe touchdown...... (3) by the time front heel touchdown
has taken place, back elbow has already started down again (perhaps
already back down to a 45 degree angle) AND the turning the knob of
the bat toward the catcher has begun AND shoulder rotation has
begun...............and another interesting observation.....neither
williams nor mcgwire raise the back elbow to horizontal (of course
that's not to be expected of williams anyway)nor does their bat point
to the pitcher at any point in their stride..........again, i would
appreciate your comments & interpretations of my
observations.............respectfully, grc......

I agree with a couple of additional comments.Mac has no preswing
torque.He is Dave's poster boy for keeping elbow down,but he also
applies powerful tophand torque,starting from initiation as exhibited
by full plate coverage with even outside location pitches being hit
out to left power alley.I think it takes more strength to do this
without getting the elbow higher or starting torque in the preswing.

Initiation may occur before or after front heel plant depending on the
necessary timing for a given pitch speed and location.Sooner for
ins