Posted by: BHL (Knight1285@aol.com) on Tue Apr 13 11:16:26 2004

Hi BHL
>
> You make some thought provoking comments however my chanllenge still stands to swing that 5 pound sledge hammer. What I am saying is put yourself in the body of that growing 10 year old boy or girl who every 4 months must partially retrain their muscles movements that growth spurts scramble up. Must learn the new orientation of where their hand is in relationship to the rest of their body (let alone a bat that is another 2 1/2 feet further away). Must lift and swing a 20 ounce bat that is about 1/20th (30 lbs) of what they can lift over their heads (average 200 lbs major league would be around 230 lbs and they swing a 30 ounce bat).
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> Now ask this player to emulate the exact movement of a major leaguer and do not forget to pull every pitch.
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> Who decides who or what the hitting stlye they should follow?? Probably the coach (Dad) dictates a little and maybe the local batting instructor or maybe a little bit comes from watching the MLB telecasts because the kid loves A-Rod. Not all players are created equal and not all ideas are correct and not all hitting techniques are correct. We must always ask the question WHY when confronted with a new idea and must then seek out that answer.
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> The answer is not BECAUSE it works but WHY does it work.
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> BHL you give this board new ideas that are outside the norm and you give thoughts to ponder WHY would I use this idea or technique.
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> I however am still looking for the answer WHY I would use this with a little leaguer when I consider in the information that I have presented to you in the beginning of this post. So far most of your coments have been directed at the major league players and parks that they play in to get them into the Hall of Fame because of their increased homerun production. Please answer my simple question of WHY so I can ponder your comments further.
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> Dave
>
> Why

Hi Dave,

I believe that individuals were far better off in the days before Little League, when they could emulate the styles of different professional hitters freely without being force-fed the advice of some tyrannical coach.

When viewed from this lens, the person who should decide which style works for them is the individual, not the instructor.

If a person likes hitting straight away, and is successful that way, they have found their approach.

Similarly, individuals who gear their hits towards the opposite field have found the comfort "field."

Finally, those who pull the ball may be pleased with the results, and want to continue this approach.

People will pick and choose which approach befits them, and may switch a couple times before stumbling upon the one that gives them the greatest production.

Just because they toggle between approaches, though, does not give any instructor the right to impose his beliefs on any youngster. In other words, he should not "pick" what is right for pupil. Doing so means the proxy is taking social paternalism to the extreme, to the point of Social Darwinism: hit according to your body type. This is very reductive, and is the reason youngsters quit.

If they want to hit home runs, let them. Little League is about having fun, and trial-and-error, not winning. I know places where they forbid scorekeeping in T-Ball so coaches cannot impress upon anyone that "my way wins ball games."

Dave, when I came out with my theory, I was attempting to giving the small undersized individual the greatest chance for stardom. If he uses my method, his home run production may increase so much that the coach does not bench him for not trying to hit singles.

Now why does my approach work?

1) It encourages the timid to become more aggressive by padding the inside of their uniform "secretly."

2) Doing so allows the hitter to stand "on the plate" and increase aggressiveness, as SBK suggested.

3) The hitter is hitting the ball with the fastest possible batspeed.

4) Plate coverage, as Andy N. points out, is the best.

5) The ball is hit to the shortest part of the field.

6) Mis-hits can result as homers.

7) Finally, since only batters with a great understanding of rotational principles can achieve this, this will encourage all players to learn and manipulate the proper mechanics.

If the player finds success with another approach, he has every right to use it.

As for tyrannical coaches, I suggest they support these players, rather than imposing their will on them.

Cheers!
BHL
Knight1285@aol.com

P.S. Note: Although I point out the benefits of my theory, I would never force a person to hit one way or the other.